Olympics basketball scores 2016: Spain has not looked like the 2nd best team in the world so far

Spain was supposed to be Team USA’s biggest threat in the men’s division, but so far they have not looked special at all.

by Jeje Gomez

Aug 12, 2016, 11:30 AM UTC

Jeff Swinger-USA TODAY Sports

In any other major basketball tournament, Nigeria coming close to beating Spain would be a huge surprise. Not in the Rio Olympics, where the European giant has looked more vulnerable than it has for two decades. They had to claw their way to a 96-87 victory that keeps their hope of avoiding the U.S. in the quarterfinals alive, but looked like a team in disarray in the process.

Nigeria brings athleticism and an unpredictable style to the table, but it’s still by far the weakest team in Group B. They kept things close with Lithuania but were blown out by Argentina, a team that is supposed to be well below Spain’s level. Yet the two-time silver medalist had trouble putting away a very limited opponent. That’s not what anyone expected of Spain going into the Olympics.

It’s important to point out that this was not a situation like Team USA’s win over Venezuela, in which the opponent kept things close for a while before succumbing. The win was truly in jeopardy.

Spain was dominating early in the game, as they were expected to before a slump to close the half allowed Nigeria to close the gap. Spain quickly got back up by double digits but once again lowered its guard and Nigeria actually took the lead going into the final period. Spain was only up one with under three minutes to go. Only a cold stretch from the African champions and some strong play from Pau Gasol and Felipe Reyes allowed them to emerge victorious.

So far, the consensus second best team in the world has lost to the ninth and 12th ranked squads, according to FIBA and almost dropped a must-win game against the 25th best national team in the world. So what’s wrong with Spain? A lot, actually.

The absences of Marc Gasol and Serge Ibaka are certainly hurting the team. Pau Gasol is still a difference-maker at the FIBA level but a big man tandem with Felipe Reyes or Nikola Mirotic lacks athleticism. Ricky Rubio is still not an outside threat and Juan Carlos Navarro is not the fearsome scorer he used to be. Rudy Fernandez is still good but there's no depth at the wing, especially with Alex Abrines out with a knee injury.

There are serious holes in that roster. As a result, this version of Spain has, so far, been a team that doesn’t get easy, assisted buckets or trips to the line, can’t break games open from beyond the arc and struggles to contain perimeter threats.

The good news for Spain is that there’s time to wake up from this stupor. Maybe an adjustment to the rotation can do the trick. Willy Hernangomez gave the team a jolt of energy in the game against Nigeria and Abrines should be back to give the team another quality wing for the matchups against Lithuania and Argentina.

The talent is there. While not as strong as past iterations, Spain’s roster is still the best out of any other national team except for the U.S. and if they manage to avoid them in the quarterfinals, they could easily advance to the medal round.

It’s just as easy to imagine them losing the next two games and being eliminated, however, which is something no one could have predicted coming into the tournament.

Liz Cambage made sure Australia could avoid the U.S. Women’s team

On the women’s side, Japan was close to ending Australia’ undefeated run in Group A. They rained three-pointers and drove into the pain on their way to a 12-point lead over the Opals after a dominant third quarter. That lead even got to 16 in the fourth quarter, as Ramu Tokayashi dominated the game. A win would have allowed Japan to tie Australia at the top of the group, a valuable position, considering whoever finishes first gets to avoid Team USA until a potential gold medal game.

Then it all changed, as Liz Cambage decided to take over the game. Australia’s 24-year-old center had scored 19 points in the first three quarters and dropped 18 in the fourth alone to power the Opals’ comeback. Her 37-point performance -- one of the best ever in women’s basketball in the Olympics -- was crucial for an offense that had struggled greatly. Her fourth quarter shot chart shows just how she dominant she was inside.

Australia completed the comeback and the win clinched the top spot for them, so don’t be surprised to see them reach the gold medal game against the U.S.

Lithuania exposed Argentina’s lack of depth

Argentina played well in exhibition games before Rio and won its first two matchups in the Olympics against Nigeria and the talented Croatia. The 2004 gold medal winners were doing a terrific job on defense and their outside shooting was powering a strong attack. With Spain not looking dominant, the top of Group B seemed wide open for them, provided they could find a way to beat Lithuania.

Yet the weakness that had everyone doubting Argentina as a medal hopeful -- a troublesome lack of depth -- prevented them from doing just that.

While the game was close through, Lithuania simply had more options. An inspired Mindaugas Kuzminskas, who had 23 points and five rebounds, gave the European powerhouse's attack a new dimension off the bench. With Jonas Valanciunas not able to establish himself inside, Lithuania went small with Domantas Sabonis at center for long stretches, to good results.

Argentina, meanwhile, couldn't make any adjustments and relied on Manu Ginobili -- 22 points in 12 shots -- on offense and struggled with the size of their opponent on defense. There was simply no one off the bench or among the role players who could contribute and that's a big reason why they lost a close game.