USA vs. Greece: The Live Blog
-3:30 am EST. Ingredients: My Greek buddy Grish, two cups of coffee, a laptop, a semi-final match-up between USA and Greece, and me. Stir. Toss. Refrigerate.
-Where are we LIVE from? Oh, sweet: For relaxing times, make it Saitama time.
-Starting 5 for USA: Anthony, Joe Johnson, Brand, LeBron and Hinrich. As for Greece:? Um, I’m not writing that down. Just imagine a lot of l’s, o’s, and u’s…
First Q: Greece wins the tip, and on their first possession can’t get the ball deeper than the free-throw line. Forced jumped. I could be back in bed quickly…
-Heavy Greek support in the crowd, banners all the way down. When will the NBA start doing this?
-Greek steal in transition, flipped ahead, dunk, 6-5 for the Greeks. It’s over. (Kidding.)
-USA off to a rough start: 1-for-6 shooting.
-Grish, astonished: “Is that a black Greek?” (Yes, yes it is: #5 Sofoklis Schortsianitis.) And yes, TV talking man, he does have a little Tractor Traylor in him. (And I mean IN him, in him.) Guy is huge.
-Chris Paul, the first US sub, goes straight to work. He gets a rebound, and then the Derrick McKey assist.
-Out of the timeout, Wade and Dwight in. (Scream like a little girl, everyone!)
-USA clears out for LeBron — easy, easy lay-up.
-Hairy Greek man with a beard for 3! Early on its 13, 12 USA. (And I can’t stress the word “early” enough. *Chugs coffee*)
-I take a quick leak, miss the bowl, and Dwight Howard rebounds my pee! He is everywhere: 3 boards, 2 dunks, shooting at the line … 1 for 2.
-Wade grabs the o. board, dunk, 18-12 USA.
-Dwight with another o. rebound off a missed free-throw. Wash your hands big man.
-Diamantidis takes it to the rack and picks up the foul. He misses both. 19-14 USA. I tell you, Greece has to hit EVERY single freebie tonight – today? – if they have any chance of winning this thing.
-End of 1st Q: 20-14 USA. Like every 1st Q. the US has played so far, it’s not pretty.
Second Q: LeBron gets called for a charge, and then fouls the jump shooter. The King is upset with the refs. How do I know this? He’s making that, “I’m sort of angry — slash — sort of taking a dump” face right now.
-Iso for ‘Melo on the right side: He thinks about it, kicks it out, it goes right back in, jumper, money. Man, I love basketball like that. USA up 5.
-‘Melo again (x2). First he hits a lil’ floater deep in the lane. Then he gets a steal on the other end, and finishes with a lay-up. 30-21 MELO. (OK, he’s got 12.)
-Great pick and roll by Greece, but Schortsianitis couldn’t get high enough to dunk it. “LAY IT IN, Big Man! Lay. It. In.”
-New Rockets guard Vasileios Spanoulis — from here on out V-Span — is fouled shooting a 3. He hits all of them.
-Back the other way, Kirk misses a 3, long rebound fires out … Greece finishes on the other end. Don’t look now but they’re sticking around! 33-28 USA.
-Left-hand layup by Greece. That’s 9 unanswered points, I believe the saying goes. Greece down only 3.
-Greece screens the screener and Chris Paul gets caught. Open 3 … good. That was way too easy.
-Oooh … beautiful lead-pass by Greece to Schortsianitis. He dunks it this time. Good for him. Greece down 1. Grish is pumping his fist like crazy right now.
-Greece drops into a zone, Joe Johnson attacks it, drops to Bosh, dunk. Well done.
-Schortsianitis again. Damn, he’s only 21? Kids got some game. Greece has the lead. Grish is inching forward, I think he’s excited. 39-38 Greece.
-Schortsianitis AGAIN! Up 3. Greece steal, which is followed by another runner that bounces in. Greece up 5. Timeout USA. Coach K says, “Let’s talk about it.” “It” of course meaning, “sucking ass right now.”
-Greece’s #12 Konstantinos Tsartsaris … Adam Carolla?
-Half-time: 45-41 Greece.
Third Q: USA with some pressure perimeter D, but Greece beats it, and hits the jumper.
-”I see your 3 fine sir, and I shall call”: Both teams trade 3’s. 50-46 Greece.
-Wow, Greece is on fire right now. I can’t remember the last time they missed. (And yup, they miss a free-throw as soon as I type that.) Greece up 6.
-Pick and roll, pick and roll, pick and roll… Schortsianitis with 2 more.
-Anthony right away on the other end, BUT Schortsianitis right away on the other end! This is back-to-back action folks. It’s like a Fred Smoot sex toy!
-Schortsianitis picks up his 3rd foul and they sub him out. It’ll be interesting to see how Greece plays without him. Watch for that, okay? (Well, read for that…) Greece up 8.
-USA is a dreadful 11-21 from the line. Brutal. Wade helps the percentage a little bit though by hitting two. USA down 6.
