Team USA Basketball Dismantles Nigeria As Carmelo Shoots Lights Out

Team USA Basketball has been called many things but no one expected what they did to Nigeria last evening. In fact, the team shot such an incredible percentage from the field, the questions on whether or not they could beat the Dream Team really started to re-emerge.

First of all lets not jump the gun. Team USA played Nigeria. They aren't a hot bed of NBA talent. Secondly, the way they shot the ball, they could beat anyone. They just didn't miss.

They shot 81% from two point range and 63% from three point range. That is hard to do with no one guarding you. This was just one of those days. To think that they did it without Lebron James or Kobe Bryant leading the charge. They even did it without fan favorite Kevin Durant scoring a boat load of points. 

The leader of this charge was Carmelo Anthony. Anthony has had a great two game stretch for team USA and he capped it off with a 37 point effort against Nigeria. The fact that he scored 37 wasn't the big deal. The fact that he did it in less than 14 minutes of playing time says a lot. 

Melo hit 10 three pointers and was unconscious from the field. He even couldn't explain it. Melo's efforts surpassed Stephon Marbury as the most points in a game and the ten three pointers mark the most ever made in an Olympic contest. 

Melo wasn't the only hot hand but he sure stood out. Team USA won by 83 points breaking the record for most points scored in a contest. The team hit 29 three point shots. Thats incredible. They will need to shoot well in the next couple of games as the schedule gets a little harder. Argentina is lurking and team USA will need to perform at a high level to beat them.