Starting Lineups:
USA:
G - Chauncey Billups
G - Derrick Rose
F - Andre Iguodala
F - Kevin Durant
C - Lamar Odom
Croatia:
G - Roko-Leni Ukic
G - Marko Tomas
F - Bojan Bogdanovic
F - Luka Zoric
C - Ante Tomic
On paper this looks like a severe mismatch. Croatia ranks tied for 15th internationally and I don't recognize a majority of the names in its starting lineup (Tomas and Tomic being the exceptions). That being said, anything can happen on a given day, and that's why you play the game!
First Quarter:
2-0 - USA opens the defensive side of the ball in a man-to-man and forces an off-balance three. USA immediately runs on the fast break and Billups blows by everyone to force a foul on a layup attempt.
7-2 - USA's length is already creating problems for the Croatians. They have had multiple second-chance opportunities.
9-7 - Croatia pulls within two points with a long range three. The Croatians show early that the trey is a huge part of their game.
15-11 - Odom continues his strong start with 4 points and 4 boards in the first five minutes. On the defensive side however, Tomic has backed Odom down and shot over Odom on multiple possessions. This was one of my fears coming into the tournament--a big man who could use his size to score over our guys down low. Luckily, Tomic still has a long way to go before he can be considered dominant by any stretch of the imagination.
18-15 - Stephen Curry and Rudy Gay both enter the game. Ironically, Croatia switches to a zone defense.
18-19 - Croatia takes its first lead of the game off a second-chance opportunity. They have shown a lot of fight so far in this game by weathering the Americans' early storm.
22-19 - The basketball court in Istanbul has an advertisement in the circle at the top of the key. On two occasions so far in this quarter, a player has lost his footing on the ad and turned the ball over (Iguodala and Tomic). Is the ad really necessary? If it is, why in such a pivotal area on the court?
Second Quarter (Begins USA leading 22-20)
29-22 - Durant slips on the advertisement while playing defense. I am keeping a running count of the number of slips/falls caused by the advertisement! We're at three right now.
32-22 - Team USA reaches its largest lead on the back of a three and several floaters by Rose. I'm telling you, the guy is a monster.
36-22 - Croatia has resulted to fouling the USA on fast breaks and whenever the USA blows by them on dribble penetration. This could be a long game.
38-24 - The first fast break dunk of the game for the Americans is delivered by Russell Westbrook. Durant grabbed the rebound on the opposite end, threw a nice outlet pass to Rose who then delivered a dart on the run to Westbrook for the jam. The play literally looked like a blur, especially because ESPN Classic is not broadcasting in high-definition.
38-24 - Westbrook just leapt over the 7'2" Tomic to grab a rebound off of a free throw miss.
47-26 - Eric Gordon hits back-to-back three pointers to bring the USA to its largest lead. Gordon reminds us of the sweet stroke that gained so much hype after one season at Indiana. Rudy Gay felt left out so he added a three pointer to the part. The color commentator says, "Now, if you're Croatia, it's time to start thinking about the next game…think strategically."
Third Quarter (USA leads 48-26)
54-33 - Just as USA was beginning to turn the game into an embarrassment, Croatia responds with a small run of its own. Emphasis on the word "small."
63-34 - Billups steals the ball and leads a fast break the other way that results in the Americans' first alley-oop of the contest (to Iguodala).
Fourth Quarter (USA leads 80-48)
80-50 - Remember when the game was close? Croatia had its one and only lead during the game at 19-18 (scroll up!). And then the avalanche started. On a side note, ESPN Classic finally figured out how to display a running game clock; for the first three quarters of the game, there was no clock next to the score on the bottom line. Suddenly, it appears! Too little too late because I think most viewers have tuned out by now.
90-62 - A funny ebb-and-flow has occurred in the past five minutes or so. The Croatians have been making small runs as a product of easy layups in an attempt to get a moral victory as the game comes to an end. But the Americans answer with a run of their own every once in awhile. I'll bet five dollars that USA holds/grows its lead and wins by more than 30 points…
104-75 - My 30-point victory bet with myself is the only thing keeping me in the game. This must be how addicted sports gamblers feel on a daily basis!
106-78 - USA is dribbling out the clock and the game is coming to an end! This is ludicrous! There goes my money.