-Deep 3 from V-Span molests the rim, and rattles in. That net must look huge right now to Greece. 59-50, ‘bout half-way thru the 3rd.
-Absolute MONSTER 3 from Greece!!! (Who was that?) Greece 5-11 from deep, Greece up 12.
-AND ANOTHER 3! Greece up 14. Am I dreaming this right now? This is not looking good for the USA. Would someone please page Mr. ‘Melo?
-Seriously, how do you say “pick and roll” in Greek? Delta Phi Sigma?
-After 2 free-throws, Greece runs another successful pick and roll, but ‘Melo answers with a 3. (There he is.)
-And yet another 3 for ‘Melo. 71-61 Greece. Chip, chip, chip…
-Dikoudis takes Wade to school on the block. So pretty. Greece up 12.
-Battier goes all rugby on us, and hits the floor for a loose ball. That’s a scrappy, scrappy play. The ball pops out and ends up in ‘Melo’s hands under the basket. 2 points. Down 10.
-Battier with a big offensive rebound, and draws the foul. Where was he earlier on? He gives half of his coin to charity. Nice guy.
-Ooooo … Battier — playing the role of spark plug right now — gets a nice perimeter block. On the other end the US moves the ball around well, Wade goes to the net, picks up the foul. He MISSES the first one. (Ugh.) He hits the 2nd. Down 10 … again.
-Wade goes hard to the net but doesn’t get the NBA Finals call he obviously was looking for. Greece scoops it up, and beats the buzzer with a lay-up. End of 3 q’s: 77, 65 Greece!
-Grish: “Break out the Ouzo, baby!”
Fourth Q: Coach K goes “small-ball” with the Wade, LeBron, ‘Melo, JJ, and Kirk, probably to see if quick weak side help stop this high pick and rollin’ clinic by Greece.
-Ooooo … Wade with a ridiculous up and under lay-up, WAY HIGH OFF THE GLASS. And 1. Down 9.
-Greece hits another 3! What the “Hellas” going on!? (Oh man, I was saving that one.) Greece up 12.
-‘Melo at the line, goes 1-for-2 … I have copied and pasted “1-for-2” all morning. Down 11.
-‘Melo penetrates, kicks to Wade. Dunk. Down 9. The US can’t seem to get closer than 9 or 10.
-See: Greece answers with a bucket, And 1. Paul and Battier are back in.
-‘Melo with (another) 3. “Get on my back, bitches!” US back down 9.
-But once again Greece has a answer — most likely in Greek — for everything. They hit another left hand lay-up on the other end. Wowzers.
-Wade hits a 3. USA down 8. Only 7 minutes remain.
-V-Span in transition gets the foul AND Wade is called for goaltending. Nice. V-Span misses the free-throw though. Check it: Greece up 11.
-Ouch! Chris Paul with a careless turnover on the flipside.
-Missed 3 for Greece, and LeBron converts an easy two. USA down 9. If that Greek three goes in, I say game. USA catches a huge break.
-LeBron overpowers hairier men, and hits his patent lay-up. USA down 7.
-Fantastic Greek coaching here: They notice the US going small so they sneak in big boy Schortsianitis and get him the ball deep immediately. Foul. Schortsianitis goes 1-of-2 from the line.
-Wade misses a dunk in traffic (no foul?), Greek comes back, turnover.
-LeBron time: Another basket. USA down 6 now.
-But V-Span takes Wade: 2 points.
-Ooooo … Kirk hits a big BJ Armstrong-like 3 in the corner. It’s a 5-point difference.
-Greece goes back inside to Schortsianitis. Kirk has to foul. Oh, the refs say it was intentional. That’s 2 and the ball for Greece! Only 2:17 left.
-Schortsianitis misses the first one … and misses the second! They get the ball back though.
-V-Span for Greek Prime Minister! (They have that there right?) V-Span hits a big 3! Greece up 8.
-Wade forces a 3 on the other end. “Break out the lamb and feta cheese folks…” That’s got to be game.
-USA steal, Wade lay-up. Down 6. 1 minute left. 94-88 Greece.
-Greece with a missed 3, but they grab the o. rebound. USA fouls. 1-of-2. 95-88 Greece.
-Kirk hits another 3 in the corner, and gets raped while doing so. No call? Wow. USA down 4.
-USA has to foul. 36 sec. left. Kakiouzis hits 1 … and 2. Greece up 6.
-LeBron hits a bucket and then the US forces a (pretty quick?) 5 sec. call. USA ball. Is this possible?
-Ball thrown in …‘Melo jacks a super quick 3. Way off. Foul. Greece hits both. (Clutch free-throw shooting here down the stretch…) Up 6.
-Ooooo … LeBron with a HUGE 2-handed dunk. UGH! Can we give the US like 4, 5 points for that? 99-95 Greece.
-USA fouls. 15 sec. left. Greece hits the first — yup, that’s 100 points — and the 2nd.
