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Team USA had to work for it -- for three years, and for 40 minutes this morning -- but they earned what they sought: the gold medal. In a ridiculously entertaining match against Spain (a team the United States beat by 37 last week), Team USA pulled out the 11-point victory to grab the tournament victory.

The margin snuck within two points in the final quarter, as Spain relied on a heavy diet of absurd Juan Carlos Navarro floaters and Rudy Fernandez threes to stay within spitting range of the Americans. But Kobe Bryant was just as good, nailing some massive threes and doling out sweet assists. One of the Kobe threes -- shot from the fourth row -- also happened to goad Rudy into his fifth and final foul, adding a bonus to a vital four-point play. Kobe most definitely played up to his billing as the biggest American star in China.

Dwyane Wade was nuts in the first half, dropping 21 points in 14 minutes. (!) He cooled off, which was easily predictable given that he made his bed with threes in the first half and he's not a good deep shooter. LeBron James was ineffective in the second half, picking up his fourth foul early on in the final frame. Carmelo Anthony's shooting was off and on; Chris Paul was good but couldn't stick his threes. Deron Williams didn't get much of a chance on offense. The bigs were active but not overpowering ... in fact, the Brothers Gasol had plenty of space to operate in the paint.

Navarro's stream of floaters won't soon be forgotten, nor will Rudy's insane dunk over Dwight Howard. But Team USA's the story here -- four years after being humbled on the world's stage, American basketball is back on top.

Team USA had to work for it -- for three years, and for 40 minutes this morning -- but they earned what they sought: the gold medal. In a ridiculously entertaining match against Spain (a team the United States beat by 37 last week), Team USA pulled out the 11-point victory to grab the tournament victory.

The margin snuck within two points in the final quarter, as Spain relied on a heavy diet of absurd Juan Carlos Navarro floaters and Rudy Fernandez threes to stay within spitting range of the Americans. But Kobe Bryant was just as good, nailing some massive threes and doling out sweet assists. One of the Kobe threes -- shot from the fourth row -- also happened to goad Rudy into his fifth and final foul, adding a bonus to a vital four-point play. Kobe most definitely played up to his billing as the biggest American star in China.

Dwyane Wade was nuts in the first half, dropping 21 points in 14 minutes. (!) He cooled off, which was easily predictable given that he made his bed with threes in the first half and he's not a good deep shooter. LeBron James was ineffective in the second half, picking up his fourth foul early on in the final frame. Carmelo Anthony's shooting was off and on; Chris Paul was good but couldn't stick his threes. Deron Williams didn't get much of a chance on offense. The bigs were active but not overpowering ... in fact, the Brothers Gasol had plenty of space to operate in the paint.

Navarro's stream of floaters won't soon be forgotten, nor will Rudy's insane dunk over Dwight Howard. But Team USA's the story here -- four years after being humbled on the world's stage, American basketball is back on top.

We included China-Spain in the Golden Ticket more for extracurricular reasons than any expectation of competitiveness. To date, the game was the closest fought of any in the Olympics. China, perhaps angry about the insensitive ad the Spaniards took out in a Spanish paper and almost certainly bolstered by a super-spirited crowd, fought hard, leading by 14 early in the fourth quarter.

The Spanish needed a Marc Gasol prayer to get the game to overtime, which is where the Spanish asserted themselves as Yao Ming fouled out and Pau Gasol found himself. Jose Calderon and Juan Carlos Navarro started the game on the bench, which might have been a form of punishment for the Marca scandal or could have just been a stupid mistake with the Spanish coaching staff. Calderon never got into a rhythm, and Navarro offered mediocre play in his 16 minutes.

If China had taken the United States to overtime, we'd be in a catatonic state right now. Marca's online header says something in 72-point font about "sweating red China." Yeah, that seems like a fair assessment. Spain plays the U.S. on Saturday, and both teams should remain undefeated ... we think.

We included China-Spain in the Golden Ticket more for extracurricular reasons than any expectation of competitiveness. To date, the game was the closest fought of any in the Olympics. China, perhaps angry about the insensitive ad the Spaniards took out in a Spanish paper and almost certainly bolstered by a super-spirited crowd, fought hard, leading by 14 early in the fourth quarter.

