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A classic lifts up the sport

Sat, 23 Aug 2008 12:39:12 GMT

The scoreboard said United States 118, Spain 107 at the end of the Olympics gold-medal game on Sunday in Beijing, but the big winner was the sport of basketball. Already the major team professional sport that attracts the most attention at the Olympics, basketball was witnessed in all its glory on Sunday by a truly worldwide audience, much of which stayed up through the night to watch. Those fans who didn't wake up for it assumed that the U.S. would win in a stroll. They will be sorry they missed what was a classic thriller for almost every one of the 40 minutes played. The final was not only the highest scoring gold-medal game by far in Olympics history, but in the first half alone, the USA and Spain scored more points than the enitre 1968 and 1972 gold-medal games, and just a few short of 1988's final. Very few people expected Spain to try to outshoot the Americans, but with just over 2 minutes left, the score was 104-108 and the game could have gone either way. Credit the USA for finding its top players of the day, Dwayne Wade and Kobe Bryant, and credit them for hitting the big shots that won it, fair and square. But credit Spain, which played without injured starter Jose Manuel Calderon, for proving again that European basketball remains highly competitive, beyond all doubt, on the world's biggest basketball stage.

The first half was surely the greatest offensive display in Olympic basketball history, and possibly one of the best first halves anywhere, anytime. That's because, despite the 61-69 score, there was no lack of defensive force. In fact, bodies were flying so much that 31 fouls were called in the half and 41 free throws attempted. Combined, the teams had averaged only 39 fouls in the previous games. That show's how hard they were banging, and puts into context the fantastic offensive play needed to withstand such tough defense. Wade led the U.S. in 8-for-14 three-point shooting, but Spain made 5 of 8 from downtown, as Rudy Fernandez rainbowed in a pair to keep the scoreboard close at the half. Still, the three-point shooting that had always been an Achilles heel for the Americans was clearly an advantage now. When left open, the U.S. buried its jumpers, but Spain stayed close in part because surprise starter Juan Carlos Navarro found his short game, hitting his trademark running "bomba" shot, while Fernandez went off like a firework when he entered for the first time in the second quarter. With the warrior-like Felipe Reyes scoring twice after halftime, Spain quickly cut the difference to 4 points, 67-71, and kept it matching the U.S. basket for basket through 75-79. Eventually several free throws, a baseline turnaround shot by Wade and a triple by Carmelo Anthony reestablished a double-digit lead for the U.S. at 80-91. The Spanish responded with a couple of alley-oop passes to Gasol for dunks, the second of which made it 86-91 early in the final quarter. Then, Ricky Rubio stole and hit Fernandez with a cross-court bounce pass on the break that he buried from downtown. Suddenly, it was a two-point game, 89-91.

Right then, whatever else happened next, the sport itself was the winner, because not one of a world-full of experts had expected Spain to be so close so late in the game. The Spaniards were so close because, with the ball in their hands, they were just as talented and inventive as their opponents. As it turned out, the...

One day, one game, one gold

Fri, 22 Aug 2008 11:29:21 GMT

The Olympic final that many people expected is upon us. The reigning world champions from Spain take on the team that dominated Olympic basketball last century, the United States. Both won testy semifinals on Friday to assure themselves at least silver medals, but neither came to Beijing thinking about anything less than gold. The fact that the still-undefeated U.S. won their first meeting, during the group round, by 37 points, makes the Americans the favorite in the final, without doubt. Team USA has dominated in every game it has played, whereas Spain was taken to overtime by another opponent, China, and had the tougher semifinal. Still, Spain's only defeat so far was the U.S. game, so certainly the two best teams in teams in the tournament are going to decide the Olympic title. Those semifinals might also tell something about how these two teams arrive to the last of eight games each in 14 days.

