Luka’s Corner

The United States encountered their first test today against the Greek team…and they aced it. USA beat Greece 92-69 behind outstanding performances by Dwyane Wade, Kobe Bryant, and Chris Bosh. After a sluggish start in the first quarter, when it seemed like the game would be close the whole way, the US team took complete control in the second. Outscoring the Greeks 31-16 in the period, the Americans also locked down defensively, securing not only the win, but the blowout. Here are three observations from the game:

The MVP is Valuable Again

Following two awful games against China and Angola, where he shot 1-15 from behind the arc, Kobe Bryant came out strong in this one, finishing with 18 points and 4 rebounds. He also came out of his shooting slump, shooting 2-5 from the three-point line and 50% overall. This was a true turnaround game for Bryant and he deserves as much credit for the win as anyone on the team. He fueled the defensive pressure in the second quarter (the Greeks turned it over 25 times in the game) and contributed offensively with threes and assists to cutting teammates. Bryant looked aggressive right from the start, hitting a 10-footer for the first points of the game. In addition, he racked up two gorgeous passes in the second and third periods, one to LeBron James and one to Wade.

Defense is the Key

The reason why Team USA won was their pressure defense in the second quarter, which resulted in numerous breakaway dunks. The US team racked up 15 steals in the contest (6 by Wade) and the press they played in the second forced Greece’s guards (Dimitris Diamantidis and Vassilis Spanoulis) into uncharacteristic turnovers. The entire Greece offense is based around its guards penetrating and either kicking it out for a three by Theodoros Papaloukas or handing it off to an open big guy in the paint. Quite impressively, Chris Paul and the rest of Team USA’s guards completely shut down that game plan. Judging by their performance today, if they can play with that same intensity the rest of the way, the US will not beat their competition. They will demolish them.

The Center Problem is Solved

There were many skeptics, myself included, who thought that Jerry Colangelo should have brought one more big man, like Tyson Chandler. I thought that a front line of Dwight Howard and Chris Bosh, along with Carlos Boozer, would not get the job done in a more physical international game. I was wrong. In today’s game, the US solved its center problem and the solution is to play Chris Bosh and play him more than Dwight Howard.

Bosh is not only more mobile and a better shooter than Howard, but he is also a better defender and a better finisher down low. When Howard is given the ball on the low block, the only thing he can do with it (if he is open) is go up and dunk it. Bosh has moves. He can shoot the midrange jumper or drive with either hand. He finished with 18 points, 5 rebounds, 2 blocks, and 2 steals against Greece, outdoing his center counterpart. He even played excellent perimeter defense. Howard, who boasts the bigger arms and stronger body, got into early foul trouble and only finished with 2 points. He did have 6 rebounds, but he also had 2 turnovers on the block.

My point is that strength is not everything and it appears that Coach K, after 8 games this year, has finally figured that out. Fortunately for the United States, that means Chris Bosh will have more playing time in the future.

The topic for today’s rant is, once again, Kobe Bryant and his role on the US team. In the past two games against China and Angola, Bryant shot 1-15 from the three-point line. My question is not why he only made one three in so many attempts, but why he even attempted so many threes in the first place. It does not matter if Kobe can make threes or if he has made them before. All that matters at this point is if he can make them now.

It is a well-known fact that Kobe Bryant is one of the most athletically gifted players in the world and has a unique ability to get to the rim at will. However, Kobe has not shown that in these past two games (and in the last exhibition game as well). His role was supposed to be a US guard who could set up his teammates, attack the rim, shoot the occasional three, and play solid defense. So far, he has tried to assert himself as a pure shooter and lock-down defender. This is troubling because "the best player in the world" was supposed to carry the team and all he’s doing now is weighing it down.

If KB24 wants to be a premier shooter and defender, then why didn’t Jerry Colangelo take Shane Battier instead? Battier is a better spot-up shooter (which is what the international game is about) and lock-down defender. Judging by Bryant’s recent play and choice of a role, it is not even so far-fetched to picture Battier representing his country instead of his egoistic and me-first Laker counterpart.

