Might as well start a thread
https://www.espn.com/olympics/...ball-gold-medal-game
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Bill Simmons talks about the boost that a lot of good players tend to get playing USA basketball. Being around other great players has a way of leveling guys up.
I don't know if anyone is watching this but damn man....the U.S. came to play tonight.
Good game!! U.S up by 8 in the 4th quarter
Besides the Middleton travel, I like the officiating so far. And Holiday with steal and big bucket, USA up 7
🥇🥇🥇🥇🥇🥇🥇🥇🥇🥇🥇
Good players on U.S. but not good as a team - Evan Fournier France
Suck it France. The real champs are here. Enjoy that silver medal
Holiday is so fun to watch. Like a nat...
https://www.nba.com/news/kevin...87F000101%40AdobeOrg
For some, it adds to family legacies. Holiday now is an Olympic gold medalist, just like his wife Lauren was twice with the U.S. women’s national soccer team. JaVale McGee now has Olympic gold, just like his mother Pamela won with the U.S. women in basketball at the 1984 Los Angeles Games. They’re the first to do that in U.S. Olympic history; the only other known occurrence in Olympic history was a Russian mother-son combo who won medals in fencing and water polo in 1960 and 1980.
I’m glad they pulled it off. Pretty rough start, but Holiday really stabilized the PG position and Middleton had a few moments, too. They become only the third duo ever to win a Championship and an Olympic Gold in the same year (Jordan/Pippen, James/Irving).
Durant is now a 3-time gold medalist, and solidifies his legacy- this was clearly his team, 100%. The Nets/Bucks rivalry will be one to enjoy next year.
@Music City favorite player giving it to the press
https://www.nbcsports.com/baya...after-gold-medal-win
Fuckin excellent.
I'm so happy for Jrue & Middleton. Lifetime achievement awards. Win the finals & a Gold 🪙🥇 Medal in the same year. Durant is a big Jrue Holiday fan too.
Was a bummer for Giannis that Greece didn't qualify but I'm glad they didn't give him the tempting option of extending his season after surviving that potential disaster of a knee injury.
That’s the one thing about Durant that I’ll give him his due- he respects game. Durant is notoriously thin skinned with the media, but within the fraternity of players he’s actually pretty cool.
He does not seem to be threatened by other players developing and getting better. He’s been very supportive of Giannis over the years, and over the last couple years he’s been really supportive of Middleton. When the Nets beat the Bucks earlier this year and Middleton missed a game winner, Durant was the first guy to come over to him and embrace him.
I’m come around quite a bit on Durant.
He’s the one guy that actually didn’t ignore or try to throw shade at Giannis and the Bucks.
Even better that Middleton and Holiday chose to participate and brought home the gold.
@H5 posted:Holiday is so fun to watch. Like a nat...
This is going to be a weird comparison, but I compare Holiday to a Mongoose that takes down a Cobra. Normally a Cobra is going to strike quicker than everything that tries to approach it and give whatever creature that intrudes into it's personal space a nice shot of venom.
But then you watch a Mongoose face a Cobra and it's kind of funny to watch, the Mongoose is so quick it's almost like it's taunting the Cobra as it dances around it, plus the venom doesn't really affect it much if the Cobra happens to get a strike in. The Mongoose goes after a Cobra with extreme confidence, something that most creatures wouldn't do.
To me when Holiday is at his best, he reminds me of the Mongoose in that he is fearless to take on a defensive challenge and gets right in the face of whomever he is assigned no matter how tough and good that player is.
Holiday probably wouldn't be happy to hear that someone compared him to a Mongoose, but honestly, it's a compliment. 
I’ve said this a few times now, but the guy is just one smart, tough, saavy SOB.
The best display of this was the Bucks were playing the Mavericks and it was a tight game in the 4Q and he drew the assignment on Doncic despite being about 3 inches shorter and probably about 30 pounds lighter.
Holiday basically held him scoreless down the stretch and Luke is arguably the 3rd or 4th most dangerous scorer in the league behind Steph and KD and Harden.
I mean, it was like Jedi mind trick shit. He reminds me a lot of Gary Payton in that he is relentless and has quick hands and incredible instincts. It’s like he knows where the player is going to step or move before he does it and messes all that shit up.
@fightphoe93 posted:This is going to be a weird comparison, but I compare Holiday to a Mongoose that takes down a Cobra. Normally a Cobra is going to strike quicker than everything that tries to approach it and give whatever creature that intrudes into it's personal space a nice shot of venom.
But then you watch a Mongoose face a Cobra and it's kind of funny to watch, the Mongoose is so quick it's almost like it's taunting the Cobra as it dances around it, plus the venom doesn't really affect it much if the Cobra happens to get a strike in. The Mongoose goes after a Cobra with extreme confidence, something that most creatures wouldn't do.
To me when Holiday is at his best, he reminds me of the Mongoose in that he is fearless to take on a defensive challenge and gets right in the face of whomever he is assigned no matter how tough and good that player is.
Holiday probably wouldn't be happy to hear that someone compared him to a Mongoose, but honestly, it's a compliment.
You need David Attenborough to do the voice over on this post for you….or the Honey Badger guy.