As Team USA continues their campaign for a gold medal in the 2016 Rio Olympics, they face a familiar foe in Argentina. As the American ball club no longer looks like the invincible team they seemingly were in the earlier stager of the Olympics, there could be a chance for Argentina to make this an interesting match.
This is a different Team USA that swept Argentina in the 2012 Beijing Olympics in a blowout win, missing key star players like LeBron James and Kobe Bryant, that effortlessly marched through their competition. This new American squad consists of Olympic newcomers Kyrie Irving and Demarcus Cousins, with team captain Carmelo Anthony. Until recently, the 2016 Team USA showed shades of "The Supreme Team" of the 2012 London Olympics.
The "Golden Generation" Team Argentina led by Manu Ginobili and Luis Scola will get a second shot at Team USA, the same team that they knocked off in the 2004 Summer Olympics to win the gold medal, says SB Nation. Team USA would avenge the devastating loss to Argentina and reclaim the gold in 2008 in Beijing and 2012 in London. This is another chance for Argentina to prove that they can still level the Americans.
According to the odds and predictions of IBT, Team USA is still the heavy favorite against Argentina with a +23.5 odds of winning, despite the recent unimpressive performances over the last 3 games. Regardless of the close games against Australia, Serbia and France, USA still has the best team in the Olympics with the deepest roster. They also hold the record for most points per game, averaging 104.8.
But with sloppy play and being unable to finish off teams that were supposedly a mismatch for them, USA showed that they still lack experience and team chemistry even with the best players in the world on their squad. This gives the mature Argentinian ball club a fighting chance against the great Team USA.
Team USA and Team Argentina will face off in the 2016 Olympic Basketball quarterfinals on Thursday, August 18.
