Big win is this team's dream
BEIJING - There are two walls in China the United States men's basketball team is very familiar with.
One is the legendary Great Wall, which several players have visited during their stay. The other they encounter tonight, known as the Olympic semifinals.
The Americans haven't won a gold medal in a major tournament since the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Since then, the US has not advanced past the semifinals in three straight major competitions. The undefeated and heavily favored Americans (6-0) can change that against 2004 Olympic gold medalist Argentina (5-1) at the Olympic Basketball Gymnasium. The other semifinal matchup is Spain (5-1) vs. Lithuania (5-1).
"I can't wait. I can't wait to get over that hump," said forward Carmelo Anthony, who has played for the US since the 2004 Olympics. "There is no reason we should be held back. Just leave it out there on the court and at the end of the game see what the scoreboard says."
It's been 12 years since the US had it easy in the semifinals of a major tournament - the gold medal-winning Americans hammered Australia, 101-73, in the semis of the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. But in 1998, during the NBA lockout, a gritty US team made up of overseas and college players lost to Russia, 66-64, in the semifinals of the World Championships in Greece, taking the bronze. With Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen on the 2000 Sydney roster, the Americans barely won in the semifinals, 85-83, after Lithuania missed a desperation 3-pointer at the buzzer.
The disappointing Americans, with Paul Pierce, didn't make it to the semifinal round of the 2002 World Championships in Indianapolis, finishing sixth. During the 2004 Olympics, the US lost to Argentina, 89-81, and took the bronze. And in the 2006 World Championships, with a team featuring current Olympians LeBron James, Chris Paul, Dwyane Wade, and Anthony, the US was upset by Greece in the semifinals, the Americans again settling for bronze.
When asked what he learned about the semifinals failures in recent years, guard Wade, who has played for the US the past four years, simply said, "You got to win those games. You play so long and get so hyped for every game that you don't want to play to the end and lose any kind of mental edge."
Argentina barely advanced to tonight's semifinals with an 80-78 victory over Greece. The US hammered Greece, 92-69, in preliminary action. Although those results are an example why the Americans are considered a huge favorite tonight, they respect Argentina because of its NBA-laden roster.
Argentina is led by All-Star shooting guard Manu Ginobili of the Spurs. Other NBA players on its roster include Rockets forward Luis Scola, Bulls forward Andres Nocioni, and Spurs forward-center Fabricio Oberto. Former NBA player Carlos Delfino also plays for Argentina. The US defeated Argentina, which was without Ginobili and Nocioni, in the relatively weak 2007 FIBA Americas Championship, 91-76, in second-round action, and 118-81 in the gold medal game.
"We know what Argentina is capable of doing," Anthony said. "We know they won the gold four years ago. We look at this as another game that is in our way to the gold medal. We don't want to go out there and take it personal against Argentina. We just want to go out there and win the basketball game.
"They have five or six guys that we play against on a daily basis [in the NBA]. It's going to be a tough game. I'm pretty sure we're fired up. We're fired up about this game and fired up about how this is the game before the gold medal game."
Said Kobe Bryant: "They are champions for a reason. We know they are going to play a great game. We're preparing for their best shot."
The Americans' biggest concern is the athletic and crafty Ginobili.
He leads the Olympics in scoring at 20.3 points per game and 3-point field goals made (17), and has also dished out 4.5 assists per contest. Bryant, Wade, and Deron Williams will take turns guarding Ginobili.
"We go way back," said Bryant about Ginobili, referring to the Lakers-Spurs rivalry. "This is the first time I'm playing him while he's representing his country. But I love him as a basketball player. I think he's incredibly dangerous, incredibly skilled. I enjoy matching up with him."
Said Wade: "We know it's going to be a good challenge. We all know that Manu has a variety of moves, shots, tricks. He's very tough. He's going to play 35-38 minutes hard."
Ginobili will have the challenge of guarding two of the world's top scorers in Bryant and Wade, who are averaging 14.7 points and 14.8 points, respectively, in the tournament. Ginobili believes "a miracle" will be needed for Argentina to pull off an upset.
"We know they are, by far, the best team in this tournament," Ginobili said after Argentina defeated Greece. "We are going to try to have our best game and try to go for a miracle. They have enough talent, strength, and desire, after what happened in the last tournament, to win it.
"But we're going to have to play a perfect game and that's probably not going to be enough. They are going to have to play a bad game, too. We're looking forward to it and we're going to try to do our best."
Marc J. Spears can be reached at mspears@globe.com 