Miami
The U.S. lost to Puerto Rico, a team they decimated in an exhibition game just two weeks ago. One of the many differences between the two games was the play of Dwyane Wade.
While in both games he was an effective scorer, going from collecting seven points in 21 minutes in the exhibition game to ten points in 20 minutes, his assists numbers were way down. How far down? How about all the way down from a team-high eight assists in the exhibition game down to a single assist in the preliminary game yesterday.
His defense improved in line with his offense, going from one block in the exhibition to one block and three steals in the preliminary. And his rebounding was approximately the same, about three or four rebounds per contest. His fouls doubled from two to four but the main issue was the passing.
Of course, assists are a lot harder to come by when the team shoots a 34.7 percentage than when they shoot 61.0. The main difference was the three-point percentage. From a respectable 42.9 percentage, the U.S. team's hitrate from downtown dropped to just 12.9 percent in the preliminary.
To his credit, Wade did not take a single three-pointer in either game.
Former Heat Lamar Odom was in foul trouble much of the game and eventually fouled out after just 15 minutes of action. While he was effective, apart from the fouls, during his time on the court, the team really could have used his offensive rebounding more.
The U.S. plays host Greece today.
TEAM NOTES
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Clark Spencer ofThe Miami Heraldwrites: Though the U.S. team features a dozen NBA stars -- from Allen Iverson to Tim Duncan, LeBron James to Carmelo Anthony, the Heat's Dwyane Wade to former Heat star Lamar Odom -- none is an exceptionally skilled shooter.Not surprisingly, Puerto Rico employed a zone defense, daring the United States to shoot from the perimeter. The Americans shot -- 24 times, in fact, from beyond a three-point line that is about 2 feet closer to the basket than it is in the NBA -- and missed. Oh, did they miss. With some shots clanging off the side of the backboard and others failing to hit the rim, the United States made only three three-point attempts.
Phil Gordos ofL'Expresswrites: Since then, the likes of Dwyane Wade and Emeka Okafor have had time to reassess and to realise that individual brilliance is not enough to ensure they leave Greece as Olympic champions. “We can’t go out there and think our talent is going to get it done, because it’s not,” said Miami Heat guard Wade.
David Smith ofThe Evening Standardwrites: Dwyane Wade, star guard with Miami Heat, offered no excuses."We came out flat, dug a hole for ourselves and didn't make our shots," he said. "We have a lot to learn from this game, and I hope we can apply it in the games to follow."