Redeem Team coasts by the Germans
Real German Dirk Nowitzki and fake German Chris Kaman were no match for the U.S. men’s basketball team, who trounced Deutschland, 106-57.
The U.S. is three wins away from its first gold medal since 2000. First up is Australia in the quarterfinals on Wednesday night.
The U.S. didn’t wait to dispose of the Germans. The U.S. jumped out to a 20-3 lead, with LeBron James capping the run with a dunk, a bucket and a 3-pointer.
The U.S. led 53-29 at halftime, and the rest of the night was garbage time.
Asked afterward what it will take to beat the U.S., the American-born German center Chris Kaman replied, “No one’s gonna beat ’em.”
Once again, defense was the story for the U.S. The Americans limited Germany to 30 percent shooting from the floor and forced 18 turnovers.
Team USA shot 42% from long range, which is encouraging, but they need to take that accuracy with them into the medal round. They still make careless passes at times, and their 13 turnovers against a team like Germany are too many.
On a side note, Chris Kaman has been criticized for deciding to play with the Germans in these Olympics. Even his dad isn’t happy about it. I’m not happy about it either. I think, in a way, he’s betraying his country. It’s a positive for Chris Kaman the basketball player to have the opportunity to play against good competition in the summer, but he’s working against U.S. interests. If you’re born and raised in the U.S., you’re not good enough to make the U.S. team, and even your dad says you shouldn’t play for another country, then you should probably just stay home.
U.S. begins the round of eight against Australia at 8 AM ET Wednesday morning (on the USA Network). The Aussies gave the U.S. men a tough game in a warm-up match, and they didn’t even have a healthy Andrew Bogut in that game. Argentina and Greece square off in the other quarterfinal on the Americans’ side of the bracket.
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Posted in: Fantasy Basketball, NBA, The Olympics
Tags: Chris Kaman, Dirk Nowitzki, Germany, LeBron James, Olympic basketball, Redeem Team
Betraying your country? That seems a little harsh. I think reasonable people can disagree on these points, but many loyal Americans have dual citizenship, and I don’t think that playing for the team of your ancestors is that big of a deal.
I’m not saying that it’s equivalent to selling nuclear secrets to Iran, but I do see it as a betrayal. There can be different levels of betrayal, and actively trying to beat the team representing the country where you were born and raised qualifies (to me).
Maybe it has more to do with the fact that Germany is irrelevant in the Bejing games, but what if they were a powerhouse and Kaman just hit the winning bucket to knock the U.S. out of the medal round? You wouldn’t see that as a betrayal of the country where he learned to read, write and play hoops?
Prior to joining the team, he had never even been to Germany and still doesn’t speak a lick of it.
I hear you, I just think a term like “betrayal” is pretty strong. We live in times when many people get their patriotism questioned. I’d rather just keep sports out of it. Using betrayal can be interpreted as a question of his patriotism. In the end it’s just sports.
Unfortunately, I can’t think of a better term to use
Ha! (on the lack of a better term)
I do think it’s fair to question his patriotism. He’s representing another country in the Olympics. That certainly doesn’t mean that he doesn’t love America, but it does mean that he doesn’t love America enough NOT to represent another country in the world’s biggest sporting event.
Another word… hmmm… slight, afront, snub?
It’s true that it’s just sports, but just how important is it that the Redeem Team succeed in Bejing? Pretty important if you ask LeBron, Kobe and Co. By playing for another team, Kaman is working against that goal.