Hello Smash fans! I hope you all are having amazing days. In this week’s installment we are going to talk about US Olympic Basketball and why they aren’t performing to the best of their abilities. Without further ado, let’s get into it.
First off, the style of basketball being played is different than what these players are used to. The NBA is a lot more free flowing and offensive dominate than the Olympic brand. In the euro leagues and in the Olympics the games are reefed in a way that lets the players play. This makes it harder for players to draw fouls which a lot of the US players lean on pretty heavily at times. This means that the US team not only looses those points, but the lack of calls also frustrates the players leading to careless play.
Second off, a lot of these players are physically exhausted. Usually the players that play in the Olympics get time off between when they finish their NBA campaign and when they start playing in the Olympics. That didn’t happen for a lot of these players. Most of the people on this team had to go straight from playing in the NBA playoffs to the Olympics. That is hard on the body, and it makes sense that players are not at 100 percent.
Thirdly, there are a lot of first time Olympians on this team. Over half the team have not been to the Olympics before. This will lead to the players having a bigger adjustment period and more nerves. Additionally, there are some major gaps in age and maturity levels on the team. Furthermore there has been a lot of roster turnover. This all has lead to chemistry issues that are clearly evident on the court.
Finally, the talent around the world is better now than ever. As you look across the NBA alone, you see the shift. The best basketball player in the world in my opinion is Giannis. The first foreign player to ever hold the title. This trend holds as you zoom out as nearly half of the top 10 players are foreign nationals. This shift in talent makes the Olympics harder than ever.
Thank you Smash Fans for sticking with me until the end. If you want to talk about this topic or any other topic sports-related, please email me or text me using the information on the contact page. If you want to support me even more, please consider following my Spotify as well as subscribing to my YouTube channel and blog for weekly podcasts and articles. Until next time, PD Smash signing off.
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