Gold in Sight?

If there were any questions about USA basketball not being prepared, I think they answered them on Friday when they demolished Canada 120-65 without LeBron James, who sat out due to a sprained ankle. Now, the USA National Team is in China finishing their preparation for the 2008 Olympics, where they hope to rebound from a Bronze Medal performance in Athens four years ago.

When the USA took the court against Canada on Friday, everyone at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas expected to see a win. But few could have predicted the beat down the USA handed to the Canadian National team. After winning by 55 without your superstar, LeBron James, Team USA should be feeling very confident headed into the preliminary games starting on Thursday against Turkey. In Friday’s game, the scoring was very balanced, as Wade, Anthony, and Redd scored 20 each, with Kobe adding 15 points on top of that. Those four players alone outscored the Canadians by 10. Not only is this team dominate offensively, but defensively as well, allowing just 27 second half points, while pouring in 59 of their own. That is unbelievable. Whether or not this team would be able to defend was a major question headed into the summer, because in the past they have not been a great defensive team. But Coach K has gotten them to nail down on defense, which in turn opens up many more possessions and fast break opportunities for Team USA to capitalize on. If this team can defend as well as they did on Friday, they should be bringing the Gold Medal back to the States.

This Team USA is stronger, smarter, and quicker than they have been in years. The main reason for this is because they have a triple-headed point guard threat in Jason Kidd, Chris Paul, and Deron Williams. With these three players, this team can play at any tempo. When Jason Kidd is in the game, this team will be able to both set up the half court offense and execute it to perfection, while also being able to get out on the fast break. And then Chris Paul will enter the game, and this team will get out and blow by any opponent. Chris Paul is the uptempo point guard who will come in and spark Team USA’s offense. And finally, Deron Williams can come in and run the half court offense while getting teammates open with ease. With these three point guards, Team USA will be tough to stop. To all the other countries of the world, watch out for Team USA in Beijing, because they are gunning for the Gold.