One day, the Bucks will play basketball again. Today is not that day. A Buck is about to play basketball, though.
When does the tournament start and end?
Games (this particular story is about the men’s games) start Aug. 6 and the Gold Medal match is scheduled for Aug. 21.
Who is the host?
Brazil. All the games are in Rio de Janeiro.
How many countries are playing?
Twelve teams are split into the two groups of six below. Each team plays each other team in its group once. The teams get two points for a win and one for a loss. The top four teams from each group advance to the knockout round.
Any current Bucks expected to play?
Mmm hmm.
Matthew Dellavedova will be spotting up for threes, throwing alley-oops and eliciting opponents to curse in a variety of languages. For the people who are curious to see what Dellavedova looks like without LeBron (I am one of those people), you should watch Australia play some hoops this summer.
Here is Australia’s group play schedule:
Previous games
*Fans in Australia: Olympic coverage available through 7 Australia's Olympic Network and the Olympics on 7 App
Greece and Canada did not make it through the qualifiers in July, so neither Giannis Antetokounmpo nor Tyler Ennis will be there. Bosnia and Herzegovina (and thus, Mirza Teletovic) also did not make it. Hopefully by the 2020 Olympics (or 2018 FIBA World Cup?), Jabari Parker or Khris Middleton will get a look for USA, but alas, not for now.
Any former Bucks?
Once upon a 2008 time, the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel created a Chinese-language web site called YisWorld.com. The domain is apparently now available for $1,895. Yi Jianlian will be playing for China in the Olympics.
Miroslav Raduljica, who spent some time dunking when not riding Harleys in Milwaukee, is one of a couple players on the Serbian team whose last names does not end with ić.
Greivis Vasquez, he of the Nets now, is a big part of the Venezuela team, but he is focusing on getting back to full strength following injury and will not be participating.
And after all but ruling himself out just a few weeks ago, Andrew Bogut made a shocking return from injury to play against China on August 1. If he makes it back, he would team up with Dellavedova on Australia.
Who is going to win?
Anything less than an undefeated record and gold medal for USA would be surprising, disappointing.
The USA has won 63 games in a row (dating back to 2006) and the past four major international tournaments.
Some of the top stars (notably fellows named LeBron James and Steph Curry) are missing this time around, but the team can still throw together lineups like Kyrie Irving/Klay Thompson/Paul George/Kevin Durant/DeMarcus Cousins … or Kyle Lowry/DeMar DeRozan/Jimmy Butler/Carmelo Anthony/DeAndre Jordan. They should not lose quarters.
Who has the best chance to beat USA?
On paper (paper?), France looks like the best bet. They could go with a starting five of Tony Parker/Nando de Colo/Nicolas Batum/Boris Diaw/Rudy Gobert. Legitimate. They lack the obscene depth and offensive firepower of the USA, but if those five happen all to be on point on the same night, and if they happen to play the Americans on that night, that could be quite a night.
The primes of golden generations in Spain and Argentina have passed; nonetheless, they are still Spain and Argentina. And then Serbia, Lithuania, Croatia and Brazil intrigue, with the latter also having a nice home-court advantage.
How can I watch?
All basketball games will be shown on a variety of NBC network and cable channels, as well as online and mobile via the NBC Sports app. Scroll back up to the schedule grid for exact channel and streaming links. Recaps of Delly's games will be right here on Bucks.com