Morning Hoops: Olympic Basketball Provides a New Treat

I’ve watched a lot of basketball over the years, but I can definitively say this is a true first for me: waking up before 6 a.m. to catch a b-ball game on TV. It’s halftime of the US vs. Australia game at the Olympics, and the US just hit a half-court shot to go up 12 right before the half. If you’re the Australians, don’t you have to wonder about those basketball gods? I mean, shoot, they have LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, and you give them crazy hits like that?! Really, though, so far the Australians have effectively followed the playbook for how you stay with the Americans: Neutralize ball pressure by attacking the basket with the dribble (sort of a staple of any offensive game plan against Mike Krzyzewski teams). Don’t turn the ball over (I think they have seven or eight turnovers at the half, which, against Kobe & Co., qualifies as low-turnover basketball). Try to make all the US shots difficult (or make the US shoot free throws). Hope the Americans ... (link)