A

It was just a one point game at the end of the first half and at the end of the third, Team USA extended the one point lead to 26 points. According to NBC commentator and Philadelphia 76ers head coach, Doug Collins, Team USA took control of the game in the 3rd quarter on the defensive end of the floor which allowed them to have easier shots on the offensive end.

They pressured the ball very well and they certainly rotated effectively as Ginobili had great ball movement.

As the third quarter began, it was the King’s Court. LeBron James quickly got hot offensively and gave Team USA a little bit more cushion from the Argentines. But when LeBron was forced to sit down with 4 fouls, it became the Durant show. Team USA already had a somewhat solid lead on Argentina but Durant decided to extend it even further. Durant would hit three point shot after three point shot mainly within the right wing.

On one shot, Deron Williams passed the ball to Kevin Durant who was about a good 6 to 8 feet away from the Olympic 3-point line and easily drained a three point shot which excited the crowd and myself of course. From there, Team USA looked like they were playing with the Charlotte Bobcats.  And to make matters even worse, Carmelo Anthony drained a three pointer to end the quarter.

With no sportsmanship in my opinion, the youngest player on Argentina’s roster hit Carmelo on the groin as he was going up for that three pointer which Carmelo obviously didn’t feel the need to retaliate as Team USA was already up 26 at the end of the 3rd.

The 4th quarter was pretty formal when it comes to a Team USA blowout. Argentina sent their starters to the bench and Team USA rested their stars allowing rookie Anthony Davis to take the court.

To make it simple, Team USA owned the second half. In the first half, Team USA played effectively but their defense was questionable as they allowed Argentina on easy baskets under the hoop and open three pointers. Team USA allowed Argentina to score 59 points through 20 minutes of play in the first half which is obviously not a good sign for the Americans.

Kevin Durant would end up finishing with 28 points, including an 8 for 10 shooting from three, and fellow forward starter LeBron James would finish with 18 points and 5 assists. Minnesota Timberwolves All-Star Kevin Love would help Team USA silently during their 3rd quarter as he got some tip in shots and also was solid on the boards. Love would finish with 13 points and 9 rebounds including 4 offensive rebounds. Kobe Bryant would go on to score 11 points and Chris Paul would finish with 17 points, 4 assists, and 4 rebounds. Philadelphia 76ers forward Andre Iguodala would finish with 13 points and 9 rebounds through 10 minutes of action only. Carmelo Anthony would only score 5 points.

As for Argentina, they had 6 players finish in double figures led by Manu Ginobili’s 16 points, 6 rebounds, and 6 assists. Fellow starting guard, Carlos Delfino finished with 13 points and forward Andres Nocioni had 12 points. Off the bench, Leonardo Gutierrez, who had a solid start in the game, finished with 11 points including three 3 pointers. Phoenix Suns forward Luis Scola finished with 11 points while off  the bench big man Juan Gutierrez ended up with 12 points.

Argentina and USA are both going to enter the elimination round, which will tip off on August 8 (Wednesday). USA will be taking on Australia while Argentina will be taking on Brazil. 

Feb 29, 2012; San Antonio, TX, USA; San Antonio Spurs guard Tony Parker (left) talks with France team director Patrick Beesley (right) and French national basketball team coach Vincent Collet after the game against the Chicago Bulls at the AT

“Forget the first five games! The way Team USA played in those five games are irrelevant to how they will play in the real Olympic games against tough teams like Spain or France!” Is what most people would say, especially Team USA fans around the world. No. For critics like myself and many others around Fansided.com will tell you that every stats in game played a certain team in recent days even exhibition games will be used to make a prediction/analysis on the game results. Unfortunately, we (writers and critics) are never always right. Some teams play poorly in one situation and play well in an opposite situation. However, there’s still nothing we can base our “intuitions” on without stats. Anyways, that’s what every sports writer I bet does.