The last point that I want to make is that Kobe’s self-proclaimed role of defensive specialist is completely pointless in terms of winning the gold medal. The USA, with all of its quick and relentless defenders, does not need one who stands above the rest. The most important thing for the team is that they play relentless team defense. In my view, which may offend some of you Kobe-lovers (yes you, Stephen A. Smith…), Kobe’s new defensive obsession is another pathetic attempt to imitate Michael Jordan.

Jordan, known for his willingness to play defense, is completely different from Kobe in that he could adjust to infinite roles for America. He was the play-maker, scorer, and finisher on the break, as well as defensive specialist for the "Dream Team". So far, Kobe has only been successful in assuming roles that he is not comfortable with.

In their second game of the Olympic tournament, the US team cruised past an obviously weaker Angola side. The final score was 97-76 and the game was never in doubt. The Americans got off to a much better start in the first quarter (29-18) than against China and continued the onslaught in the second and third periods, outscoring the Angolans in both. In the fourth, after the game was already decided, Angola went on a run to cut into the 30-point deficit, but that should not worry the United States.

It is safe to say that Angola is perhaps the worst team in this tournament and the United States simply took care of business. To put things in perspective, Craig Sager of NBC reported that Angola’s coach told his team not to lose by more than 40. Here are three things that I noticed in today’s game:

Flash

Dwyane Wade is on a tear offensively and he is even coming around defensively, contesting threes and picking up steals in the backcourt. Against China, he was 5-5 from the field and 7-7 from the line. Against Angola, he was 6-8 from the field (2-3 from three-point range) and 5-7 from the line. In the exhibition games in Macao and Shanghai to the Olympics in Beijing, “Flash” has been the most consistent player on the team. Some have questioned his defense in the past and, while he is still late on some rotations, he pressures opposing guards in the backcourt and even grabs rebounds when he needs to (5 rebounds vs. Angola).

Staying with Wade, the US team seems to play best when he is on the floor. The most successful rotation so far has been Deron Williams and Chris Paul at the guard positions, Wade at small forward, LeBron James at power forward, and Chris Bosh at center. This lineup is the most mobile on offense and it creates the most deflections in the backcourt on defense. Look for Coach Krzyzewski to utilize this lineup more often, now that it has proven in the past few games that it is a cohesive unit.

Inconsistent Defense

The United States is well-known for pressuring guards in the backcourt and creating deflections and steals. They are also known to rotate well and defend the paint. This was not the case against Angola, at least not for a full 40 minutes. At times, the United States gambled when it should not have and left Angola’s shooters wide open for uncontested threes. Kobe Bryant was caught committing unnecessary backcourt fouls and even fouled a three-point shooter while in rotation.

The defensive lapses did not only apply to Kobe, as Wade and Paul were often caught doubling down on Angola’s bigs (if you can even call them big) and leaving three-point shooters wide open. Think about this: Angola has nobody on their roster who is over 6-8 and does not have any notable big men. So, why do the United States need to double down on them and leave their shooters open? That is a valid question that needs to be answered by Coach K and his team. These lapses did not show in the stat sheet against Angola, but it will show if we do it against Spain, who has Pau Gasol on the block and several shooters on the perimeter. They will eat the US alive with their inside-outside game if we are confused on our rotations.

Can USA Shoot?

In their second game, the US team struggled once again with its shot, shooting only 23% (5-21) from downtown. KB24 was an awful 0-8 from behind the line and Michael Redd, the team’s designated shooter, was 0-2. Especially from guys who shoot so many threes, they have to start knocking down open shots if the US is to be successful. Only Dwyane Wade made more than one three-pointer (2-3) in the whole game and it seems like the United States just cannot find any rhythm shooting the ball. Tayshaun Prince told the whole story when he entered the game in the first quarter and made a three from the corner, but then followed it up with a miss from the other corner. What happened to being hot? The US just has not found that heat these past two games.