North Greenwich Arena
London, England
Time: Friday, 4:00 p.m. EDT
TV: NBC Sports Network
And here we are again. If it feels like it was just a few days ago that were preparing for a slugfest with Argentina, that's because it was. In fact, today's game will mark the third time these two teams have faced each other in as many weeks. Team USA won the first two meetings — the first in a close one, the second in a blowout — and remain substantial favorites to do so again here. However, if I were a betting man, my money would be on tonight's final score being much closer than Monday's game would indicate. This is Argentina's last hurrah with its celebrated core group of Manu Ginobili, Luis Scola, Carlos Del Fino, and Andres Nocioni, and those guys are going to give the United States everything they've got left. They're not afraid of the Americans — they've beat them before, on their way to a gold medal in 2004 — and they're going to go down swinging. (Perhaps literally in Scola's case.) While the odds still favor a U.S. victory, it certainly won't be easy. We should all be a little uneasy about this one.
What To Watch For:
Bad blood. The Olympic tournament has turned increasingly chippy in recent days, climaxing with Nic Batum's vicious shot to the groin of Juan Carlos Navarro at the end of Wednesday's Spain-France game. Similarly, there's plenty of pent-up aggression and bad feelings between the Americans and the Argentinians — much of it stemming from the below-the-belt punch that Facundo Campazzo landed on Carmelo Anthony in Monday's game, which incited both benches to clear and many fingers to be aggressively pointed before slightly cooler heads prevailed. After the incident, and with many of the starters on both teams on the bench, the game became increasingly physical and intense (despite the score disparity), with Team USA seemingly intent on embarrassing Argentina as payback. I mean, Russell Westbrook always dunks hard, but you can't tell me he didn't put something a little extra into this one that wouldn't have been there otherwise. With Olympic refs ostensibly on the lookout for unnecessary aggression in the wake of the Batum-Navarro fracas, it will be interesting to see if any residual bad blood from Monday carries over into this game, and how long it takes to rear its head.
Containing Manu. This is still the problem du jour. As long as Team USA's single biggest weakness continues to be a lack of defensive focus, one of the world's best offensive players will continue to pose a major threat. Could the Americans lose if they come out flat and Manu has one of those special games where he does things that only he can do (i.e. somehow making every shot)? Absolutely. Nothing infuriates me more than watching Ginobili flop his way around the court on defense, but it's undeniable that the man is an offensive savant who has a knack for coming up big when it matters — especially in international play. For Team USA, it may be preferable to let Scola or Del Fino try to beat you by themselves if that means focusing on taking Manu out of the equation. He is the one wild card that could almost single-handedly will Argentina to victory. He must be dealt with accordingly.
Kobe. After playing 10 of the worst quarter I've ever seen him play, Kobe finally started to put it together in the second half against Australia. And it wasn't just because he started making shots — he also started taking the right shots. In the first half, he constantly drove into traffic, forcing bad shots or simply turning it over when he got lost in the trees. I know that's been part of his game with the Lakers for the past few years, but here's the thing: This isn't the Lakers. There's no reason to force those shots here. That's not Smush Parker waiting for a pass on the wing — it's Kevin Durant or LeBron James. It's OK to give it up and wait for a better opportunity. And on this team, those opportunities will likely be open catch-and-shoot jumpers, of which he knocked down several during his second-half hot streak on Wednesday. He needs to keep looking for those chances and give up trying to be a ball-dominant alpha-scorer. (With Steve Nash and Dwight Howard in L.A. now, that shift in mindset will likely benefit the Lakers moving forward as well.) If Kobe can do that and play within the construct of this team and its unique offense, Team USA will be unbeatable.
This one is big — really big. If you're not a little nervous, you're doing it wrong. Go Red. Go White. Go Blue.
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