That previous paragraph may have seemed pointless or not understandable to most of you, and for those who weren’t able encode that message, it’s basically the same way I see when I study Biology. And one of the most famous contributors to the world of Biology, specifically Medical Microbiology, is French-scientist, Louis Pasteur. Some of the things Pasteur stated are somewhat as not understandable to me as the first paragraph to some of you currently reading this article.

Later today, Team USA will tip off it’s gold medal quest against the home country of Louis Pasteur, France. The 2012 French National Basketball has 6 players with NBA experience under their belt, 2 former NBA talents, and 1 incoming NBA rookie. Among all French players, the most notable player has to be the 3-time NBA champion and 2007 NBA Finals MVP, Tony Parker of the San Antonio Spurs. This past season under rumored future Team USA head coach Gregg Popovich, Parker solidified his place as the Spurs new franchise player by averaging 20.1 points, 6.8 assists, and 3.6 rebounds and is going to bring that same intensity to the 2012 London Olympics.

Parker will be taking on three NBA players from the Oklahoma City Thunder, the team that came back 0-2 to win the Western Conference Finals against Parkers’ Spurs, in James Harden, Russell Westbrook, and of course Kevin Durant. Unlike having foreign teammates from all over the world in San Antonio, Tony Parker will be having teammates from his own home country. With starting center Joakim Noah not playing in this year’s games, forward Nicolas Batum will most likely be the second most notable French athlete for France. Throughout this entire summer, Batum has been chased and clawed for by the Portland Trail Blazers and the Minnesota Timberwolves. In the end, Batum ended up in Portland and with that behind him, he can focus on the Olympic games and his match with Team USA.

Tony Parker may have multiple international teammates with him in the Spurs’ locker room, but one of them is actually his teammate in the Olympic games, Boris Diaw, the starting forward for France alongside Batum. Diaw just recently moved to San Antonio this year and has been a key factor in the team’s “success”. Diaw is one of the best passing forwards/centers in the game today and his shooting and scoring is quite bad as well. Batum is the somewhat the opposite at that as he is a slashing forward who is one of the better all-around defenders in the NBA today. Lucky Blazers. Joining Diaw in the paint will be recent NBA champion, Ronny Turiaf. Being a bench warmer for Team USA superstar LeBron James of the Miami Heat, Turiaf was happy to be with LeBron in the playoffs but today, he’ll be seeing a lot of LeBron attacks on him, unless he can do something about it. Former NBA forward Mickael Gelabale, rounds out the starting line-up for France.

Coming off the bench, France has 2 NBA players in Kevin Seraphin of the Washington Wizards and Nando de Colo an incoming rookie of the San Antonio Spurs and one former NBA player in Yakhouba Diawara. Last season Seraphin improved his stats from his rookie season, by averaging 7.9 points and pulled down 4.9 rebounds per game coming off the bench for USA’s capital city’s NBA team (Washington Wizards). France all in all will definitely give a solid challenge to Team USA who just came off an exhibition game domination against #2 world ranked, yet incomplete, Spain. Tony Parker, much like Manu Ginobili when Argentina took on Team USA earlier this week, will cause havoc inside for Team USA. This in part is the situation as to which Team USA’s bigs must come in and dominate. With Joakim Noah already out of the lineup, and leaving Turiaf and Diaw, it’s time for Kevin Love and Tyson Chandler of Team USA to step up and dominate offensively and most of all defensively.

Offense will be sort off a situation for the Americans as France’s perimeter defense anchored by Nicolas Batum, LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, and Kevin Durant will be challenged when they try to score. Diaw is not that quick but his one-on-one defense in the half-court set is as good as it gets. Tony Parker, however, will still be the main source of offense for the French. Just like the 2012 Western Conference Finals, Russell Westbrook played great defense on Parker, yet who at times managed to score. With Durant and Harden also present, the information on stopping Parker as a team will be present in the pre-game talks. Look for Team USA to dominate inside with LeBron James, Chris Paul, and Kevin Love trying to control the paint in their own special way.

USA vs France will be shown on NBC at 9:30 AM ET 

For more NBA analysis and opinions, check out Theon’s general NBA blog, THEONBA! 

My prediction: USA wins.