2012 Summer OlympicsMedia Monster

Coach K Calls First Timeout Of Olympics, One More Than The 1992 Dream Team Ever Used

The U.S. Men’s Basketball team looked terribly mortal in a 5-point, 99-94 squeaker of a win over Lithuania in pool play. Aside from the far-from-convincing victory over a Lithuanian team that apparently has given them some trouble over the past decade, Coach K’s players forced him to do something 1992 head coach Chuck Daly never had to do: call a timeout.

Yes, only four games into these Olympics, Coach K had to call a timeout. His team was in dire straits, actually down by a point at one juncture in the fourth quarter. What’s a coach to do? He was only using his best discretion, but the little timeout that was may have just pushed the 92 vs. 2012 debate to its tipping point.

I think it’s only a matter of time before Barkley and Co. slowly transform into the 1972 Miami Dolphins. Sure, they want their countrymen to succeed, but there’s this image I can’t get out of my head of Chuck inviting MJ, Bird, Magic and the gang over to his pad to pop the Cristal if this version of the Dream Team doesn’t win gold.

Now that’s probably not going to happen, but to watch the win against Lithuania was to find some pretty big flaws in the U.S. team’s game. They weren’t moving the ball well, they shot poorly from the charity stripe and it took a late surge from LeBron James to secure the victory, who certainly won’t be able to defeat the likes of Spain by himself. Or he could, he is pretty good at basketball.

They’re still probably the best team in these Olympics, but because of the timeout heard ’round the world, maybe they aren’t the best U.S. team of all time.

[photo via]