-OPA! It’s over. 101-95 Greece. Somewhere in the world Kobe Bryant is smiling…
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26 Responses to “USA vs. Greece: The Live Blog”
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The Basketball Jones is a NBA blog and podcast, written and recorded five times a week by J.E. Skeets, Tas Melas and Jason Doyle. Comments, questions and cold hard cash are always welcome and much appreciated. Contact us.
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Skeets, thanks for taking one for the team by doing this. Although, I really would have wished you re-wrote the script, but, I know you just type it like you see it. By the way, my day started by the fire alarm going off in the dorm at 6:10 am (an hour and a half before I had to wake up) and then I checked the FIBA scores. I think this is a bad way to start my day.
Basketball note: V-Span for the Rockets JE. I got to know, is this going to be a good thing (it sounds like it, but how do you think he’ll tranlate into the NBA?)? I’m going to go and try and enjoy my crappy day now.
Fantastic commentary my friend. I enjoyed it very much!!!
OPAAAAAAA!!!!!!! Horray for HELLASSSSSSS!!!!!!
skeets wins!!!
stupid americans
Update: Tas Melas just broke all the plates in his house.
Screw the beef … where’s The Greek?
So much to say about the tourney but let me just say:
Ellas, OLE, OLE! Ellas, OLE, OLE!
Den stamato na tragoudo pote!!!!
This gives me hope for the Rockets next season - scrappy D from Battier, 3 point shooting from V-Span, Yao and T-Mac dominant offensively. Or they could stink it up again, year after year, just like Team USA likes to do.
tas, you know i don’t speak spanish
[…] If you were rooting for Team USA, this isn’t the live blog you want to read. (Basketball Jones) […]
nice work skeets, pretty impressive dedication. i, too, made the mistake of staying up to watch this embarassment…i had nightmares of balki bartakamos and cousin larry smoking me with the pick-and-roll all night last night. the 3 that ‘melo jacked up w/ 27 seconds left was atrocious; never seemed that he or wade understood the USA didn’t need them to get theirs for the team to win
I’m digging the whole ‘post now, post later, post until I’ve got carpel tunnel syndrome’ lately Skeets. It fills up 10 minutes of my day instead of the usual 3. Most appreciated.
But I’m left to ask: did you quit your job or something?
Slim, Melo: I honestly think your Rockets will destroy this year, and V-Span will be a decent reason why. (Of course, Battier even more…)
Ray: Funny. I had nightmares of Balki Bartokomous and Cousin Larry having a foursome with Jennifer and Mary Anne.
Ben: No. Instead I’ve shown a new found … one word … four syllables … sounds like … “bread vacation”. I’ve also cut back on my beauty sleep and am trying to blog early in the morning. Glad you appreciate it though. I’m ugly as fuck right now.
hey,hate to admit it but this greek team rocks…Is a TEAM.And pleaz dudes,some info adout this baby shaq guy???He iz da bomb.
i think this is the best play-by-play comentary.. ever!
I was at the game last night and was disappointed why Coach K if anything. Why did he continue to play Anthony when didn’t put out any effort on “D” and what was up with our shot section too?
Coach just got out coached.
I met the NBA staff at the Four Seasons in Tokyo this week and they are all arrogant jerks, each and everyone one of them; right down to the IT guy. I am glade the self-important !@#% lost!
Screw Milk…Got Greekstyle Team??? Awesome & pimpin playas!!!The only DREAM TEAM now is GREECE!!!!!!!
Greeks rock…for real.I guess we can’t compete these guyz…they are better than us.So…the only thing I can say now is….OLEEEEE…Hellas OLE OLEEEEEEEE….Hellas OLE OLEEEEEEEE.DEN STAMATO NA TRAGOUDO POTEEE!!!!!!!!!
Love to see all of the Greeks comin’ out. Hehe.
Arrogance doesn’t get you far, unpraised worth does. The Greeks played as they live;with their souls. Speaking of arrogance, what was with the USA players not congradulating the winning team and just walking off the court?!!
USA vs GREECE is like MONEY vs BRAIN, BODY vs SOUL or ADVERTISED PERFECTION vs WORKING HARD TRUTH. Sometimes reality wins propaganda!!!!!
Hellas ole, hellas ole, hellas ole ole ole
Greece schooled the US… going for gold baby! going for gold!
damn i wanned usa to win screw greek dey got lucky nice script tho but screw greek
Maybe we’re overblowing this…it was a six-point game that could’ve been won on free throws alone.
[…] Lots has been said about Greece’s upset win over the USA, but this is by far one of the most fitting comments I’ve read. “Shepard” on NBA Macedonia: “As they [Team USA] warmed up before Friday’s semifinal against Greece, the U.S. players put on a jam session for the fans. […]
By the way Skeets, the Dwight Howard rebounding your pee line was classic and your post should be nominated for the live-blogging HOF if there is one
ta parales ligo file mou , mia einai i ousia , sto basket kerdizei i omada ! ena bravo ston coach giannakis giati autos tin eftiakse !
english translation : who cares ! Hellas did it !