Less Than 40

Angola is a beautiful country with ancient cultures and a proud people. Unfortunately, basketball doesn't figure into any of that.

They are apparently the class of African basketball as they always seem to qualify for the Olympics, but they're not quite at a world class level yet. The Angolan coach's goal for their game against the U.S. was to lose by less than 40, an interesting motivational aspiration.

The U.S. won 97-76, which fell well within Angola's goal. It might sound ridiculous to find much fault with a 21-point victory, but America's win was shrouded in flaws. The U.S. got the W because of superior talent and size, but not much else went right. Angola's effort put the U.S. to shame. America struggled from the free throw line and the three-point stripe. Jason Kidd didn't play well for the second straight contest. Carmelo Anthony wasn't much more than a waste of space out on the floor. Kobe Bryant continued to struggle shooting from beyond 20 feet 6 inches away from the basket.

Games are going to be close early on and this one followed suit. But this game was different because the U.S. played so sloppily, particularly early. America was able to force a ton of Angolan turnovers, which compensated for their other mistakes. While the game was not well played, it mercifully ended quickly, lasting under an hour and forty minutes.

Two side notes: 1) LeBron James had one block that looked more like a volleyball spike. 2) Angola's Eduardo Mingas was impressive. The 6'5" center had plenty of heart and a few tricks up his sleeve in the post after apparently nailing four threes against Germany in the previous game. The Knicks could use someone like that; a player who tries hard.