FanHouse Vassilisspanoulis

During the remainder of the Olympic men's basketball tournament, FanHouse will give you 5 Things to watch for in each game.

It's Always Manu, Manu, Manu!: Yes, that's right. Your favorite Argentinian is here to join us. Manu Ginobili has been his usual spectacular self in Olympic play, leading all players in scoring at 19.6 points per game, and second in assists at 5 per game. Ginobili's likely to face a tougher defense tonight/tomorrow though, with the Greek swarming defense and tight zone. Still, Ginobili's been on quite the tear, and if you're looking for fireworks, look no further.

Welcome To The Danger Zone: Greece's zone has been very effective, holding opponents to 45% shooting (in the Olympics where everyone's percentage is high) and that's after the USA drubbing. Argentina is tied for the second best offense in the Olympics, so Greece will want to do everything they can to make it a knock down, drag-out affair. Even with Argentina's #2 defensive ranking, the Greeks have a much better shot if they can slow the game down and make it a physical scrap. Let the Argentinians get rolling, and this could get out of hand, fast.

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.

And we have our first blockbuster trade of the offseason: the Houston Chronicle reports the Rockets have acquired Argentine power forward Luis Scola and fellow big dude Jackie Butler from San Antonio in exchange for Vassilis Spanoulis, a future second round pick, and cash.

Scola is the best big outside of the NBA by a fair margin. He was the Euroleague Spanish League MVP this year (and a former Euroleague MVP, thanks etru1927) and he was a huge part of Argentina's 2004 gold in Athens. He's an absolute stud by all accounts, he's 27, and he's going to be cheap for a few seasons.

We should never doubt R.C. Buford and Gregg Popovich... but I'm stunned they made this deal. Scola wasn't in their plans, given the melding of Fabricio Oberto in the rotation and the continued brilliance of Tim Duncan. But you'd think they could pull more in return than a guard who has sworn off the NBA and next year's #50something pick. As I said, Scola is a beast. His rights had to have been valuable.

Even more, dealing with Houston is dangerous. Does Rick Adelman really need one more weapon at his disposal? San Antonio's getting cocky... and it could haunt them in times to come.