The first semifinal, Spain 91-86 Lithuania, was European basketball "pure and tough", as the Spanish say. A steady stream of protagonists on both teams took turns stepping on court and going to battle for both teams. They parried for most of the first quarter, but the style of half-court chess, inside-outside probing and constant hard contact was established. Spain got the first sizeable lead, 28-20 early in the second quarter, but before halftime, there was a 14-point swing, with Simas Jasaitis and Ksistof Lavrinovic firing enough three-pointers to put Lithuania up six. Over just 30 seconds late in the half, however, Lavrinovic and his fellow Lithuanian big men Marijonas Petravicius picked up fouls that would come back to haunt them. Both fouled out midway through the fourth quarter, when their team needed all the help it could get. Spain, on the other hand, kept finding the help it needed as players used a revolving door at the head of their bench to keep fresh. After halftime, it was Real Madrid warrior Felipe Reyes battling to score inside and teenager Ricky Rubio pulling key rebounds and drawing key fouls. The fourth quarter saw Ramunas Siskauskas and Sarunas Jasikevicius, who was again in classic form as the Lithuanian floor general, give their team a 69-71 lead. The Ricky-Rudy show commenced then, however, with their patented alley-oop connection, after which Fernandez buried a three-pointer and free throws. Rubio stole next and Pau Gasol went to the foul line on Linas Kleiza's second unsportsmanlike foul, which got him ejected. Lithuania was fading, and Carlos Jimenez, who locked down Siskauskas for much of the game, finished off the victory at the foul line. In terms of preparation for the final, this semfinal war was certainly tiring, but Spain's number of contributors was encouraging for their hopes against the deep U.S. bench.

There...

Sizing up the semis

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 10:59:36 GMT

The day started with a 17-year-old point guard walking on-court to run the reigning world champions in the do-or-die stage of the Olympics men's basketball tournament. It ended with an open three-point shot in the air that would change the fates of two teams - when it missed. In between, Wednesday's four quarterfinal games offered plenty of fascination for anyone who loves basketball. If a year or more ago someone had predicted that the Olympics semifinalists would be Argentina, Lithuania, Spain and the USA - with Greece missing out by the margin of that open three-pointer - there might not have been much of an argument. To watch it all unfold that way on Wednesday, however, was something to see.
Spain began its quarterfinal with Croatia under the baton of young Ricky Rubio and the big-game resolve of Pau Gasol. Spain's defense wasn't so fearsom as in the World Championships final two years ago, when it barely allowed an easy pass, but had a similar spark on Wednesday as Croatia struggled to break 30 points midway through the third quarter. Spain fans will also be encouraged by the variety of offensive contributors, in particular big men Felipe Reyes and Jorge Garbajosa. By taking Croatia completely out of the quarterfinal so quickly, and not depending on three-pointers at all, Spain left a teasing impression that its best basketball is still to come.

Lithuania was similarly in-command against China, with the added benefit of having to work harder to hold its edge despite an energized home crowd for the opponents. Sarunas Jasikevicius was his old self again, no-look passing, burying threes and marshalling the Lithuanians in his non-stop director's role on the court. Big men Robertas Javtokas and Marijonas Petravicius did wonders keeping Yao Ming under wraps. And Ramunas Siskauskas tied up the whole package in a safety net of timely shots, rebounds and zero turnovers. Lithuania has the recipe, and if its many three-point shooters are cooking, no opponent is safe.

The ability of the United States to turn games suddenly into blowouts is what makes it the gold-medal favorite. They did it again against scrappy Australia, which had chances to cut the difference to five points or lower before halftime. When Australia kept missing, the U.S. pounced, going up by 12 at the break and then scoring the first 14 points after it, effectively ending the game. Kobe Bryant was the spark this time, but the fact that it could have been any of several other players is why no one is betting against the U.S. this time.

Argentina survived the toughest quarterfinal with a little luck and a rotation of six players. That last three-point shot could just as easily have fallen, and we'd be talking about the Greeks in the semis. Argentina needed, and got, a huge boost from Carlos Delfino, who scored 18 of his 23 points over 8 minutes bridging the last two quarters. His teammates deserve credit for getting him the ball and riding the wave, because with out that recognition, the defending champs might be out now. Instead, they get a shot at duplicating their semifinal win from Athens against the Unites States.

So what about Friday's semis?

The lure of a silver medal is huge for both Spain and Lithuania, so expect two extra-motivated teams. Spain has only medalled or had the chance to in...

