Americans Get Revenge on Greece, Now Eye Spain

We don’t use the word “Dream Team” anymore, but yesterday the U.S. men’s basketball team was positively dreamy.The 92-69 blowout against Greece showed what this team is capable of against an opponent they deem worthy of their full attention, as the U.S. dominated the paint, ran the break with precision and hit just enough three-pointers to loosen up Greece’s zone for shots in the paint.Greece, of course, has been on this team’s radar for the past two years, ever since a 101-97 upset in the semifinals of the World Championship in 2006 — one that has this year’s squad calling itself the “Redeem Team.” And this might not be the last the U.S. sees of this squad, as they could easily meet again in the semifinals.But after a few fairly lackluster efforts, this looked like the U.S. team everyone expected: The one that ran Lithuania — who is unbeaten in the Olympics — out of the gym in a pre-Olympic tune-up, and the one that is an overwhelming favorite to regain the gold medal.It didn’t seem that way at first, as Greece led for much of the first quarter and Jason Kidd picked up three fouls faster than you can say, “Why is he still starting?” But once again, the tenor of the game completely changed once Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh checked in.Wade turned the tide at the start of the second quarter with the play of the tournament, when he stole a careless crosscourt pass in the backcourt and then, while falling out of bounds, blindly threw a perfect alley-oop pass to Kobe Bryant for a dunk.Later in the quarter, Bosh made a pair of spectacular defensive plays. First he surprised a Greek guard with a hard trap on the sideline that created a turnover and a LeBron James dunk, and he then blocked a 3-pointer by former Rockets guard Vasilis Spanoulis on a switch just before halftime. By then it was 51-32 USA, and the game was essentially over.The American defense was particularly impressive. The Greek pick-and-roll play that carved up the U.S. two years ago was completely ineffective, as Bosh especially was able to deftly switch on the screen and swallow up the dribbler while a help defender guarded the roll. All told, Greece committed a whopping 25 turnovers against the U.S. pressure, and this time it was the Greeks (4-for-18) who couldn’t make a 3-pointer.Perhaps the best defensive stretch came early in the second half, when a sequence of three consecutive Greek layup tries were rejected by James, Bosh, and then James again; that seemed to break the Greeks’ will to go the cup the rest of the night.However, the tests won’t get any easier: Up next for America is Spain on Saturday. The Spaniards are the other undefeated team in Pool B and the Americans’ likely opponent in the gold medal game later on. They’ve had an uneven tournament thus far, but with four NBA players and a total of seven with NBA experience, they’re the second-most talented team in the field.The contest also matches several NBA teammates. Kobe Bryant and Spanish star Pau Gasol are the two main cogs for the L.A. Lakers, while Bosh and Spanish point guard Jose Calderon are teammates in Toronto and forward Jorge Garbajosa was a Raptor until this summer. (Bosh and Calderon might also be Canada’s only remaining medal hope at these games — our neighbors to the north have been shut out thus far).As for as matchups go, the biggest difference between Spain and Greece is that Spain’s big men aren’t useless. Gasol and his younger brother Marc, who will play for the Memphis Grizzlies this winter, form a strong pair of post threats that will challenge Bosh and Dwight Howard for supremacy in the paint.Unexpectedly, the U.S. should have a strong home-court advantage in Beijing on Saturday too. The Chinese crowds have fawned over the American superstars, particularly Kobe Bryant, oohing and ahhing at every dunk thus far.Spain can hang with the U.S. at point guard and center, but where the U.S. has a huge advantage is at the two forward spots. Spain’s Alex Mumbru, Felipe Reyes, and Carlos Jimenez will be overmatched in both size and speed against James, Wade, and Carmelo Anthony, which should create openings for the others. The Spanish also aren’t as overtly physical as the Greeks, which should help the finesse-heavy American side.However, Spain will be able to handle the Americans’ ball pressure much better than other opponents have. It’s important for the U.S. not to gamble too much — that means you, Dwyane — because Calderon and ace three-point shooter Juan Carlos Navarro will burn them.But if the American D stays solid, they should take care of business — I’ll say with a 13-point win — and clinch the top seed in Pool B heading into the medal round.On the other side, Lithuania is in position to win Pool A after defeating Russia yesterday — a win over Croatia on Saturday will clinch it. Meanwhile Australia and Russia will meet in what amounts to an elimination match — the loser likely won’t qualify for the medal round, which would be a huge disappointment for either side.As things stand now, the medal-round pairings looks they’ll be U.S.-Russia, Greece-Argentina, Lithuania-China, and Spain-Croatia. But surprises happen in international tournaments — as the U.S. has learned — and with two games left in pool play, upsets could shake up the final standings quite a bit.That’s why the U.S. needs to stay focused. It’s only been three games, and this Dream can still turn into a nightmare.jhollinger@nysun.com

Americans Get Revenge on Greece, Now Eye Spain

Americans Get Revenge on Greece, Now Eye Spain

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