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let me point out that in the 2nd quarter, Team USA is leading against Angola, 39-32 (17-14 after the first quarter). Close game so far, especially when considering that Angola is one of the weakest teams in the tournament. I still expect a blowout, but it should be noted that so far, Angola is shooting 60% on two-pointers, is 5-5 from the free throw line (team USA is 6-11), and has *outrebounded* Team USA.

That should make you very happy, shouldn't it?

Anything to spew some anti US rhetoric.

The China game was close in the first half also, and we all saw how THAT turned out, didn't we?

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How many times do we have to say that friendly matches are meaningless?  Team USA whooped Puerto Rico in a friendly before the '04 Olympics.  Holland whooped Greece 4-0 before the Euro 2004.  Wow, they beat Canada by 55!  Big deal...tell me what tournament Canada is playing in again?  They beat China by 30....so did Greece in 2006 in the Worlds.  Drawing conclusions on the basis of friendly matches and a small sample of tournament matches is meaningless.  You know what I draw conclusions from?  The final results.  And the final results in the three major tournaments prior to this for Team USA was 6th, 3rd and 3rd.  Which leads me to...

Tell me when the "real" games against the "real" teams start so I can wake up.

The final result was a 23 point win for the US today.

In a "real" game.

care to wager on any other "real" games?

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.

I believe that team was together for more than a few weeks as well.  And it's funny how not being together wasn't a problem not just for the 1992 team, but the 1994, 1996 and 2000 teams.  Sounds like a bunch of excuses to me.

No it wasn't. Stop bullshitting people. They were together all of three weeks. For God's sake, the US Olympic program wasn't even in existence until two years ago when Jerry Colangelo took over. Do you know what that means? No set team, no set schedule, no permanent coaching staff, constant roster turnover. Hell, until just recently, USA was sending one obligatory college kid as well. Emeka Okafor anyone?

The 92-00 teams didn't need to be together for longer because the talent gap was so huge. The last few years when the talent gap closed, the ole put it together in 2-3 weeks time routine didn't work. You also can't be sending 35 year old Reggie Miller and players of his ilk out to beat European all star teams anymore. C and D teams just won't cut it, especially with only 2-3 weeks prep time. That, however, doesn't mean that the talent gap isn't still significant between the top US pros and the rest of the world. We saw it tonight. Men against boys.

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And the norm has no bearing on the knockout matches, where it's one and out.  That's where teams prove themselves, not in preliminary qualifying matches

Right.

It does have no bearing.

Nonetheless, you're logic is amazing to say the least.

You mean to tell me two years ago Larisa had the best football team in Greece because they won the knockout Cup? You mean to tell me had a better team than Pao who they beat in the final? Or that Giannina were better than Olympiakos? Or Xaidari was better than AEK?

Go have another ouzo, take two aspirins, and reply in the morning. :LOL:

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The best team is going to be the one that wins, and that has not been determined yet.  It seems that while you are accusing me of making excuses for the Ethniki, you're the one that's conveniently making excuses for Team USA.  "They weren't ready."  "The knockout phase doesn't determine the best team."  Etc.  Well, that's how the tournaments are played, like it or not.

The best team doesn't always win.

But of course you want to fit a square peg in a round hole because it fits your anti-american stance. The best team sometimes loses.

See my '80 US olympic hockey analogy. I tha mas trellanis olous kai tha mas peis oti i Amerikani itan kaliteri apo tous Rosous?

Is that what you're saying?

The US could have played that game 100 times again, and the Russians would win 100 out of 100. They simply happened to lose on that day. Doesn't make them a worse team. Simply means they lost on that day. Koimithike o Theos kai kerdise i Ameriki.

And you're right, that IS how tournaments are played. That's why they don't always determine who's the best. case in point, the Greek Kypello of two years ago.

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The US has the quickest and fastest guards on the planet. No contest.

Yeah, but what about on the moon with its 1/6 gravity? Or Jupiter and all the hot gases, maybe they'll all need masks like Hamilton? Can Kobe take the heat on Mercury or does he need an asbestos suit which will surely slow him down?

-----

Here's a tip: turn off the idiot box for like... 12 seconds. It'll do you some good, trust me. If anything, you might sound less like a pathetic devotee of every douchebag sports announcer whose bullshit inundates the airwaves down there, usually while deifying just about every USA athlete.