Fearless forecasts for quarters

Mon, 18 Aug 2008 09:09:57 GMT

The knockout stage of the 2008 Olympics men's basketball tournament starts on Wednesday with an air of unpredictability. It's true that one team, the United States, has stepped forward as the favorite. That is based less on its 32.2-point average winning margin than its talent and focus. After all, the last U.S. team to win gold, at Syndey in 2000, won by 29 points on average before the quarterfinals, but was pushed hard prior to winning the tournament. Likewise, at the last World Championships, the U.S. won by 28 per game before the quarters - and got eliminated. That history says that anything can still happen. The question is which other teams are ready to push or eliminate? That's where there is the most unpredictability, but with four teams in the quarters, Europe once again is a likely candidate to be in the hunt until the very end. Here's how the quarterfinal matchups look...and some fearless predictions.

Spain vs. Croatia

Few would have said so before the tournament, but this matchup can now be called a tossup. Even though it has only lost to the United States so far, Spain has looked less than convincing during long stretches, due in part to the worst three-point shooting of any team in Beijing. Pau Gasol and Ricky Rubio have anchored the offense and defense, respectively, but others will have to step up now that elimination games are here. Good candidates include Rudy Fernandez, Jose Manuel Calderon and Juan Carlos Navarro. Croatia arrived from the qualifying tournament, has already surpassed most predictions, and now has little to lose. Croatia also boasts plenty of special, ambitious players who would love to return their country to the Olympic medal stand it occupied for silver in 1992. One of them, dangerous scorer Marko Popovic, is not expected to play due to injury, however. If he is joined on the bench by backcourt mate Zoran Planinic, who also missed the last game, Croatia will have numbers problems. Half of Croatia's roster play in Spain, and in the opening round of last summer's EuroBasket, they upset the host Spaniards. A repeat is not likely, but far from impossible. Prediction: Spain

Lithuania vs. China

In this quarterfinals rematch from 2004 in Athens, Lithuania starts as a favorite, based on winning Group A while China was fourth in Group B, but there is more to this game than meets the eye. Consider just one unique subplot: Jonas Kazlauskas, the coach who gave the Lithuanians their last Olympic medal, the bronze in 2000 at Sydney, is now on China's bench. The question is whether Kazlauskas knows them better than the Lithuanians know his new team. How the Lithuanians handle Yao Ming, the best rebounder and fourth-best scorer left in the tournament, will be pivotal. Robertas Javtokas must defend well but avoid fouls, since he will be the big body Lithuania depends on, and because Yao shoots free throws so well anyway. Also, watch out for China's streaky shooters, especially after Lithuania let Australia bury 16 triples in the last group game. Its veteran guard trio - Sarunas Jasikevicius, Ramunas Siskauskas and Rimantas Kaukenas - needs to defend the perimeter well and to include their big men on offense if things are to run smoothly for Lithuania. Don't forget that China will also enjoy the support a sellout crowd at Wukesong Arena and that of a huge nation behind them. Under...

What quarterfinalists need to work on

Sat, 16 Aug 2008 13:19:08 GMT

With one more game to go before the quarterfinals, but all quarterfinalists already known, the shape of the Olympic men's basketball tournament is already quite clear. The pleasant surprise so far has no doubt been Croatia, a quarterfinalists after missing the previous two Olympics. The other side of that surprise is that reigning European champion Russia is not going to the elimination rounds. Just like Serbia and Montenegro at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Russia has been squeezed out unexpectedly by the intensified global competitiveness in basketball. With more teams than any other continent, it's logical that Europe has higher chances of losing one before the quarterfinals. In Athens, one of five European teams missed the quarters, and now in Beijing, it's two of six, Russia and Germany. That China knocked out the Serbs in 2004 and the Germans this summer, while Australia surprised Russia, is more evidence of how good basketball has become globally. Every continent except Africa is represented among the quarterfinalists for just the second time in Olympics basketball history. the Since the last group-stage games on Monday will decide the third and fourth places in each group, no team knows his opponent yet for the quarterfinals. The top teams will be using Monday's games to sharpen tactics before the do-or-die quarters, so here's a take on what each quarterfinalist needs to improve in order to survive going forward.

