USA - Australia -- Olympic Quarterfinal Game Thread

As the top seed from Group A, undefeated Team USA draws Australia at the crossover. The Boomers finished fourth in Group B and are probably the least talented team to advance to the knockout stage, but make no mistake, they can play. Patty Mills of the San Antonio Spurs will be a handful, and Australia also has a bunch of big bodies and should be able to get some scores inside and pound the glass against the small lineups that Coach K loves so much. However, the athleticism difference is just too great, and there's no way that Australia can stop the likes of LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Kobe Bryant, Russell Westbrook, etc. etc. etc.

One thing to watch for is how many threes Team USA takes. I remain convinced that they are settling for threes far too frequently and that it is the one thing that could create a problem for them in this tournament. After today, the last two opponents will be VERY talented, no matter who they are, and if Team USA stays in this mode where they are taking over 40 percent of their shots from behind the arc, but they happen to go cold, that is the one way I can see them losing a game. I don't think Coach K views it as a problem, but it will be interesting to see as we enter the knockout phase if the team dials back the bombs away attitude at least a bit. When the clear advantage you hold as a team is in quickness and athleticism, shooting perimeter jumpers is not exactly playing to your strengths.