Great Britain Olympic Basketball Team: Why Hometown Team Won't Be on the Podium

Great Britain was buzzing with excitement prior to their men's team stepping on to the court for the Opening Games of the 2012 Summer Olympics. After two straight losses, much of that buzz has fizzled into disappointment.

It's easy to see the players aren't going to be a pushover for any team that steps on the court against them, but they, along with their countrymen, shouldn't have any medal hopes in their sights.

There are a number of reasons why Great Britain won't be winning a medal in men's basketball—some of their own doing, others due to factors beyond their control.

Although they will go down fighting, it's clear that Great Britain will be playing for pride for the rest of these Olympics for these reasons.

No Playmakers

Nate Reinking has proven to be a solid player at the point guard position, but he hasn't shown that playmaking ability that many of the point guards in international play possess.

Luol Deng, the team's best player, has turned in very well-rounded games in both contests, with high numbers in points, rebounds and assists, but he is much more of a scorer than an all-around threat.

Pops Mensah-Bonsu, whose proven to be a reliable scoring option thus far in these Olympics, can't open things up for other players. Still, Mensah-Bonsu is the only post player that teams have to respect on Great Britain's roster.

Without a true playmaker that can simply be given the ball and score points, Great Britain will struggle to score points from both inside and out.

Great Britain's No. 1 Option Is Hurt

To say Luol Deng is Great Britain's team is an understatement.

The team relies so heavily on Deng to not only score points but also to be the team's primary focus on offense. While Deng can certainly drop 20 points on any given night, it's clear that his wrist injury is bothering him.

Deng went a measly 3-of-13 in the loss to Brazil, managing just 12 points. He's a much better shooter than that, and the 12 points isn't going to get it done for a guy who is the team's best scoring option.

His shooting woes aside, Deng is also on the court for far too long.

The Great Britain bench hasn't been good and there is increased pressure upon Britain's starters to get the job done. Deng played big minutes against Russia and nearly every minute against Brazil.

A healthy Deng would be a great scoring threat for Great Britain, but the wrist injury, combined with a heavy workload of minutes, are clearly taking their tole on Deng's game.

Defense and Turnovers

Look at all of the medal contenders in the 2012 Summer Olympics. Defense is a common trait amongst them.

Whether it's by size or athleticism, all of the great teams at the Olympics play good defense and put pressure on the ball.

Great Britain haven't displayed the capability to contain other teams' offenses.

They held their own against Brazil—keeping the majority of their stars under control—but their opening game against Russia was nothing less than a punch to the gut. Andrei Kirilenko scored 35 points, and the Russian team shot well from the field.

Another area of concern for the Brits has been their ball-handling.

Great Britain have turned the ball over a staggering amount of times. Compounding the turnover issue has been their lack of assists.

After a Dreadful Start, It Could Get Worse

The NBA was hoping for the Great Britain men's basketball team to achieve some measure of success in order to build the sport of basketball on the island. The Brits were hoping their team would play the part of spoiler.

Both don't seem likely.

An 0-2 start is not going to get it done. The blowout loss to Russia hurt, and to come so close to defeating Brazil had to be a heartbreaking defeat for Great Britain.

Now, looking ahead to the rest of the games in Great Britain's pool, their prospects of moving on are looking slimmer by the day.

They still have to play Australia, China and Spain.

The game against Australia is the only one any true basketball fan can see Great Britain winning. China has a lot of size—something the Brits lack. Spain is unquestionably one of the top teams in the world.

As bad as the first two games have been for the Brits, the rest of their group play may be even worse.