- Here is the full game of the U.S. vs. Germany. Another day, another double digit win. Germany did not get it together this tournament, which must be disappointing for Dirk Nowitzki who had been so excited to qualify. This may well have been his Olympic swan song.
- ESPN's Chris Sheridan on Team USA's next opponent: "I've been at the gym since this morning, when I saw Team USA's Wednesday opponent, Australia, destroy previously unbeaten Lithuania by 31, and I've been covering international basketball tournaments long enough to know that you never declare anything over until you see who's standing atop the medal podium at the end. 'The tournament is decided by easy baskets, and with America it's hard to get a shot off, and it's hard to get the ball past the half-court line, and they beat you down the floor and get layups,' said Australian coach Brian Goorjian. 'But if you can get your defense set, you've got a chance. No one I've seen has been able to do that, and that's our challenge.' Goorjian is the only coach who has been able to keep his team close to Team USA through 10 games this summer -- the five warm-ups the Americans played in Las Vegas, Macau and Shanghai, and the five they've played here at Wukesong Arena. Two weeks ago in Shanghai, the Aussies took the floor without their best player, Andrew Bogut, and were within striking distance -- just seven points down -- with five minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. They spread the floor, made 3-point shots, avoided turnovers and even had a player who was faster than Chris Paul that he twice left Paul in his wake on open-court penetrations all the way to the rim."
- Britt Robson of the Rake: "The performance that is likely to affect rotations in the near future was the play of Tayshaun Prince, who got some non-garbage time and drained three of four treys in addition to stolid defense. Not only does this push Michael Redd further into the background, it gives Coach K more length without backsliding on the team's most significant virtue: the ability to extend crushing man-to-man defense out to the perimeter and still guard both the paint and the wings. For most of the tournament, LeBron has been the best inside-outside defensive guy, capable of both filling passing lanes and blocking shots attempted off the dribble. Prince brings a similar dynamic, and if he can also load up the three opponents are going to have yet another matchup nightmare and yet another tough decision about how to defend this collection of superstars."
- Michael Lee of the Washington Post: "Los Angeles Clippers forward Chris Kaman, an American who received German citizenship last July, was asked after the game what it would take to beat the U.S. Kaman, who finished with six points for Germany, rolled his eyes and said, 'No one's going to beat them.'"
- Who's crazier? The sauced, chanting Danish handball fans, or their fans, who take turns jumping in for stalker photos?
- Remember how China would allow only registered protests? So far of the 77 applications to protest, 77 have reportedly been denied.
- A wicked combination of schmoozing, power-brokering, and politeness lead to empty seats at a lot of sold out events in China, including many Olympic events.
- This video includes a nice look at Kobe Bryant and LeBron James, in the stands, reacting to the American men winning gold in the 4 x 100 swimming medley.
- Israel Gutierrez of the Miami Herald on Dwyane Wade and some street vendors by the Great Wall: "Wade's celebrity gets him no special treatment down here, where people make a living pleading for fair prices from tourists. Not even from an older woman trying to sell him a bottle of Gatorade with his own likeness on the bottle. 'Hey, that's me,' he says, sounding very much like his fans on the Wall when they first saw him. Then his tone changes when the woman quotes him a price: 10 yuan. `For a Gatorade? This is me on this. I can get this.' He can also afford it. So 10 yuan it is (about $1.53)."
- According to one report -- could it really be true? -- the nation of Mali has just one basketball court. And their women's team somehow made the Olympics?
- NBA Superfan Jimmy Goldstein has juice. Juice enough, as it happens, to even get into everything at the security-crazy Beijing stdium.
- A big roundup of Ricky Rubio stories.
- SLAM's Lang Whitaker, trying to stay awake as the U.S. killed Germany: "For all the talk about Team USA needing a zone buster and depth on the interior, turns out we didn't need it. At least not yet."
- Yao Ming refuses to talk to reporters, frustrated after seeing short minutes in a blowout loss to Greece. China faces tough Lithuania next, and a loss would end the dream of gold.
- American athletes have tattoos in Chinese. Now a Chinese athlete with a tattoo in English.
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