The Olympic Advantage

by RaptorsHQ - Archives on Aug 15, 2008 12:00 AM EDT in General

Nash had his coming out-party under Triano

I’ll never forget Steven Nash’s coming out party.

It was during the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, with a Canadian team that was hardly expected to make a ripple in the international waters.

The Canadians fell short of a medal in the end, but Nash’s performance in wins over Spain and Yugoslavia, when he torched a much higher ranked team with 26, 8 and 8, marked his arrival on the world stage.

Buoyed by his performance in those Olympic games, the often-booed Dallas Maverick took the reigns of the Mavs the following year, putting up nearly 16 points and eight assists a game leading his team to the playoffs for the first time in more than a decade.

Nash of course never looked back and while his experience in Sydney might have only been part of the equation in terms of his NBA breakthrough, it certainly didn’t hurt.

In the past, basketball fans have seen similar examples of players showing their skills on the Olympic stage and then taking the proverbial "next step" in their playing careers. Manu Ginobili, Pau Gasol, even Toronto’s Jose Calderon and former Raptor Jorge Garbajosa are all testaments to this sort of progress.

And this year, the Raptors could have as many as four players getting a nice boost of Olympic confidence; Calderon, Chris Bosh, Roko Ukic and Giorgos Printezis. Of these four, both Bosh and Calderon have already established themselves on the NBA stage but it’s Roko Ukic who really could benefit from this experience. Playing against other NBA players and the rest of the world’s best can be nothing but beneficial for the young Croad and games like these should give him a good idea of the type of competition he’ll be matched up against in the league.

In fact, I’d love for this international competition to give Roko a big shot of confidence, one that carries over to the NBA season. It’s not that Ukic doesn’t have confidence in his abilities currently, but as we saw with Steve Nash, there’s something about leading your team against the best all over the world that really pushes you to another level. Sometimes this results in an on-court demeanor change and sometimes we see the development of certain skill sets in a player. For Ukic, we can only hope it’s his shooting that improves as after hitting on only two of his 11 shots against Argentina he is now 8 for 30 in the tournament (27 per cent.)

For a player like Printezis, really the Raptors are probably hoping he simply takes in the experience, gets some decent playing time, and learns from being on a championship caliber team with Greece. Printezis did not play against Spain in Greece’s first game but had nine minutes of action against Germany and three against the US. Hopefully he’ll continue to get some PT enabling him to work on all facets of his game.

However this Olympic action isn’t only for the young guns.

Jose Calderon has been great for Spain and although has played sporadically (the Spaniards are loaded at the 1 with Jose, Raul Lopez and wonder-kid Ricky Rubio) I’m sure will be an important part of the team once the medal rounds begin.

And what about Chris Bosh?

Perhaps he’s not the focus of his team the way players like Jose and Roko are but he did have a huge game for the US in their revenge win over Greece on Thursday. Bosh put up 18 points, five rebounds, two steals and two blocks.

The interesting thing about Bosh’s numbers are that while he still didn’t top the playing time of say a Lebron James or Kobe Bryant, he was extremely effective given his minutes and as this tournament goes on, Coack K seems to be turning to Toronto’s franchise player more and more. After playing 13 minutes in their first game, then 14 in their second, CB4 racked up 21 minutes against Greece and I expect to see him get around this amount of PT Saturday in the US’s huge game against Spain. Bosh is just such a terror in international basketball because of his ability to shoot the ball and face-up on offense, not to mention that he’s more athletic than almost any other player at his position.

From a Raptors’ fans perspective, the talent on the "Redeem Team" should also be enough that Bosh doesn’t have to log much more than 20 minutes a game, hopefully keeping him injury-free and all the while doing a good job of preparing him physically for the upcoming season.

To top it off, if the US can successfully capture gold, I think this more than anything will have a huge impact on Bosh. While he’s been Toronto’s leader the past few years, he hasn’t achieved a level of team success of other Team US members like Dwyane Wade, Kobe Bryant or even Carlos Boozer. Therefore being part of a focused, driven and successful team, full of the world’s best players, can only bode well for his return to Toronto, and the experience will give him plenty to draw on during the regular season. In some ways therefore I wish the Olympics were even later in the summer so that CB4 could transition directly from the games into training camp.

While that may not be possible, it’s exciting to think that three potentially key pieces for Toronto’s team next year are getting such practice on such a big stage.

When you think about it, even though at the core next year’s version of the Raptors is quite similar, there are still some major new pieces for Sam Mitchell and co. to try and indoctrinate into their system. Reports of Jermaine O’Neal and other new Raptors like Hassan Adams and Nathan Jawai training together in Vegas make things a bit easier but really, having a new pivot and a new point guard (albeit a back-up one), not to mention having a back-up point guard transition to a starting role, could conceivably make things a bit bumpy at the start of the season.

Therefore having as many players as possible getting game-time experience, even if it isn’t together on the same team, only helps Toronto in the long run.

Maybe we won’t see a Steve Nash style breakout from any of the four Olympic Dinos, but it can’t hurt for the Raptors to have three current players and a future prospect going for gold in Beijing.

FRANCHISE

Tweet Comment 12 comments | 0 recs |

Do you like this story?

Comments

I agree with all your points, Franchise. Myself I only hope that our boys will finish the Games healthy. My secret dream is to have all our current Raptors on the roster coming home with a medal (preferably Bosh with gold, Jose with silver and Roko with bronze) after good performances.

by Daniel on Aug 15, 2008 12:00 AM EDT reply actions

Great pont regarding the translation of international success and confidence to the NBA. Steve Nash's development into a superstar is directly related to his time as team Canada's leader.

