Luka’s Corner

The US team opens up the Olympics against China on Sunday. Then, they play Angola, Greece, Spain, and Germany, in that order.

For the United States, it would be best if they won all of these games. They need to send a message and that message will be sent if they go undefeated in the first round. They should blow out China (in perhaps the biggest sporting event in history), Angola, and Germany. Against Greece and Spain, they should win comfortably. However, I think that it would be best for the team if they won close games against Greece and Spain. That will get the players focused when they meet either Greece, Spain, or Argentina in the elimination round. Nothing would be worse than if the US beats Spain by 30 points in the first round and then loses to them in the final because they came out complacent.

It is important to note that the United States should not celebrate too much if they beat Greece and Spain in the first round because those two teams look beyond the group stage. They will not focus as much on the early games and that should be the US team’s approach.