Green and golden? Australia men’s hoop team eyeing Rio gold

The only Olympic teams USA Basketball and NBA Entertainment could find to come and play in the United States on their way to Brazil were Argentina, China, Venezuela and Nigeria, only one of which advanced to the quarterfinals – today’s us opponent, Argentina, which lost by 37 to the Americans in Las Vegas.

Though I believe the USA will lose in the not-too-distant future to another world basketball power, I don’t think that it will necessarily be a damnation on basketball in our country, as long as USA Basketball is at least continuing to develop a strong core of very good players who want to commit over multiple summers.

Klay Thompson did most of his damage prior to the final period.

While the makeup of this American team isn’t necessarily “dreamy” (no LeBron James, Steph Curry, Russell Westbrook, Anthony Davis, etc., and only four National Basketball Association rings among this bunch), it is still made up of nothing but National Basketball Association talent and reached the knockout round undefeated. To be fair, the team’s hands were tied a bit, as some players wouldn’t agree to participate. He entered with 11 points on 4-for-26 shooting in the first four games. From USA’s 119-62 drubbing of China, Warriors’ fans got excited with Durant’s leading the team with 25 points.

The opening victories over China and Venezuela, neither anything approaching close, only served to strengthen the perception built during the exhibition tour that this team was just as talented and powerful as its two predecessors under Duke Coach Mike Krzyzewski, despite some of the big names missing from the roster. Used to set up the bracket for the single elimination knockout stage that determines the three champions, USA’s position at the top of its group is nearly always assured.

“You have to put that aside right now”, US forward and former Tar Heels star Harrison Barnes said, “although UNC did have a better season this year”.

(USA) DeMarcus Cousins of the Sacramento Kings powers past (France) Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert. “That was a great pass, a highlight for us”. The USA has allowed 92 points over the last three games (equivalent to yielding 110 points over a 48-minute National Basketball Association game). Even putting aside injuries that happen during extracurricular play, it’s not unreasonable to expect that exhausted stars would be predisposed toward injury and underperformance upon rejoining their teams for the ensuing season.

The US will not know their quarter-final opponent until after the final Group B matches are completed on Monday (today, Singapore time) but are well aware that they need to raise their game considerably.

Klay Thompson scores 15 of his 30 points in the third quarter. With Nicolas Batum and Boris Diaw, France can also play physically.

With under three minutes remaining, Team USA led by seven. Team USA went 5-0 in this stage, but there is absolutely room for improvement. Only one team is supposed team.

For instance, Carmelo Anthony’s leadership has given the Olympic team direction throughout the tournament. “It’s kind of a shock to people seeing how close the games are”. The Americans answer with a 12-2 run in the next two minutes to stretch the lead back to double-digits 93-83.

Thompson went off in the third quarter, as he hit his seventh three-pointer on a ridiculously hard shot.

“I still think they are the favorites for sure, but after what happened in the last two or three games, yes, there are some doubts”, Ginobili said.

The Aussies will thus avoid the United States of America until the final, if they get that far.

“But obviously we are going to have to play better defensively”, he said.

“To start out (heading into the Olympics), I thought personally that we were going to dominate; these games were going to come easy”, the Indiana Pacers star said with a laugh after the Americans downed France 100-97 on Sunday. And never has it seen such a unsafe field between it and a gold medal. Thee of five Australian starters scored in double figures. The game will be broadcast at 5:45 ET/2:45 PT on NBC Sports Network (as will all quarterfinal and semifinal games). This includes 17 missed shots out of 22 three-point attempts.

Australia just might win it all.