The Spanish needed a Marc Gasol prayer to get the game to overtime, which is where the Spanish asserted themselves as Yao Ming fouled out and Pau Gasol found himself. Jose Calderon and Juan Carlos Navarro started the game on the bench, which might have been a form of punishment for the Marca scandal or could have just been a stupid mistake with the Spanish coaching staff. Calderon never got into a rhythm, and Navarro offered mediocre play in his 16 minutes.

If China had taken the United States to overtime, we'd be in a catatonic state right now. Marca's online header says something in 72-point font about "sweating red China." Yeah, that seems like a fair assessment. Spain plays the U.S. on Saturday, and both teams should remain undefeated ... we think.

It was just one game, but two things looked relatively clear in last night/this morning's game between Spain and Greece.

1. Spain may be the closest thing we have to a gold medal contender outside of the US, and 2. Greece is probably not.

Behind Rudy Fernandez, AKA Blazers' dangerous multi-talented weapon number 756, Spain broke out of a close game using their superiority at guard, in route to an 81-66 win that wasn't as close as it looked.

Greece managed to keep it within range in the first half, and Vassilis Spanoulis worked the lane to his heart's content for 15 points, but this one was over pretty quick. Spain's depth at guard, with future first round NBA pick Ricky Rubio, Jose Calderon, and recent NBA departure Juan Carlos Navarro, was too much for Greece once Spain started to apply pressure. Spain outscored Greece 27-17 in the third, and put the game on lockdown.

Marc Gasol also looked good for Spain, alongside his brother Pau Gasol's predictably solid but quiet game. Marc showed a level of energy and physicality that Grizzlies fans can be excited for. The real star was Fernandez, though. The Blazers asset scored 16 points on 5-9 shooting, including a sick, running, one-handed, off-hand put back on a rebound. As hard as that was to describe, it looked even harder to do. There were some holes in his game, as some noticed, but it's not like he's on an uneven squad stateside. Blazers fans have a lot to be excited for.
On the flip side, Spain looks like who we thought they were, the team closest to USA in terms of talent to contend for the Gold.

It was just one game, but two things looked relatively clear in last night/this morning's game between Spain and Greece.

1. Spain may be the closest thing we have to a gold medal contender outside of the US, and 2. Greece is probably not.

Behind Rudy Fernandez, AKA Blazers' dangerous multi-talented weapon number 756, Spain broke out of a close game using their superiority at guard, in route to an 81-66 win that wasn't as close as it looked.

Greece managed to keep it within range in the first half, and Vassilis Spanoulis worked the lane to his heart's content for 15 points, but this one was over pretty quick. Spain's depth at guard, with future first round NBA pick Ricky Rubio, Jose Calderon, and recent NBA departure Juan Carlos Navarro, was too much for Greece once Spain started to apply pressure. Spain outscored Greece 27-17 in the third, and put the game on lockdown.

Marc Gasol also looked good for Spain, alongside his brother Pau Gasol's predictably solid but quiet game. Marc showed a level of energy and physicality that Grizzlies fans can be excited for. The real star was Fernandez, though. The Blazers asset scored 16 points on 5-9 shooting, including a sick, running, one-handed, off-hand put back on a rebound. As hard as that was to describe, it looked even harder to do. There were some holes in his game, as some noticed, but it's not like he's on an uneven squad stateside. Blazers fans have a lot to be excited for.
On the flip side, Spain looks like who we thought they were, the team closest to USA in terms of talent to contend for the Gold.

Lost in the futility of the Grizzlies' season, the devastating trade of Pau Gasol for Kwame freaking Brown, and the emergence of Rudy Gay was the fact that the Grizzlies are not without any discernible talent. One such gem was Juan Carlos Navarro, the Spanish speaking combo guard who the Grizzlies' traded a protected pick to the Wizards for. Navarro made some nice strides, shooting the long ball relatively well for a rookie and showing signs that he could be a legit contributor.

