Team USA did not have Dame in the game in crunch time. I think this is the way to go. His shooting has been all over the place and he hurts us defensively (although his effort as been there.) I did like him in the game when KD was out in the 4th though. I think that makes a lot of sense.

The international medal table is sorted with golds first (not total medals). China is still 7 golds up and track events are drying up with some table tennis left.

Could the gold medal game be the tiebreaker? How's that for pressure!?!

Australia 24-18 after the first. USA struggling with their 3 point shooting.

45-42 Australia at the half. USA is lucky to be down by 3. They were down by 13 in the second quarter. USA made a run in the final minutes.

USA has only made two 3 pointers. Australian are making 3s, playing defense, making good passes and getting to the line. USA is struggling in those areas.

I'm going to state the obvious that we all know. The USA team is a team where they just got some players in the last month to make a team. While Australia is a team that has played with each other.

Durant is scoring but he needs help. Fortunate to be down only be 3.

74-55 USA end of third. They came out right at the gate in the third. Making 3s, playing defenses and passing the ball. Durant had helped this quarter with Booker scoring.

Team USA wins 97-78. Just like the Spain game was a tale of two halves. Didn't play good the first half and played great in the second half. Will play for gold.

The commentator said the game will be on Friday night at 9:30pm central time.

Sports-Ag said:

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74-55 USA end of third. They came out right at the gate in the third. Making 3s, playing defenses and passing the ball. Durant had helped this quarter with Booker scoring.

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32-10 3rd quarter. Pretty darn good.

The redemption tour continues. USA will play France tomorrow night in the final.

Hot take. USA should bench Dame in the finals.

US was down 41-26 in the 2nd quarter and outscored them 48-14 to the end of the 3rd.

Gold medal game will be on Friday at 9:30pm on NBC.

44-39 USA at the half.

Lillard not showing up again.

Lilliard and Booker, combined 0-7 for 1 point.

I can't believe Pop would coach them so terribly!

USA 73-67 with 6:28 left. Going through a rough patch now

I'll take it

Middleton a NBA championship and gold medal within like a month's time. Might be the best month of his life.

Super happy for team USA to win the gold. You know they had to feel a lot of pressure after the way the came out in Vegas and then the loss to France that first game.

Some random thoughts:

-I hate the way FIBA is officiated. I know we all like to **** on NBA refs all the time for their inconsistencies, but watching all of these international games is like watching a junior high game. I have no clue what will or won't be called a foul. Guys will get hammered with a no call only to have a touch foul immediately called on the other end. Drives me nuts.

-since FIBA is a blood bath, guys like Lillard and Booker are damn near useless. They're not physical enough to fight/finish through contact and they're not good defenders. If they're not knocking down shots, they're pretty worthless out there. A lot of people wanted Trae Young to replace Bradley Beal, but he falls in the same category.

-it's getting more and more difficult for the US to just throw guys out there and beat people. The world is not only getting better, but they have so much more chemistry because they've all played together. Hopefully we find a way to not walk into these early games still trying to figure out how to play with each other.

-KD is unreal. On a team filled with superstars from the best basketball league in the world, they all deferred to him.

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-it's getting more and more difficult for the US to just throw guys out there and beat people. The world is not only getting better, but they have so much more chemistry because they've all played together. Hopefully we find a way to not walk into these early games still trying to figure out how to play with each other.

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And to your other points about Trae, Booker, etc, US players just want to get the refs to bail them out too much rather than going and taking it.

Jordan got his bail outs, but his purpose every time he drove was to score, not to draw the foul.

Guitarsoup said:

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Quote:

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-it's getting more and more difficult for the US to just throw guys out there and beat people. The world is not only getting better, but they have so much more chemistry because they've all played together. Hopefully we find a way to not walk into these early games still trying to figure out how to play with each other.

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And to your other points about Trae, Booker, etc, US players just want to get the refs to bail them out too much rather than going and taking it.

Jordan got his bail outs, but his purpose every time he drove was to score, not to draw the foul.

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Physical guys are more useful in the international game than crafty, finesse guys. Zach Lavine is not a better player than Lillard or Booker in the NBA, but he was way better here in the Olympics because he's big and strong. He goes up with the intention of dunking the crap out of the ball every time.

Beat40 said:

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Middleton a NBA championship and gold medal within like a month's time. Might be the best month of his life.

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He and his wife also had a baby after the finals I believe.

FWIW Dame was playing through an abdominal injury during the entire tournament. I don't think his game suits international ball anyways but could explain some of his struggles.

Enzo The Baker said:

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I can't believe Pop's political views didn't get in the way of him coaching USA to gold.

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Would have won two Golds this year if he voted for Trump

LawHall88 said:

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Just got beat by Nigeria in an exhibition game. Not exactly an auspicious debut.

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But a tremendous finish!

Not a good time to be a free agent

Australia’s Aron Baynes was missing from the Boomers’ medal podium in Tokyo. Tough news: Sources say Baynes remains in the hospital with severe nerve damage in his neck, an injury more significant than initially diagnosed, and could miss the entire 2021-22 season.

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) August 7, 2021

Coach Pop came with that energy after winning the gold-medal game 😤

(via @dismayne, @JaValeMcGee) pic.twitter.com/3zBthn6j3A

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) August 16, 2021