You are a devoted amerikanokavlo. OK, we get it. We got it before reading past the 8th syllable of your first post here. Get over yourself already. Eisai poly thima file; vres zoi... kai grigora, sou to lew gia to kalo sou...

filarako, idiot eisai kai fainesai.

Ekei pou xereis me tis pseftomagkies.

Ta amerikanakia mas voulousan gia kala proxtes, kai tora poly tsita.

Den peirazei, i zoi einai san to aggouri.

Merikoi to trone kai drosizontai, kai alloi to trone kai zorizontai.

Kali orexi!

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Kai gia na doume ti xontrom@#$ies leei o kathenas, kai poios einai fanatismenos kai empireasmenos apo ta MME, koitaxte edo:

Apparently USA beat Australia with quite some difficulty in this pre-Olympics slew of friendlies in which they thrashed their other opponents.

I think Greece can take gold. I agree with all your comments except drakos' about Greece being abysmal at last year's Eurobasket. I think we played great, had to dig deep to overcome a huge, late deficit vs. Slovenia (shades of the 2005 thriller vs. France), but played great against Spain whom we could have beaten and maybe gone on to repeat.

In fact, I think Greece has been steadily improving since 2005, and perhaps destined to reach unprecedented heights in Beijing.

Yes, unprecedented heights.

23 pontous papara apo tous Amerikanous kai 18 ponto kavli apo tous Ispanous.

:LOL: :LOL: :LOL:

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So frustrating the way Spain owns us, I agree, they are flat out a better team, cooler shooters and better defense, and many weapons. I really hope we don't have to meet them in the knock-out rounds, or if we do, only if we kick it up a notch like the Euro semis last year when we almost pulled it off.

Still, I think we can beat the USA. And as loup puts it any team in the other pool is gonna be almost equally tough, they're all quality.

Thanks for the CBC streaming link, glad we can watch the Germany game. I think the Greece-USA one will be on TV.

so what you're saying is that Spain is a better team than the US?
I think Spain can beat USA. I also think they're better as a 'team'. I think USA is fragile, if things start not to go their way, nerves can set in and they can collapse, in any given game against the quality European teams, not so much against Argentina I think.

Even against China, tied 29-29 so late in the 2nd quarter, then a dumb palming turnover by the Chinese guard. It took the Americans a while before putting the contest to rest, and China is not strong. A team like Greece, or Spain or Lithuania hanging around within striking distance for 25-30 minutes, look out.

Love em or hate em, Spain is solid, with very few, if any weaknesses, unless their constant diving and whining gets them off their own game, but it never seems to, with the exception perhaps of last year's Euro final vs. Russia, and even then, they lost only at the very end.

I still like Greece's chances, but if we meet Spain along the way, we'll need a near-perfect game to beat them. Vs. USA, I don't think we need to be perfect, a few timely steals and blocks out of nowhere (which we are very wily and capable enough to execute) and the nerves set in on the US side.

Is it just me or did yesterday's victory vs. China not look particularly enjoyable to the 'world's best player'? Can it be he didn't like lessers like Wade and Howard, or even King James stealing his spotlight?

Kai allo KALOOOOO apo ton professor tou basket. ^^^^^^^^

:LOL: :LOL: :LOL:

Perimene na katseis esy "close" stous Amerikanous.

20 pontous diafora sto imixrono.

The "quality" Euro sides can beat the US? Like Lithuania (-35)? Like Russia (-20)? Like Greece (-23)? Or are there OTHER QUALITY Euro sides I'm missing?

You don't need to be perfect to beat the US?

:LOL: :LOL:

-23. On a night when they shot about 20% from the three point line. Kai ligan itan.

China was close at 29-29?. The game was also close at 0-0. LOL!!! And they lost by 35!!! The same China that took the "powerful" Spaniards to OT.

Xypniste reeee!!!!!!!

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The US has the quickest and fastest guards on the planet. No contest.

Yeah, but what about on the moon with its 1/6 gravity? Or Jupiter and all the hot gases, maybe they'll all need masks like Hamilton? Can Kobe take the heat on Mercury or does he need an asbestos suit which will surely slow him down?

-----

Here's a tip: turn off the idiot box for like... 12 seconds. It'll do you some good, trust me. If anything, you might sound less like a pathetic devotee of every douchebag sports announcer whose bullshit inundates the airwaves down there, usually while deifying just about every USA athlete.

