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The game was just an exhibition, so they're not out of anything. I only watched a little of the game but Italy was shooting nothing, and I mean nothing, but threes and hit pretty much every single one of them. Then on defense, they were packing in the zone. With a team that hasn't played together much, and is short on perimeter shooters, the U.S. was kinda screwed considering how hot the Italians were. The U.S. team is far from it's best possible, but still is much more talented overall than any other team. The problem is that they spend almost no time playing together when compared to the time the other teams spend. American players also are short on fundamentals, team play, and perimeter shooting thanks to that asshat David Stern's abomination to the basketball world, the NBA. The talent disparity isn't enough to overcome that anymore. They still are slight favorites IMO to win the gold but it wouldn't be surprising at all if they don't. I think a game like this could be a good wake up call though, as I think the American players haven't come to grips with how much the rest of the world has caught up.
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