USA:
G - Chauncey Billups
G - Derrick Rose
F - Andre Iguodala
F - Kevin Durant
C - Lamar Odom
Croatia:
G - Roko-Leni Ukic
G - Marko Tomas
F - Bojan Bogdanovic
F - Luka Zoric
C - Ante Tomic
On paper this looks like a severe mismatch. Croatia ranks tied for 15th internationally and I don't recognize a majority of the names in its starting lineup (Tomas and Tomic being the exceptions). That being said, anything can happen on a given day, and that's why you play the game!
First Quarter:
2-0 - USA opens the defensive side of the ball in a man-to-man and forces an off-balance three. USA immediately runs on the fast break and Billups blows by everyone to force a foul on a layup attempt.
7-2 - USA's length is already creating problems for the Croatians. They have had multiple second-chance opportunities.
9-7 - Croatia pulls within two points with a long range three. The Croatians show early that the trey is a huge part of their game.
15-11 - Odom continues his strong start with 4 points and 4 boards in the first five minutes. On the defensive side however, Tomic has backed Odom down and shot over Odom on multiple possessions. This was one of my fears coming into the tournament--a big man who could use his size to score over our guys down low. Luckily, Tomic still has a long way to go before he can be considered dominant by any stretch of the imagination.
18-15 - Stephen Curry and Rudy Gay both enter the game. Ironically, Croatia switches to a zone defense.
18-19 - Croatia takes its first lead of the game off a second-chance opportunity. They have shown a lot of fight so far in this game by weathering the Americans' early storm.
22-19 - The basketball court in Istanbul has an advertisement in the circle at the top of the key. On two occasions so far in this quarter, a player has lost his footing on the ad and turned the ball over (Iguodala and Tomic). Is the ad really necessary? If it is, why in such a pivotal area on the court?
Second Quarter (Begins USA leading 22-20)
29-22 - Durant slips on the advertisement while playing defense. I am keeping a running count of the number of slips/falls caused by the advertisement! We're at three right now.
32-22 - Team USA reaches its largest lead on the back of a three and several floaters by Rose. I'm telling you, the guy is a monster.
36-22 - Croatia has resulted to fouling the USA on fast breaks and whenever the USA blows by them on dribble penetration. This could be a long game.
38-24 - The first fast break dunk of the game for the Americans is delivered by Russell Westbrook. Durant grabbed the rebound on the opposite end, threw a nice outlet pass to Rose who then delivered a dart on the run to Westbrook for the jam. The play literally looked like a blur, especially because ESPN Classic is not broadcasting in high-definition.
38-24 - Westbrook just leapt over the 7'2" Tomic to grab a rebound off of a free throw miss.
47-26 - Eric Gordon hits back-to-back three pointers to bring the USA to its largest lead. Gordon reminds us of the sweet stroke that gained so much hype after one season at Indiana. Rudy Gay felt left out so he added a three pointer to the part. The color commentator says, "Now, if you're Croatia, it's time to start thinking about the next game…think strategically."
Third Quarter (USA leads 48-26)
54-33 - Just as USA was beginning to turn the game into an embarrassment, Croatia responds with a small run of its own. Emphasis on the word "small."
63-34 - Billups steals the ball and leads a fast break the other way that results in the Americans' first alley-oop of the contest (to Iguodala).
Fourth Quarter (USA leads 80-48)
80-50 - Remember when the game was close? Croatia had its one and only lead during the game at 19-18 (scroll up!). And then the avalanche started. On a side note, ESPN Classic finally figured out how to display a running game clock; for the first three quarters of the game, there was no clock next to the score on the bottom line. Suddenly, it appears! Too little too late because I think most viewers have tuned out by now.
90-62 - A funny ebb-and-flow has occurred in the past five minutes or so. The Croatians have been making small runs as a product of easy layups in an attempt to get a moral victory as the game comes to an end. But the Americans answer with a run of their own every once in awhile. I'll bet five dollars that USA holds/grows its lead and wins by more than 30 points…
104-75 - My 30-point victory bet with myself is the only thing keeping me in the game. This must be how addicted sports gamblers feel on a daily basis!
106-78 - USA is dribbling out the clock and the game is coming to an end! This is ludicrous! There goes my money.
Final Analysis
Well, as expected, the opening match of the preliminary round was lopsided affair. The Croatians showed a lot of courage by sticking with the Americans early, but Team USA simply had too much athleticism. Up next for Team USA is Slovenia tomorrow morning. Slovenia also appears to be an easy match-up, and with the tougher Brazilians looming, Team USA needs to be careful not to overlook the Slovenians.
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