Group A

Lithuania: Protect the ball. Lithuania's turnover rate is decent, but without having played a ball-hawking defense yet, the question remains an open one. If it can keep turnovers low despite higher pressure, Lithuania will be in every game it plays due to its veteran guard corps of Sarunas Jasikevicius, Rimantas Kaukenas and Ramunas Siskauskas and the young bucks in the paint. If big man Ksistof Lavrinovic can hit more long shots from the corners, Lithuania will give opponents even more trouble.

Argentina: Stay aggressive without fouling. No team depends on so few players as Argentina. Its first six players have scored all but 32 points in the four games so far. They also average more than 24 minutes each. Only China, with five players playing so much, comes close. The ability to rest without a meaningful game until Wednesday was made to order for Argentina. Now, with all-around solid offense, Argentina's challenge is defensive, specifically be aggressive without getting into foul trouble that would put responsibility on an untested bench.

Australia: Rebound on defense. With fewer defensive rebounds than any team except Angola, the Aussies are often working double time on defense. A good defense should be rewarded with a rebound and possession, not wasted by letting the other team get the ball back. Australian has big men with size enough to get their share of boards, and with help on long rebounds from their guards, improvement in this category will be essential to their hopes.

Croatia: Consider shot selection. Croatia has the tournament's highest three-point percentage but the fewest shots, by far, attempted from downtown. Meanwhile, only Spain attempts more two-pointers with a lower percentage. With the second-most offensive rebounds of any team, maybe Croatia needs to think about shooting more threes and...

A super Saturday highlights group stage

Thu, 14 Aug 2008 13:23:14 GMT

More than halfway through the group stage of the Olympic men's basketball tournament, it's possible to make some sense of where this competition might be headed. That is not to say, however, that no room is left for surprises. More than a couple teams have yet to play their best basketball, and if they do, upsets are still possible. There is also the possibility of jockeying for position, resting key players and other tactical considerations unique to the Olympics. Only three teams - Lithuania, Spain and the United States - go undefeated into the fourth games on Saturday and only two - Iran and Angola - have yet to win. In between them, seven others - Argentina, Croatia, Russia, Australia, Greece, China and Germany - have either one or two victories. They are all playing for mathematical survival still. For them, there is no thinking beyond Saturday. Two of those seven will not reach the quarterfinals, and even for those with the most advantageous schedules left, a single slip now could end their Olympics prematurely.

Lithuania has, perhaps unexpectedly, seized the top spot in Group A by going undefeated at 3-0. Its success so far might be read from the fact that the Lithuanians have the second-highest scoring average among all 12 teams, but no individual scorer among the best 14. They do, however, have two of the top seven rebounders, with Robertas Javtokas of Dynamo Moscow grabbing more boards per minute than any player in the tournament. Those rebounds are a great sign because once it can establish defense, on the day that its shots are falling, Lithuania can stay with any team in the tournament. Argentina and Croatia come next in the group standings, at 2-1, with the defending Olympic gold-medal team from South America holding the edge now due to its solid victory between them. Croatia could conceivably advance without another victory, but needs to recoup its confidence quickly. The next key game in the group is Russia vs. Australia on Saturday. As both have 1-2 records, and have only beaten winless Iran so far, the game could decide which of them reaches the quarterfinals. That game's winner would immediately become dangerous for having survived without playing its best basketball yet.

In Group B, all eyes on Saturday will be on the deciding game for first place between two undefeated teams, Spain and the United States. Spain needed overtime against China to preserve its perfect record, while the U.S. has won all its games easily. Team USA avenged its semifinals loss in the last World Championships when it trounced Greece on Thursday. A game-changing first-half run against such a strong opponent proved that the U.S. is keeping its focus. A victory over Spain would make the high-flying Americans a clear gold-medal favorite. Spain's chances will depend on protecting the ball from a U.S. defense that averages almost double the amount of steals. Spain would do well to take some risks in this game to see what might work in an eventual medal-round meeting with the Americans. Meanwhile, China and Germany will meet in a game with plenty implications for their survival, as both have 1-2 records, tied with Greece. Both China and Germany would consider a first-time ever trip to the quarterfinals a success, so expect that game to be the pivotal one left in this group.

