Greece Down, Spain to Go

The US beat Greece today by 23 and that is great. Don't get me wrong, I am rooting for the US, I like this collection of guys, and I am so glad I don't have to spend the Olympics trying to figure what Larry Brown has against LeBron James - can the best player in the league get some minutes over Steph Marbury? - I digress. I like the message Coach K has instilled, and I like the way they are playing, representing, etc, and I know this was a statement game BUT...they did beat GREECE. And I know, I did say Greece would be a tough game, because Greece did beat them two years ago. But there is no way Greece SHOULD have beat the US two years ago. There is no reason the US should have been staring the Greeks down before the game so much so that every article online opens with that comment. It is good we beat Greece. It is progress, and I am happy we are in the medal round. But we need to be careful. Greece did turn the ball over 25 times. We have won each game with Pressure and Defense. If you talk to any good High School Basketball Coach, they will tell you that if you play a good team, that can handle your pressure, you better have a good half court game to go along with it. The US may have a good half court game, but they didn't use it today - albeit because they were flying to the hoop for dunk after dunk. However, I do hope the US does not get too over joyed with the 'Statement Game' and the 'Redemption' vs Greece, because up next is Spain. And this Spain team, despite what their team photo would infer, is smart with the basketball. Jose Calderon is not going to turn the ball over 25 times, and if you don't believe me on that, just ask the Raptors - he's why they traded TJ Ford.