Monday, August 25

USA Men's Basketball Reclaims Gold - Barely

Before Sunday's gold medal game between the U.S. and Spain, Dwayne Wade said that, as a fan, he wanted to see a close game, but as a player he just wanted to win. I think Wade better be more careful about what he says next time around if he represents the U.S. in 2012.

But I'll give Wade a pass this time because I doubt the American squad would have maintained its mostly single-digit lead without his opportunistic defense and timely offensive sparks.

However, I can't be so forgiving with Kobe Bryant. The Black Mamba has long been my favorite player and his performance proved once again why he's possibly the most clutch player of his generation. But did you notice how close Kobe came to squandering his team's slender lead in the fourth quarter?

At the start of that fourth quarter the U.S. led by a measly nine points. And somehow Kobe felt that the best strategy to build on that lead was for him to bomb away from three-point range. Granted, ball movement was horrible at that point with LeBron in foul trouble and Spain drifting into a zone defense. But there was Kobe, taking those tough jumpers that us Lakers fans are all too familiar with.

I know, I know, there's always the argument that somebody has to take those shots and Kobe was the only player with the requisite frosty blood. I'll buy that reasoning in the regular season, but not on this squad of All-World talent.

As the minutes ticked away, Kobe made the situation worse by gambling for steals on defense and clearing his man a straight path to the rim. Doug Collins called him out on one play that resulted in a dunk over Dwight Howard but I noticed many, many instances of halfhearted D where Kobe failed to even lift his hand in a shooter's face. Where was that "lockdown defender" mentality that Kobe had promised to his U.S. teammates?

Of course, the U.S. did maintain its lead and Kobe scored or assisted on several late possessions to ensure the victory. But what if Kobe had stayed within the gameplan? If he had looked to penetrate and kick out on offense and stayed in front of his man on defense, then the U.S. might not have needed to hold its collective breath over the final few minutes.

And speaking as a fan, I would have been perfectly happy with that outcome.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hey I'd love to thank you for such a great made forum!
I was sure this would be a perfect way to make my first post!

Sincerely,
Monte Phil
if you're ever bored check out my site!
[url=http://www.partyopedia.com/articles/pokemon-party-supplies.html]pokemon Party Supplies[/url].

Anonymous said...

Nice post and this fill someone in on helped me alot in my college assignement. Gratefulness you as your information.

Anonymous said...

Good evening www.blogger.com people.

Would you like the chance to play the European and UK Lottery? You can enter with this super simple, unique and fantastic mathematically proven [b][url=http://www.elottery-syndicate.net/]eLottery Syndicate[/url][/b] system that increases the chances of winning considerably, plus it does not matter where you are in the world since everybody can participate.

Be confident, the [url=http://www.elottery-syndicate.net/]eLottery Syndicate[/url] takes user privacy as top priority. Its the widest Euro lottery syndicate in the World and one which is also a member of The Lotteries Council of Great Britain.

[url=http://www.elottery-syndicate.net/][img]http://www.elottery-syndicate.net/images/euromillions_lotto.jpg[/img][/url]

Melody said...

I hope that everyone has a great 2011!

Anonymous said...

Аренда автомашины – услуга, которая очень популярна за границей, в нашей стране только набирает обороты. И все же, многие клиенты »Анди Моторс» смогли уже оценить достоинства такой услуги, как аренда автомобиля. Автомашина напрокат может потребоваться в форс-мажорной ситуации – как замена сломанному автомобилю, как средство для передвижения на ответсвенных мероприятиях, или как альтернатива метрополитену или забитому автобусу гостей города.
Компания «Анди Моторс» готова предложить в арендуавтомашины частным лицам, организациям и иностранным гражданам. Машины компании «Анди Моторс» находятся в отменном техническом и эстетическом состоянии. Все они полностью укомплектованы всем необходимым, так что клиент, который воспользовался услугами »Анди Моторс» и взял в аренду наше авто может быть полностью уверен в том, что дорога станет комфортной и быстрой. В случае поломки мы бесплатно заменим автомашину на исправное автомобильное средство, причем сделаем это очень быстро. »Анди Моторс» - это высочайшее качество услуг, профессионализм и ответственный подход к решению любых
вопросов.

[url=http://www.andimotors.ru/]прокат автомобилей[/url]
[url=http://www.andimotors.ru/]автопрокат автомобилей[/url]