China stuns U.S. in Beijing

It’s too late to make a change, of course, but another stunning defeat for the American Senior National Team makes it clear that, with Anne Donovan in charge, it’s going to be an uphill battle for the U.S. to defend its Olympic title in Beijing.

Saturday, the Chinese, hardly an international power, outlasted the U.S., 84-81, to win the Good Luck Beijing tournament – just two days after the Americans had beaten China by 25. But in the gold medal game, there was little doubt which was the better team, even though the U.S. had more talent.

Granted, that talent did not include Sue Bird, Diana Taurasi, Tamika Catchings and Candace Parker, or veterans such as Tina Thompson, but nonetheless, a team led by Lisa Leslie, Katie Smith, Swin Cash and Sylvia Fowles certainly would be expected to take care of China. Also of concern is the injury status of Catchings (who is, at this point, hoping to be at 100% by the Olympics) and Parker (nary a word about what will be done about her dislocated shoulder), which might mean that the team that NBA-TV showed this weekend, plus Taurasi and Bird, is pretty much the team that will play for real in Beijing in August.

Donovan was also without point guard Lindsay Harding, who re-injured her left knee Thursday, meaning that Smith and Kara Lawson had to take over ballhandling duties, and neither is a true point guard. And the Chinese were at home, in front of a friendly crowd of 7,674, and the hosts did shoot 22 free throws to just 10 by the Americans.

But this was loss number two for the U.S. in the tournament (Australia won the first game 74-70 by pulling away in the fourth quarter), and the responsibility for yet another subpar performance must be laid squarely on the shoulders of Donovan. Yes, the Americans don’t get to play together as much as many other national teams, and no, they didn’t have their first team (though Australia was without Lauren Jackson and Penny Taylor), but the American teams that won gold medals at every major international competition from 1996 to 2004 faced the same obstacles – and it wasn’t until Donovan took over that the losses started mounting.

In her defense, other countries have clearly closed the gap, just as they have on the men’s side, but losing to Australia or Russia is one thing. Losing to China is quite another.

And China controlled most of this game, taking a 10-8 lead early in the game, and pulling away to a 12-point first-half lead that was after two quarters. The Americans did take charge for a while, building a two-point lead at the end of three, and leading by five, 72-67, with 6:01 to go.

And despite NBA-TV analyst Kym Hampton’s incessant whining, at this point the Americans weren’t impacted by Sylvia Fowles’ early foul trouble, or ticky-tack calls, or Chinese posts spending 3.1 seconds in the key. What happened, simply, is that they fell apart down the stretch. Bian Lan scored seven straight points to put the Chinese ahead 74-72, and then added another three to cap a 12-0 China run that gave the hosts a 79-72 lead with 3:54 remaining.

After exchanging a pair of baskets, the Americans made a run, cutting the lead to 83-81 with 1:11 left – but did not score again. They were hurt by a key offensive rebound (Lawson didn’t screen out), and poor shot selection (Leslie, en route to a four of 18 night, missed a 15-footer), and simply didn’t play with intelligence or spark in the final minutes.

Of course it’s up to the players to make plays, but Donovan, as the coach, bears the ultimate responsibility. If this were the first time this had happened, it could be attributed to bad luck; if this were a completely inexperienced team, youth could be blamed – but Leslie, Smith and Cash are Olympic veterans, and inexplicable losses are Donovan’s legacy as head coach, at least so far.

“Giving up 84 points was too much,” said Smith afterward. “You’re not going to win many ball games giving up that many points.” Or by allowing the opposition to shoot 50.8% from the field, or surrendering 17 points on turnovers.

Smith did finish with 16, but she had 10 early, and missed two key three-point tries late; Fowles had 14 points in 23 minutes; Cash made a case for inclusion on the Olympic roster with 13 points and three steals; and Leslie, despite poor shooting, managed 10 and 10.

But the best player on the floor was Miao Lijie with 26 points, and she was tried and found wanting in her only WNBA season. Chen Nan added 15 and Chen Xiaoli had 12 as the Chinese overcame a 52-26 rebounding deficit to record one of the more stunning upsets of the runup to the Olympics.

And here’s another note: After the win, the Chinese weren’t jumping around as though they had pulled off a major upset. They were happy, of course, but it wasn’t as if they had slain the great American dragon. It looked as though they knew they had a good chance to win.

No, it was just another defeat in the Anne Donovan era – and sadly, another chance for U.S. fans to get used to the idea of losing on the international stage.