Olympics: Redeemers Cook With Greece
August 14th, 2008 at 8:36 amBy Chris
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If the US/Greece game was supposed to be the Redeemers first test, it’s safe to say they passed with flying colors, winning 92-69. Once again, it was a large dosage of defensive pressure, Kobe Bryant, Dwyane Wade, LeBron James, and a side of Chris Bosh to boot that put the Greeks away in a game that could’ve been a lot uglier if Coach K kept his Big 3 in the game (in this case, LeBron, Kobe and Wade).
Bryant didn’t even play in the fourth quarter and still finished with 18 points.
As for LeBron, apparently, he’s decided to become the team’s official shot blocker, finishing with three more spectacular denials and increasing his overall total to seven in three games. It would appear King James is channeling the spirits of Manute Bol and Mark Eaton. Not to mention he’s absolutely unstoppable in the open court — a given, I know; but his ability stands out even more against international competition.
For the nitpickers out there, I suppose Team USA’s free throw shooting woes (13-23 against Greece) could be an area of concern and perhaps something like this could come back to bite the Redeemers when they play Spain on Saturday. However, it’s becoming more and more apparent there aren’t many players in the world that can withstand the all-out pressure provided by LeBron, Kobe and the rest of the gang.
And when you can bring a player like Chris Bosh off the bench and he delivers 18 points and two blocked shots, it’s safe to say your team is awfully deep. Does Spain have a Chris Bosh in their reserves? How about a Chris Paul or a Deron Williams? A Dwyane Wade perhaps?
Sarcasm aside, you can see Team USA’s confidence and comfort level rise almost by the quarter. That probably doesn’t bode well for the rest of the countries in the tournament.
