First Olympic Memory: Watching on the small, maybe black and white, tv upstairs at West Beach. The salt air drifts through the windows and if it’s a hot night we will have to deal with it because any breeze won’t reach where we sit. The floor is covered in 70s slightly psychedelic indoor/outdoor carpet of bright blue and green stripes that makes me slightly nauseous to look at, which most of the 70s does. It prickles our legs as my brother and I sit on the floor but we don’t care because first of all we are watching television, which is a rare thing, and we are up past our bedtime which is even more rare. Olga Korbut is on the parallel bars and soon we will see Nadia Comaneci. Even through the static on the tv, it’s a perfect 10.
When I was a kid the Olympics were a big deal. I looked forward to it for months, learning the names of the athletes, reading Sports Illustrated, waiting for the familiar sound of Jim McKay guiding us through it all. But in my San Francisco years, I’ve rarely watched the Olympics - too many years of seeing what and who cities destroy to host it, and I’m trying to live a life without ever chanting U-S-A. Also, more practically, San Francisco doesn’t have a local NBC affiliate so watching the Olympics wasn’t possible until I got Hulu a few years ago.
In spite of all these adult realities, there is a part of me that is still that kid on the ugly carpet, transfixed by what I’m seeing on the screen and pretending I understand the intricacies of sports I won’t watch again for four years. The Summer Olympics are all about swimming and track and field and gymnastics, but as usual, I’m staying focused on basketball and tennis. But maybe others are too - LeBron and Coco were the flag bearers, after all.
So let’s talk basketball at the Olympics.
Men’s Basketball (all times PST)
July 27th - right now possibly! - 8:15 am vs Serbia
July 31st 12 pm vs South Sudan
August 3rd 8:15 am vs Puerto Rico
Women’s Basketball
July 29 12 pm vs Japan
Aug 1, 12 pm vs Belgium
Aug 4, 8:15 am vs Germany
While both the men’s and women’s team are favored to win the gold medal, there’s a lot more happening in their Olympic runs.
The men might be in trouble. They have been off to a rocky start, looking beatable in all of their warm-up games and with a decided lack of coherence. Unless they’ve bonded in the rainy boat ride and various train and bus rides, they are far from a team right now and have yet to figure out how to play to each other’s strengths. Warriors coach Steve Kerr is the head coach, and much like the Warriors under Kerr, the men’s team has not figured out a strong opening lineup or a closing lineup or bench unit.
They must figure out how to use Curry better. He is left standing stationary outside the 3 point line far too often, or crossing the court for passes that rarely come, while LeBron or Anthony Edwards makes a difficult drive to the basket. Because everyone is mega talented, they are sinking hard shots. But there are easier shots to be made and they come from making the extra pass. My thoughts are that the bench unit needs a point guard - why isn’t Tyrese Haliburton getting any minutes? And the starting lineup needs less Joel Embiid and more Anthony Edwards. Or maybe they simply need Kevin Durant in the lineup. But also, I’ve been wrong all week about everything so what do I know?
While the US team is lacking chemistry, most of the teams they will face have loads of it. Many international basketball teams do not have the skill level but they have played together for a long time, which has its own advantage. That is what allowed South Sudan to almost beat the men’s team two weeks ago. Serbia is going to be a challenge because of the combination of Jokic, who no one in the NBA wants to face, and the rest of the team who are used to each other and to international rules. Is the US team more talented than every other team? Absolutely? Should they win? Yes. Will they win? Maybe.
(Napheesa Collier not pictured)
The women look much better although they have had much less practice and only one true warm-up game as a team. They are playing defense and moving the ball, which are the keys to success as far as I can tell. A’ja Wilson is having a superstar year and Breanna Stewart is on her heels. With the two of them on the floor, it’s hard to imagine anyone stopping them. This team has instant chemistry in part because they have a lot of players from a few teams - the Aces (4), Mercury (3), Liberty (2). When the men play, you can see the ego in it - at some level they are trying to one-up each other and as a result, they are playing more isolation ball. You can even hear it in their language. Curry has moved from saying “we are setting our ego aside” to “we have egos and we’re going to use them to our advantage” while A’ja Wilson keeps talking about how everyone is “playing for each other”. If you haven’t been watching any of the WNBA season (why haven’t you, it’s been fabulous!), the Olympics are a good place to start. Watch a few games, pick a few players you like and follow them for the second half of their season.
And then there’s Diana Taurasi, who is reason enough to watch. At 42 years old, she is one of one, going for her 6th Olympic gold medal in basketball. Many argued that her spot was ceremonial and it should go to Caitlin Clark or another player. There is nothing ceremonial about Diana Taurasi - she is a fighter on the floor and in what is absolutely her last Olympics, please watch her power and grace while you can.
On the tennis side, Andy Murray is playing his last tournament ever at the Olympics in doubles, today at approximately 11 am PST. And then there’s Rafael Nadal, possibly playing in singles right now (5 am PST) or possibly withdrawing from singles to focus on doubles. After getting the hardest draw in the French Open facing Zverev in the 2nd round, he has an even harder draw in the Olympics, facing Djokovic in the 2nd round. This is not the fairytale Roland-Garros sendoff that Nadal deserves.
In doubles, he’s paired with Carlos Alcaraz. They won their first round yesterday and while they both looked rusty as they aren’t doubles regulars and have never partnered together, hopefully they will make a long run. While Nadal hasn’t announced he’s retiring, he has said that his body is “a jungle” which doesn’t sound promising.
The Timeout Books: (books I read during the timeouts, halftimes and commercials)
A Game At A Time Playlist (the songs that pop in my head while writing this)
Did you know that this song only became associated with Comaneci after the Olympics? Wide World of Sports used it as the backing track for a video piece and a few months later, me and everyone else taking piano lessons, were learning to play it.
Or, if you prefer an even stronger 70s vibe, here’s David Hasselhoff on Merv Griffin singing the lyrics to Nadia’s Theme, which was also the theme of The Young and the Restless, on which he starred. Could I put more 70s words in a single sentence?
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