Olympic Basketball Gold Medal Game Preview - Time for the US to Dominate the World
It wasn’t the prettiest couple of games, but the US is where it needs to be. Undefeated playing for the gold medal. They take on Serbia, who surprised Croatia then boatraced Australia to reach the gold medal game. For the US they need to take care of business, win the gold so people can stop bashing them. Yes, this isn’t the 2008 or 2012 team, but it’s also not 2004. There are some questionable pieces on the team, but like I said they are undefeated.
So let’s get into the game. I’ll be live tweeting it and talking about hoops in general, so follow me @barstoolreags
USA vs Serbia – 2:45 pm
Line: USA -15, -2000, Serbia +900, 181.5
Likely US Starting Five: Kyrie Irving, Klay Thompson, Kevin Durant, DeAndre Jordan, Carmelo Anthony
Likely Serbia Starting Five: Milos Teodosic, Markovic, Raduljica, Jokic, Kalinic
What the US Needs to do to Win: The US needs to attack Teodosic early and often on the offensive side of the ball. He’s the weak link defensively and will have trouble staying in front of Kyrie. Look for some iso ball with him early or high screen and rolls bringing Raduljica up to either switch or try to help. The way DeAndre Jordan rolls to the basket, it should be fairly easy, especially putting three shooters on the wing. Defensively, Jordan and Boogie need to stay out of foul trouble. Radujica can score and has a variety of moves, so they can’t bite but need to protect the rim. For Cousins, he’s struggled these Olympics but also has found himself in foul trouble by playing an NBA style of post play. Other thing the US needs to do is get Durant going early. His first quarters are key as he’s the second best first quarter player statistically in the NBA. If he hits shots early –especially if Serbia plays their ‘defensive’ line up – it should put the US ahead comfortably. Then of course there’s the second half. The US has struggled closing games out and letting teams come back. They did a decent job against Spain by rolling with their best lineup and who was playing the best. That has to happen again.
What Serbia Needs to do to Win: Serbia needs Nikola Jokic to show up again. He was huge in the previous game getting 25 points, but he brings a different style of play to the game. He’s not scared of the NBA guys playing for the Nuggets and can stretch the floor. Defensively he’s strong and can guard Durant without giving up too much speed. Offensively he can hit corner threes, allowing Raduljica the ability to control the post by himself. The second key is staying within single digits the whole first quarter. You can’t let the US team go on a run and put you away early. That’s what they look to do. For Serbia they need to keep the game around 5-6 the whole first quarter, where they can hit a couple shots and tie the thing up. Look for Bogdanovic, Serbia’s best scorer to come off the bench providing some scoring ability against the second unit of the US – and the better defensive lineup. Kalinic is a strong defender, so the question is who do you put him on? Personally, they should put him on Klay and let Melo try to beat you with the starting five. Lastly, can they play the same type of defense as they did against Australia? They took away the backcuts and dared Australia to shoot jumpers, it resulted in 14 points in the first half. They’ll make the US shoot jumpers as well as they’ll try to take away the three-point line and Jordan in the post.
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Pick: Screw it. The US doesn’t lose gold medal games. We dominate the world. That’s just what happens. I’ll take the US to put away Serbia early and cover the spread. Look for Durant to have a big game as he’ll be looking to shoot right out of the gates. If the US can get Klay or Melo to shoot the ball well today, it should be over early.