Sunday, July 31, 2016

July 31st, 2016: Australia at USA

Just the Facts, Ma'am: Team USA broke open a close game in the second quarter and beat Australia 104-89. Diana Taurasi led the US with 20 points, 16 in the third quarter; she was one of five American players in double figures. Liz Cambage of Australia led all scorers with 22 points, adding eight rebounds, but she and Leilani Mitchell (18 points) were the only Opals to hit double digits.

For fluffy little bunnies, quarter stars, jingoism, flags, ill-advised passes out of the post, Husky fans everywhere, and distracted players, join your intrepid and slightly out of place blogger after the jump.
And this second game is going to be the most frustrating jingo-fest in the world, I can already tell. I know we're technically on the USA's home turf, but really, doing the t-shirt toss while Australia's on the court? Really?

I'm really tempted to root for Australia, just to be contrary. I'm not okay with treating three teams neutrally and then going all out for the US. This is not okay with me. I mean, literally, they had the USA come out to the Liberty's entrance music. I'm okay with patriotism, but in small amounts.

At halftime, the US is up 54-48. Elena Delle Donne has been perfect, with 17 points. Leilani Mitchell has 16 to lead the Opals.

Maybe it's a stupid petty thing to take the organizers to task for- but why was the US anthem the only one introduced by title? Either introduce all four anthems in the event as "La Marseillaise", "O Canada", "Advance Australia Fair", and "The Star-Spangled Banner", or introduce them as "the national anthem of insert-country-here".

This was a faster and somewhat more interesting game than the first one, although the first one was more competitive for longer. Sometimes it can be fun to see the best players in the world, even when they're outclassing everyone by a country mile.

Is Laura Hodges the artist formerly known as Laura Summerton? She looked vaguely familiar. She was physical, but not always efficiently so. Marianna Tolo didn't have an easy job- congratulations, you're the backup center, so you get to take on Brittney Griner and Sylvia Fowles. Have fun. I thought she had a pretty good handle on the little things for her team- screens, boxing out, that kind of thing. Rachel Jarry mixed it up inside defensively, but I'm drawing a blank on her offense. Cayla George only played very briefly in each half. I don't envy her the expectations that come from being a forward wearing #15 for the Opals.

Tessa Lavey came on a little stronger near the end of the game, though whether that's an improved sense of how the game flowed or a decrease in general defensive attention, I don't know. She had some nice back and forth with Natalie Burton. She shoots very quickly, possibly too quickly. There's such a thing as overthinking things for a shooter, but there's also such a thing as shooting without getting properly set. For a player who did a lot of shooting from the outside, Katie Rae Ebzery got to the line a fair amount (though those might have been for over the limit fouls). Stephanie Talbot is promising. There's something about her that reminds me of Penny Taylor. I can't put my finger on it, but there's something.

Liz Cambage has a huge amount of talent, and if someone could talk her into harnessing it, she'd be unstoppable. But she can't keep her head in the game- she misses a couple of shots, and she starts getting frustrated. She also seems too dependent on her dominant hand- she didn't seem comfortable shooting from the opposite side, and it cost her. When she puts her mind to it and uses her build to her favor, she's amazing. Natalie Burton was solid, if unremarkable. I'm not sure she's long-term starter material, though. Penny Taylor started off decently enough, but tapered off. I think the USA keyed on her and forced her into some really bad shots. She was more focused on the perimeter than I'm used to, and I don't think that's a coincidence.

Erin Phillips remains feisty on both ends of the floor. You already knew she was going to be tough on defense, but she found ways to get her shots off on offense, too. Again, she seemed more reliant on the jumper than she is in the W, which makes me think the US defense was focusing on preventing the drive. Somehow, though, they managed to overlook Leilani Mitchell, who had herself a fine game. Mitchell found the few lanes that opened up and took full advantage of them, and she had a nice game from the outside too. She wasn't really able to keep the US guards in front of her, but they had just as much trouble with her.

(Someone needs to really drill the words to "Advance Australia Fair" into her, though. It's super obvious when she's the only one not singing along. {Especially when Cambage is really animated about it.})

So, uh, in case you didn't know this, Elena Delle Donne shoots real pretty. You give her an inch of space and you might as well just put two points on the board and hand over the ball, just to save time. She was phenomenal in the first half. Angel McCoughtry set things on fire- metaphorically, not literally- in the second quarter. She was fired up and ready to go. Brittney Griner lost the first round against Cambage, when she got two quick fouls and had to sit down, but she definitely won the second round. And then Cambage got the fourth foul, and Tolo and Burton drew the unenviable task of trying to guard her. Sylvia Fowles was strong defensively, but not so much offensively, and her court vision needs work. (Do not pass the ball to Geno. For a myriad of reasons, this is not an effective strategy. She came out of the game right after that.)

Breanna Stewart played briefly, but she left no real impact on me except that she's still a ways off from being the next Delle Donne (I seem to recall Geno subbing her for Delle Donne and vice versa). Lindsay Whalen drove pell-mell, almost recklessly, into the teeth of the Australian defense. She missed her calling in hockey, she really did. (And yes, I know, women's hockey doesn't allow checking, it's a travesty and a sham and a mockery.) Seimone Augustus flashed crossover moves and faked defenders out, but it took a while for her to find her groove.

Tina Charles did not deal well with the size of Liz Cambage, and I think the mask may also have been affecting her vision- her shot looked off when she took it. I think she got the start because of the home crowd (Geno seems to have played to the arena for his starting lineups), but she wasn't on top of her game. Tamika Catchings brought her usual brand of ferocity to the floor, especially on the defensive end. Maya Moore started the game on fire, automatic on the jumper. She started forcing things more as the defense tightened on her. She's really scary when she puts her mind to it, though. Switch in Whalen and Fowles for Bird and Charles, and this starting five might be All-"Team-I-Don't-Want-To-Meet-In-A-Dark-Alley".

Diana Taurasi was the star of the third quarter. Four points at the half, twenty points ten minutes of game time later. That's what Taurasi does. She was bombing threes like nobody's business in the third. Sue Bird wasn't looking to score, which was almost disappointing by the end, when she was the only member of Team USA that hadn't scored a point. She found her teammates well and she controlled the pace of the game. But I think in real competition, as opposed to a friendly, we're going to need her to be more of a threat, either offensively or defensively.

If Team USA has a weakness, it's at point guard. Our guards are capable, but they're not up to the same par as the rest of the squad.

How in the nine circles of Dante's classical inferno did Tiara Cruse get FIBA certification? I mean, the officiating wasn't terrible, but it got very physical, very quickly- there was a back and forth where you had a player basically be allowed a free revenge shot. (I think it was Talbot and Delle Donne, but don't quote me on that.)

I was surprised I didn't hear as much of the Aussies as I expected, though they were likely on the other side of the arena.

This was the kind of game both teams needed- they showed enough of their strengths to feel confident, but recognized enough of their weaknesses to know what needs to be shored up before Rio.

See you on the other side of the break, boys and girls!

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