One More To Go

The U.S. defeated Argentina 101-81 to avenge their 2004 Olympic semifinal loss. The U.S. dominated Argentina in the first quarter and took a 21 point lead early in the second. Manu Ginobili went down with an injury and would not return. The game seemed over.

But Argentina never gave up. A one-legged Andres Nocioni came in and gave his team a lift. The Argentine coach shrewdly switched to zone and inserted his little-used bench. The U.S. relaxed and relied far too heavily on the three-point shot, lulled by early success. Dwyane Wade sat on the bench in foul trouble. Twenty out of their 33 first half field goals began behind the arc. Argentina brought the lead down to 6 in the second quarter.

In the second half, the U.S. kept the lead in double digits. The two teams played fairly evenly. The U.S. still shot too many three-pointers. They were terrible from the free throw line. The trapezoid lane confuses the eye from the charity stripe, but the poor shooting is still inexcusable.

On the positive side, the U.S. played the type of game that produced losses in past years and still won by 20. However, it should be noted that they faced a banged up Argentina team with a weak point guard and fell into bad habits. Next, America will battle Spain for the gold medal. This is potentially a trap game. Spain has never beaten the U.S., which includes an awful loss in pool play in these Olympics. The U.S. better be ready; this is for the gold medal. They will be.