It was finally time for the Olympic games to be played with the United States looking for a third straight Gold Medal. The opener against China was a decisive win as expected. The next game against Venezuela proved to be more of a challenge at the start as the teams were tied after one quarter before the game was blown wide open to the predicted margin. The team knew that the two weakest opponents in the group stages had already been beaten and that the next three games would be tougher. That was very clear early against Australia, which held leads for a significant portion of the game before the Americans came back and then pulled away in the final minute. The team had a strong start against Serbia in the next game, but progressively let their opponents back into the game, seeing a potential game-tying shot miss at the buzzer. The team had a firm grip on the group lead, but still were left with many questions to answer after letting France hang on all game long for a second straight three point win to finish the group phase.
With two full days of rest between stages of the competition, criticism of the team had plenty of time to be formulated from all quarters. A greater focus was put on some of the more uncommon practices that the program had adapted over the years. Player selection was also raised as an issue despite the fact that player unavailability had burned through the entire available roster of players and once again required emergency measures to fill out all of the spots. The players used the time to re-focus and work on some tactical adjustments for the critical upcoming games.
The first knockout round opponent was Argentina in the Quarterfinals. Doubts were raised again as the veteran group that had previously haunted the United States took the early lead, but the team recovered and won rather comfortably. The next opponents were the silver medalists of the last two Olympics, Spain. It was another close game between the two teams, but the Americans denied them again, leading for nearly the whole game even though it was close throughout. Serbia was the opponent for the final, a rematch of the last game of the world championship two years ago. As was the case in that game, it was close early before the United States established their rhythm on their way to a blowout win.
Even though there were some tighter moments in the third time around, the United States firmly re-established themselves at the top of the basketball world with a decade of dominance. After the disappointment of 2004, three Olympic Gold Medals were secured along with two World Championships. The lack of preparation and respect for opponents that characterized the previous setup was torn down and a new philosophy was installed. As a result, continuity among staff and players was an important factor in rebuilding the program. With a new staff transition set to take place in time for the next set of tournaments, it will be important to continue to carry the lessons from the process of this period to continue to have results that match the talent level
With two full days of rest between stages of the competition, criticism of the team had plenty of time to be formulated from all quarters. A greater focus was put on some of the more uncommon practices that the program had adapted over the years. Player selection was also raised as an issue despite the fact that player unavailability had burned through the entire available roster of players and once again required emergency measures to fill out all of the spots. The players used the time to re-focus and work on some tactical adjustments for the critical upcoming games.
The first knockout round opponent was Argentina in the Quarterfinals. Doubts were raised again as the veteran group that had previously haunted the United States took the early lead, but the team recovered and won rather comfortably. The next opponents were the silver medalists of the last two Olympics, Spain. It was another close game between the two teams, but the Americans denied them again, leading for nearly the whole game even though it was close throughout. Serbia was the opponent for the final, a rematch of the last game of the world championship two years ago. As was the case in that game, it was close early before the United States established their rhythm on their way to a blowout win.
Even though there were some tighter moments in the third time around, the United States firmly re-established themselves at the top of the basketball world with a decade of dominance. After the disappointment of 2004, three Olympic Gold Medals were secured along with two World Championships. The lack of preparation and respect for opponents that characterized the previous setup was torn down and a new philosophy was installed. As a result, continuity among staff and players was an important factor in rebuilding the program. With a new staff transition set to take place in time for the next set of tournaments, it will be important to continue to carry the lessons from the process of this period to continue to have results that match the talent level
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