Defense, classic or vanguard

Tue, 12 Aug 2008 11:07:23 GMT

A pair of lessons in basketball's supposedly less spectacular side - defense - highlighted Day 2 of the Olympic men's basketball tournament in Beijing.

First, we saw the Greek national team, second at the last World Championships, dominate Germany with a defensive clinic. The first victory of the tournament for the Greeks was another in their series of classic examples of why basketball, in its soul, is a team sport. When faced with trying to stop Germany's superstars Dirk Nowitzski and Chris Kaman, the Greeks collectively did everything a defense can do to neutralize players who are usually considered unstoppable.

Greece's defense started in transition, with ball-hawking in the backcourt and early body-to-body contact with the German stars. Then, they overplayed all passing lanes to discourage Germany's guards from even looking for Nowitzki and Kaman. If, however, the ball got through a forest of arms to reach the stars, two or three Greek players surrounded them immediately, forcing a tough shot, a reluctant pass or a turnover. Finally, the Greeks made sure to complete the effort by rebounding Germany's many misses. The results showed that Nowitzki and Kaman scored only 7 points between them after the first quarter and attempted just 11 of Germany's 53 shots in the game. Neither played the fourth quarter, because the game was over before then. Greece shut down the basket area so completely that Germany made only 7 two-point shots in the entire 40 minutes.

It is no surprise that a team with Dimitris Diamantidis, the four-time Euroleague Best Defender Trophy winner, can shut down opponents. But he had plenty of help in the paint this time, particularly from his Panathinaikos teammate Kostas Tsartsaris, Giannis Bourossis of Olympiacos and and Andrea Gliniadakis of Maroussi.

In the next game of the day, defense took on the rare, almost unprecedented, patina of an individual show in the person of 17-year-old Ricky Rubio, the DKV Joventut point guard whose incredibly fast hands and feet had most to do with Spain rallying from 14 points behind to defeat China in overtime.

In the fourth quarter of that game, a world audience got to see what we in Europe have enjoyed since Rubio broke into the professional ranks at age 14. As an open-court defender on the ball, Rubio is redefining his position, inventing new ways to get a hand on the ball, make veteran floor generals think twice and disrupt entire offenses. The entire court is his operating room, and whether he is defending on the ball or off it, Rubio is a constant concern to opponents - and constant fun to watch.

In Beijing on Tuesday, it is fair to say that Rubio broke the hearts of hundreds of millions of Chinese who were watching the game. It was that clear to everyone that without him harassing China's offense to a standstill, Spain would have lost. Most amazing is that he completely changed the outcome of the game without making a single basket.

With incredible balance, lateral speed and longer arms than most guards, Rubio has advantages that explain some of his revolutionary style of play. But perhaps his best attributes are positioning, ceaseless foot movement and an ability to read the offense's next move. He brought back memories of Michael Jordan early in that fourth quarter, when he followed the player he was matched with on a baseline cut toward...

Two proud teams send early warnings

Sun, 10 Aug 2008 13:57:54 GMT

The big news after opening day of the 2008 Olympics men's basketball tournament is that two teams whom perhaps the experts were thinking less about - Lithuania and Croatia - raised their profiles as medal candidates. Saying that after just one game might seem like jumping on a bandwagon too soon...until you consider the record of these countries in Olympic play. Since each gained independence in the early 1990s, the Lithuanian and Croatian national teams count a total of six Olympics participations between them - and four medals. One of the two non-medal appearances was a fourth-place finish. In other words, these are not talking teams that take the Olympics lightly. Their record at this event argues for one of them sneaking into the semifinals, where anything could happen.

Lithuania is the lesser surprise, of course. After its three consecutive bronze medals between 1992 and 2000, followed by that fourth-place finish in 2004, it belongs on any list of contenders. If that was not the case for many experts this summer, it's because the number of medals given is still three, even though the number of countries considered to be contenders has increaded over the years. Argentina, for instance, became Olympic champion in 2004 despite barely playing in the event before, while current world champion Spain hasn't finished an Olympics higher than seventh place in the last 20 years.

