BEIJING — Wipe away the Redeem Team’s redemption. Sift through the superstars’ dollars, piling up after the international exposure from these Olympics.
And what you’ll find is the Dream Team’s dreams – real and unrehearsed.
“Everyone’s thought about the moment when you lean down and they put the medal around your neck,” Team USA guard Dwyane Wade said. “We know it’s going to be a great moment. And we know we still have a job to do to get to that moment. But it’s always good to dream. We’re not shying away from our sensitivity – we know Melo’s going to cry.”
If America beats Spain for the men’s basketball gold, will the Nuggets’ Carmelo Anthony, indeed, shed some tears?
“(Heck) yeah!” Anthony said.
“Them braids are just a cover-up,” Wade said of his teammate and close friend. “Those tattoos are just a cover-up. He’s soft inside. He’s mushy. And it’s going to come out.”
These are proud Americans who want to make America proud. These guys speak genuinely about the importance of winning this game, which will be played at 12:30 a.m. on Sunday, mountain time.
“For us, what’s most overwhelming is pride,” said forward Carlos Boozer, who was on the bronze medal team in 2004. “And to think about what we went through. If we win, it’s going to be amazing.”
To win, America will have to knock off, again, a feisty Spanish team with bubbly guard play and an NBA star in the low post. Back in pool play, Team USA defeated Spain, 119-82.
But, as Kobe Bryant said, “The way we beat them the first time means nothing. They will be ready. And I will make sure my guys are ready, too.”
Spain center Pau Gasol, Bryant’s teammate with the Lakers, is the best player on his team. He averages 19.4 points per game – the next-highest Spaniard is Rudy Fernandez with 11.9. And he leads Spain in rebounding at 7.1 per game. It will take a great defensive effort from Dwight Howard, who has had some ups-and-downs, to make sure Gasol doesn’t take over.
But it appears based on play here the past two weeks that Spain must play a perfect Villanova-George Mason-“Miracle On Ice” sort of game to win.
But after Team USA’s game against Argentina on Friday night, which was a six-point game in the final seconds of the first half, Anthony said: “We got to play better than we did tonight. We’re expecting this game to be different.”
“We haven’t really done anything but held serve,” said guard Jason Kidd, the only U.S. player to win gold. “Now we’ve put ourselves in position.”
Benjamin Hochman: 303-954-1294 or bhochman@denverpost.com