Does anyone know where I can find a TV schedule for Olympic basketball for Canadian TV?!

by MAS on Aug 15, 2008 12:00 AM EDT reply actions

I've been using the one on the CBC although it's been a bit hit and miss. Here is that one and the one for TSN:

http://www.cbc.ca/olympics/schedule/daily/2008/08/15/basketball/

http://www.tsn.ca/olympics/feature/?fid=10580

Spain and the US tomorrow morning though...should be a good one.

by Franchise on Aug 15, 2008 12:00 AM EDT reply actions

I'm hoping this Rubio can develop really really fast into something spectacular and so can Fernendes which means Jose might decide that after this olympics its time for him to pass the torch to the younger guys.

I'm hoping USA wins the gold so Bosh doesn't play with team USA again.

Although I'm sure teams like Dallas previously had more to worry about because the Mavs would usually make a deep run into the playoffs and then he'd play all summer. Same thing goes with Pau Gasol this year.

I want USA to win so Bosh'doesn't play anymore, but I want Spain to win because I just don't want USA to win. Its a really weird situation and I can't seem to make up my mind.

How would you guys react is Bosh and Jose wanted to continue to play for their respective countries in the upcoming summers like Dirk does?

by wtf on Aug 15, 2008 12:00 AM EDT reply actions

Bosh was a monster against greece, shows what he can do when he doesn't have to worry about saving energy for the end. Haven't seen that bosh in a while.

by axl on Aug 15, 2008 12:00 AM EDT reply actions

I always thought Jose's coming out was the Euro's last year. I think they lost in the finals but Jose was the best PG in the tournament.

Bosh has been a stand out so far at the Olympics. We cannot forget that he is only 24. He will continue to grow as both a player and a leader as he has each year in the NBA. I have been extremely pleased with his production in limited minutes - both ends of the floor.

I hope Crotia go far in these Olympics. Have not seen a minute of their play but have read that Ukic has played well. If he is capable of giving the Raptors some quality backup PG minutes, Raptors are a better squad. He's our wildcard.

The USA have shown their best basketball in years - they seem focused. Am anxiously awaiting tomorrows showdown with the Spanish.

by Tinman on Aug 15, 2008 12:00 AM EDT reply actions

I know some people are expecting a serious USA-Spain battle tomorrow, but I just can't see it happening. Considering the situation, I'd be surprised if the spanish coach doesn't take tomorrow's game very lightly, handing off lots of minutes to the bench and reserving our stars (P.Gasol might even rest it out). No way he should showcase our defensive strategies or give any hint to the american coach, for what is basically a meaningless game (both teams will rank 1 and 2 and it's not that different to face Lithuania or Argentina). No need to make a strong showing, if a win is possible we'll gladly take it but otherwise better think in the real challenges (the KO rounds) coming ahead soon.

by Sergi P on Aug 15, 2008 12:00 AM EDT reply actions

Sergei - hate to tell you but this US squad looks golden.

by Tinman on Aug 15, 2008 12:00 AM EDT reply actions

National team experience is key for young players. I think that since most teams have been together for multiple years, there is a strong stress on execution and team-oriented play.

Another plus would be that players would be more apt to take their younger countryman aside and point out the finer points of the game during their long training camps.

For veteran players, I think it really depends on their general health and how well they endure the 82 game grind.
The jury is still out on whether Calderon can weather heavy minutes as a starter.

Looking forward, I think that Jawai would benefit immensely from international experience. Even though he's '86 born like Bargnani, he's well behind the curve skill-wise, similar to a raw freshman or high school senior. Extra reps and high level summer coaching can only help.

Printezis is in a similar boat. My hope for him is that for his remaining time in Europe he always plays on a Euroleague calibre side. This would be his best chance to get exposure to the kind of high-level athletes that are the norm in the NBA.

by yardly on Aug 15, 2008 12:00 AM EDT reply actions

Long time reader, semi-poster.

Franchise, your writing ability is excellent. Well done on the site. We all really enjoy it. My question is? how much is the U.S. gonna beat Spain by? they kicked the crap out of Greece and I haven't seen the game as of yet, but are there any individuals who think the U.S. isn't going to win?

by rishi on Aug 15, 2008 12:00 AM EDT reply actions

Sergi,I always enjoy reading your blogs,they give us insight into the Euro style of basketball.You did mention a few times OUR team ,I know you are proud of the Spaniards,but they are not everybody's team.I've always enjoyed watching the Euros.
But this whole Olympic experience reminds me of the Team Canada 1972 hockey experience...that was our wake up call in....and the last Olypics and the World championships was the Americans wake up call(in basketball)...and I'm afraid they are taking no prisoners and I feel for any team that think they will stand in the way of their redemption.
You are correct in saying that neither team will show their cards.

by d279 on Aug 16, 2008 12:00 AM EDT reply actions

Oh d279, that "our" thing is just a way of talking, in Spain it is common to refer to any teams you support as "we". Well, except sometimes when your team lost then it turns into "they", like in "We won a huge game" or "They lost an easy one" :-)

I have to say that my predictions where horribly wrong, not only did Spain field pretty much their (ours) A lineup, also employed the zone defense and full-court press for quite a while. Still, we (Spain) got totally demolished, gotta give credit to the US who played their best basketball in a long time. With the US playing with this combination of intensity, teamplay and accuracy, it is difficult to imagine another team can steal the gold from them.

by Sergi P on Aug 16, 2008 12:00 AM EDT reply actions