Lithuania sounded a huge reminder on Sunday, however, by defeating Argentina as veteran leader Sarunas Jasikevicius fed young buck Linas Kleiza for a tie-breaking three-pointer with 2.9 seconds left. Lithuania had dominated the game, leading by 11 with under 4 minutes left, until a late Argentina rally ended with Jasikevicius dishing his eighth assist, more than any other player in the tournament on Sunday. Some of Lithuania's chances rest on the two-time Euroleague champion's incredible leadership qualities, but when Jasikevicius wasn't on the court, Lithuania used natural wing players Ramunas Siskauskas and Rimantas Kaukenas to direct the offense. If that veteran trio keeps the ball safe and Lithuania's defense and rebounding hold up, this team can shoot its way as far as any other.

"Argentina is the Olympic champion, so (this victory) speaks for itself," Jasikevicius said after the game. "For us to start the Olympics in this way, it's incredible. Let's keep it going. If we are smart enough, if we are good enough, this win hopefully will give us a better chance in the quarterfinal."

Croatia celebrated its return to the Olympics after almost a decade away in equally spectacular fashion. The Croats dispatched dangerous Australia with a shooting performance that the winners would no doubt like to bottle and keep for later in the tournament. Seven different Croatia players buried three-pointers while captain Niksa Prkacin and young Marko Banic went 12 for 13 in the paint. At times it looked like the Croations couldn't miss, and you had to wonder while watching them if any opponent in Beijin could have survived such shooting accuracy. They deserve all kinds of credit for recognizing the Australia game as their pivotal one in the a group where Russia, Lithuania and Argentina are considered surer quarterfinal qualifiers.

"We won the pressure game. I think we have one foot in the quarterfinals now." said CSKA Moscow guard Zoran Planinic afterwards. "From now...

Best tournament ever? We shall see!

Fri, 08 Aug 2008 19:05:28 GMT

Hello from Beijing! After a few days here in China and the amazing spectacle of the opening ceremony, there is a buzz around the start of the men's basketball competition on Sunday that is impossible to miss - even in a city of 17 million and hundreds of thousands of guests.

Everyone is talking about men's basketball as not only the main event of these Olympics, but also as possibly the best tournament ever to be played. We shall see, of course, but so far, I can only agree up to a point. This is my sixth time covering the Summer Games and I have also been to seven World Champioships, 13 European Championships, every Euroleague Final Four since 1988 - two decades straight! - not to mention more than a few NBA all-star games and playoffs. Before calling these Olympics the best - don't get me wrong, they can be! - consider for a minute why people are saying so.

The main reason is that the last Olympic tournament, in my home of Athens, proved that all the ongoing improvement in world basketball was finally and undeniably true. In that summer of 2004, Argentina proved itself the world's best, something that no expert in the sport would have guessed at the start of the decade, when the dominance of the United States, until then undefeated in international play when it used NBA players, was a given. Indeed, perhaps no sport was seen then as so much of a "lock" for one country than men's basketball was for the USA. Not anymore!

Besides that Olympic victory by Argentina, the last two World Championships were won by Serbia and Spain (although neither was able to take either of the last two European Championships, which went to Greece and Russia). The bottom line is that expectations are so high for Beijing 2008 precisely because of all the great basketball being played in so many places around the world this decade.

Even though the USA's gold-medal losing streak started with a sixth-place finish in the 2002 World Championships that it hosted in Indianapolis, and also included a bronze finish in the last worlds, in Japan, I believe that the most compelling tournament ever until now was the 2004 Olympics in Athens. The very first day of that tournament saw Manu Ginobili of Argentina make a miracle shot to beat defending world champ Serbia (which would fall to 10th place in Athens!) and Puerto Rico end the undefeated Olympic streak of U.S. teams with NBA players. It just got wilder from there, with Argentina rising above host Greece in the quarterfinals, the U.S. in the semis and Italy in the title game to win that country's first Olympic gold medal in a team sport since 1952.

It's true that some people predicted as many fireworks before the 2004 Summer Games as they are predicting now, but actually seeing world basketball explode in Athens was enough for me to call that the best tournament yet. Can this one in Beijing be better? Absolutely. With a re-tooled U.S. team facing dozens of Euroleague stars on several teams from Europe and beyond, the stage is set for more pyrotechnics. The fuse was lit over the years with great work by coaches and players around the world. Now, may the best team win!