You are a devoted amerikanokavlo. OK, we get it. We got it before reading past the 8th syllable of your first post here. Get over yourself already. Eisai poly thima file; vres zoi... kai grigora, sou to lew gia to kalo sou...

Her's a tip for you.

Kopse tin m@#$ia giati proxoraei sto myalo.

Kill Bill, our fastest guard, was completely taken out of the game by Chris Paul.

Find me a quicker/faster set of guards than Paul, Bryant, Wade and Williams, on any team in any part of the world.

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Kolokotroni, by your own logic, since you like to compare point differentials (which are meaningless), just now we beat Angola by +41. Team USA beat them by +23. That makes us better than Team USA, right? Or does that logic only apply when the Ethniki loses or Team USA wins?

Yes, unprecedented heights.

23 pontous papara apo tous Amerikanous kai 18 ponto kavli apo tous Ispanous.

:LOL:

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Indeed an impressive performance by Team USA, coupled with really atrocious three point shooting by the Spaniards.

However, I'm still not sold on Team USA. They will have proven themselves when/if they win the gold medal. It's not hate on my part, it's not jumping the gun. We still haven't even made it to the group stage.

Well then, you can't be sold on Spain or Greece as well, because they didn't win Olympic gold either.

So who ARE you sold on?

Who do you predict will win it?

Not probabilities, but an actual winner.

You get one pick.

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Kolokotronis,

I'm not sold on anyone. Okay? Stop trying to bait and cause more arguments and more tension. I also never said I was sold on Spain or Greece. You have a nasty, nasty habit of putting words into other people's mouths and causing all sorts of arguments as a result.

I am not making a prediction for anyone. I already know you'll call it a cop-out, because that's the convenient argument for you to make. However, I'm under no requirement to predict anything. I don't bet on games and I don't sit and prognosticate and claim that any team is going to win...not in the Olympics, not in any league, not in any sport. Instead of belittling me and putting me down and throwing around ironies maybe you should just keep quiet and respect a differing opinion for once. I realize that may be difficult for you to do, but try it. You might just feel better, rather than having to come here to prove to us again and again how superior Team USA is to the rest of the world.

I will maintain this, though: until (and if) Team USA wins the gold, they cannot be considered the best basketball team on the planet. Not if they have lost three tournaments in a row.

Buddy,

That's what intenret forums are for, to debate and discuss.

If you can't take the heat, getout of the kitchen.

Anybody who still insists the US isn't the best team, despite the recent scorelines, deserves their fate on these boards.

In any event, I asked you a couple of very simple questions:

1) who the best team on the planet is (you get the REST of the world to pick from my friend, it can't be that hard)? and

2) who will win the gold (since this is an OLYMPIC thread, I don't think its an illogical question)

Problem is, any answer but USA for #1 will subject you to ridicule at this point, and any answer but USA for #2 may subject you to even greater ridicule later. You know that, and I know that.

But if you come on here and stubbornly and insanely insist that you're not "sold" on the US after they drub they second best team on the planet by 37, then you deserve your fate.

It's not illogical to ask who you are SOLD on then. If you don't think the US will win gold, surely you must have someone else in mind. Otherwise, this argument makes about as much sense as everything else you've posted so far on the topic.

Here's a clue:

If you debated based on facts and common sense instead of trying to pursue and/or justify whatever agenda/ ulterior motive you have, you wouldn't be in this predicament. But then again, you never expected the US to administer the ass beatings they have so far.

Kali annarosi.

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Are you kidding man? Do you honestly support greece?

Yes I do.

That's why asked when the REAL games begin.

Isn't that what you ALL were telling me beforehand?

That the elimination round is when the REALgames begin.

When the pressure gets to teams.

Just before our game, I saw a 39 point blowout in another quarterfinal. No way in the world was THAT one of the real games you guys were talking about, so I assume everyone meant to say the SEMI finals.

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Kolokotroni, no need for ironies.

I had a feeling coming into this game that the game would go down to the last shot, and it did. So many times in the past, the last shot has fallen for us. This time, it didn't. 3-3 and 5th place in the Olympics is not what we were looking for, and I feel does not even reflect the true talent and capabilities of the team, but they fought hard today, and in the end, Argentina was one shot better. The game could have gone either way, but we looked Argentina in the eye and did not shy away from the "big" opponent.

I do feel we can expect a bright future from the team, especially with the likes of Koufos joining the team. He would have been a huge help this year, even though Boroussis really came on strong in the last three games.

I for one will congratulate the team and look forward to better days ahead.