Well, so much for that idea. in a continuing case of "nothing can ever go right for the Grizzlies," JCN has jumped ship back to his homeland of Spain. Today the Commercial Appeal reports that Navarro accepted a 4 year deal, reported to be worth between $20 and $24 million with FC Barcelona, effectively ending his tenure in the NBA.

While certainly no one can blame Navarro for heading back to more familiar and profitable pasteurs, it's still a shame. Navarro was an excellent three point shooter in his first year, and was part of a promising set of guards for the struggling franchise. I guess sometimes, home is where the heart is. And the gigantic piles of money.

The NBA revealed it's All-Rookie Teams today, and by and large there weren't any huge surprises. But can you guess who the only unanimous choice to the first team was? If you guessed Rookie of the Year Kevin Durant ... you'd be wrong.

Actually, it was Al Horford, who finished with 29 first-place votes. Durant finished with 28. It's too bad the ballots aren't open -- I'd love to see which NBA coach actually thought Durant was no better than the sixth-best rookie this year. (Remember, coaches can't vote for their own players but aren't limited by position.) Luis Scola (26 first place votes), Al Thornton (20) and Jeff Green (15) rounded out the first team.

On the second team is Jamario Moon (12), Juan Carlos Navarro (5), Thaddeus Young (4), Rodney Stuckey (5) and Carl Landry (1). Other players receiving first place votes include Joakim Noah (1), Nick Young (2), Mike Conley (1) and Corey Brewer (1).

As we inch closer to All-Star 2008 in New Orleans, the lineups for the weekend's events are starting to fall into place. Today we found out who will be participating in the "T-Mobile Rookie Challenge & Youth Jam," and just like last year, it's looking like it's going to be an easy win for the Sophomores.

The Rookie squad will feature Kevin Durant, Jeff Green, Al Horford, Luis Scola, Mike Conley, Juan Carlos Navarro, Yi Jianlian, Sean Williams, and a very busy Jamario Moon.

The Sophomores will load their roster with Brandon Roy, Lamarcus Aldridge, Rajon Rondo, Daniel Gibson (aka Boobie), Jordan Farmar, Andrea Bargnani, Ronnie Brewer, Paul Millsap, and an equally busy Rudy Gay.

So after looking at the lineups one right after the other like this, how can you not see another Sophomore blowout? In Vegas the Sophs won by 41 points, and although I don't expect the spread to be quite as big this time, it's still a mismatch, and one that the league should change if they want to make this an interesting event.

My solution would be to mix the Rookies and Sophomores up by conference, and play the game East versus West. While that might not always give you the best game, it would be exponentially better than what we have now. I just think that the Sophomores have too much of an advantage every year having that additional season of NBA experience under their belt. By mixing the teams up and playing it by conference, we're likely to get a much more competitive game.

It could be posturing from a reluctant owner, but Michael Heisley told the Memphis Commercial Appeal all the reforms his basketball team made have not translated to increased ticket sales this summer. If Heisley's truthful, this is sort-of depressing for me, as Memphis is probably the most interesting team in the league going into the season.

Rudy Gay was last year's most exciting rookie. Pau Gasol is very nearly elite. Hakim Warrick is top 5 in the league with regards to vicious dunks. Marc Iavaroni gets a chance to debut his Spurs on skateboards philosophy (which admittedly, I invented from inference and could be the furthest thing from the truth). Darko Milicic will be unleashed. Mike Conley and Kyle Lowry could form Ford&Calderon South. Juan Carlos Navarro could nag Pau til he shaves. Mike Miller could contend for second runner-up in the All-Star race. Jerry West could invite Bootsy Collins to the suite again.

I don't think Memphis is playoff ready... but quality is not an exclusive indicator of entertainment factor. (See: San Antonio, Charlotte.) The Grizzlies are so far removed from their 'good but wholly predictable' roots (see: Battier, Shane & Fratello, Mike)... so maybe it will take a while for greater Tennessee to get on board. Maybe those intriguing college Tigers have folks turning elsewhere with their expendable dollar. Maybe this Memphis team will be fantastic on TV, but useless live (like Atlanta). All I know is if I was within spitting distance of the FedEx Forum, I'd be approving Heisley's decisions with my dollar. This team will not be boring.