Yannis' Sports Journal

The intimidation factor that was such a big key to team USA's success in prior years is now completely non existent. Greece, a team with no current NBA players, went out there and dominated team USA after the first quarter and a half en route to eliminating them from gold medal contention 101-95.

Early in the second quarter Lebron James told the bench that Greece didn't know what to do. What Lebron James didn't know is that this Greece team has been playing together for longer than he's been winning bronze medals, and knew EXACTLY what they were doing. There may be a lack of NBA players on their roster, but Greece has some of the best players in Europe on their team, guys who make so much money overseas and are so famous over there that they have no desire to come to the NBA and play for less money while riding the bench.

After going down by 12 points and looking like they were in trouble, Greece inserted former Clipper 2nd round pick Sofoklis Schortsanitis and the tables turned quickly. At 6'9 and at least 315 pounds (You'll dismiss the listed 290 at first glance of him), Sofoklis combination of strength and quickness took USA's big men off guard. He quickly overpowered Brand on his way to the free throw line, and beat Dwight Howard up the court on a few occasions as he found himself open for dunks and lay ups. Along with the disruptive Greece defense, they were able to take a 5 point lead into half time.

The third quarter is when Greek coach Yannakis put his stamp on this game. The fundamentals of Greece and their ability to run the pick and roll to pure perfection led to them turning their 5 point lead into a 14 point lead at one point. Schortsanitis got into foul trouble and had to come out in the 3rd, but that's not a problem with this Greek team. They go 12 deep and can replace anyone on the floor and not miss a beat. Infact, one of their best players hasn't played an elimination game because of a cracked facial bone, yet they're still on their way to winning the gold medal. When Sofoklis came out, they didn't miss a beat.

Theodros Papaloukas really anchored the pick and roll assault with a game high 12 assists in the game. Dimitrios Diamantidis also did a good job distributing the ball and playing defense, but the star for Greece was Vasileios Spanoulis. Spanoulis, who just signed with the Houston Rockets, got to the hole at will and shot the ball incredibly well from 3 point range, even though he's not known for being much of a long range shooter. He had the big lay up with under 30 seconds to go that really ended any USA comeback hope, and sealed the greatest win in Greek basketball history.

When team USA looks back at this game, there's several things that will really stand out. First is all the missed free throws and three point shots. Greece played in a drop back zone much of the second half, but Coach K didn't have the right combination out there to score on it.  Chris Paul playing more than Kirk Heinrich, who was 4-7 from the arc in just 21 minutes, wasn't the right decision. Dwight Howard displaying that he was head and shoulders above any Greek big man not named Sofoklis but only getting 13 minutes was the wrong decision. Not doing anything whatsoever to change what they were doing defensively while they were being taken to school in the second half wasn't just the wrong decision, it was the decision that cost them the game.

Coach K is a great coach, and the only coaches I may have choosen over him are Greg Poppovich and Pat Riley, but he did a terrible job against Greece. He rightfully took the blame for this loss after the game. However, had two guys been there, USA would have been able to overcome these coaching mistakes.

Those two guys are Kobe Bryant and Chauncy Billups. With those two guys, Greece wouldn't have stood a chance. The international three is like a lay up for Bryant and Billups, and they would have been the best perimeter defenders on this team along with Battier. They're also 85%+ free throw shooters, which USA really could have used against Greece. Barring any injuries, these two should be there for the qualifiers and the Olympics, which will be a much needed boost that USA will need in order to establish themselves as the best basketball team in the world.

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