Beyond that, no other upsets of any kind and USA-Argentina and Spain-Lithuania in the semis. Should be interesting!

Can you tell me when the REAL games begin my friend?
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Finally, my condolences to fellow Canadian viewers, who not only saw the Ethniki flame out too early in this tournament, but had to endure the pitiful commentating of the TSN guys, one of whom I believe is some sort of scout for the Raptors.My God, what rubbish this was. If I had to hear the main colour guy's exclamation of 'splash' another time to announce a swish jump shot by an American player, I'd shoot my 46" LCD. Our resident Phantis Amerikanokavlo couldn't have done a more impartial job commentating his Wet Dream Team's games. lol I mean I expect this gushing commentating from the likes of NBC and such (one guy on NBC went on to call basketball an American sport, ahem Mr. James Naismith anyone?), but on Canada's TSN, come on!

Kala re filarako, auto to AmerikanoKAVLO, apo poio lexiko to travikses, to korakistiko? :LOL: :LOL:

I suggest you quit while you're ahead Mr. SuperTeamSpain. -37.

p.s. Basketball IS an American sport, much like hockey is Canadian. Ti itheles na sou pei o anthropos, oti proirthe to athlima apo tin Uganada? :LOL: :tdown:

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And according to all the published reports I've read about the game, Greece has finished in the 5th spot (which I posted about several posts earlier). I know something like 8th place would have been more to your liking, however, so you could really lay on your vitriol and criticism.

Seriously, give it up.

Which published reports?

Give me ONE.

Either you can't read, you're blind, or both, and none of the aforementioned would surprise me.

btw, are you still going to avoid the question as to who the best basketball TEAM on the planet is at the moment?

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Here is where I disagree with you-I don't think its people's patriotism or love of an underdog that factor into some of the opinions we see here on this thread.

I think its abundantly clear that people's Anti-Americanism (whatever the root cause may be) is the main factor in their opinions. They all watch enough basketball and know better, alla opote vroun eukairia na vgaloun to axti tous, tin pairnoun. As ta xosoume prota stous Amerikanous, kai meta vlepoume.....

Otan omos erxontai i polixeri edo kai arnoountai to olofanero, tote axizoun tin moira tous. Kai to kanoun mono kai mono gia exagonistikous/politikous/ratsistikous logous.

How exactly did you draw these conclusions Kolokotronis? This is the second time I read this "anti-US rhetoric" stuff from you... (as with "they diserve ... / axizoun tin moira tous k tlp).

People have different opinions, and most if not all users here took the time to explain theirs with sound arguments. "Yes the US had all these great results", "no the US didn't win anything in the last # (was it 3?) big tournaments", etc etc etc ... In the end it comes down to opinion. And everyone is allowed to have their own.

It is however not ok to seek confrontation with every post you write or call people racists just because they don't agree on what is "obvious" to you.

Crazy earlier in this post already told you this and now I'll do it again: this is a forum, debate is encouraged, but this is not your personal stage to spew out whatever you deem necessary. Please change your tone, we want to keep the debates here fun ...

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How exactly did you draw these conclusions Kolokotronis? This is the second time I read this "anti-US rhetoric" stuff from you... (as with "they diserve ... / axizoun tin moira tous k tlp).

Genome,

If you can kindly answer the question I posed earlier, then that's where your answer would lie.

Namely:

....answer me this as truthfully as possible-If I told you there was a basketball team out there that beat Spain by 37, Greece by 23, Lithuania by 35, Germany by 49, Australia by 11, Angola by 20, China by 35, Canada by 55, Russia by 20, and Australia again by 31, all within 2-3 weeks time, and that they wear jerseys with ANYTHING BUT USA printed on the front, what would you say?

Results like the aforementioned take OPINION completely out of ANY discussion on the topic. What differing opinion can there be about a team that beats its opponents by an average of 32 points a game? And they've beaten the so called second best team in the world by 37. They're absolutely embarassing people. Games are over by half time, and NOBODY is exempt. It's not like they're squeaking out one point nail biters with no time left on the clock.

If you have posts that completely fly in the face of logic and totally disregard the aforementioned empirical proof, then to me there are ulterior motives for said posts and it's not simply a matter of differing opinion.

btw, the primary question I asked was who is the best team in the world, not who is going to win the gold. And what happened in '04 and '06 is completely irrelevant as this is clearly NOT the same US team, either in personnel, preparation, or intensity.

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