Team USA enjoyed its second straight rout in exhibition play ahead of the FIBA World Cup, writes Joe Vardon of The Athletic. The Americans pulled away in the second half Saturday for a 30-point win over a Slovenian team without Luka Doncic, who sat out the game with a minor knee issue.
Combined with Monday’s victory over Puerto Rico, the U.S. has outscored its opponents by 73 points in two games. The competition will get tougher in today’s matchup with Spain, but head coach Steve Kerr is happy to see his players buy into a team concept so quickly.
“We put together the team with the idea of having a lot of good passers and play-makers,” Kerr said. “And with this team, we’ve seen through the first two exhibition games, everybody can pass. And so we really want to push the tempo and attack closeouts because once we put it on the floor, we know these guys will distribute it and move it all over again.
“And you know, I thought we almost overdid it tonight. I thought at times we had over threes and we drove and kicked it down, which as a coach, you never want to criticize your players for that because you’re always trying to get them involved.”
There’s more on the World Cup:
- Bobby Portis is disappointed that he won’t get to match up with Bucks teammate Giannis Antetokounmpo when Team USA faces Greece in an exhibition contest next week and again in pool play, Vardon adds. Antetokounmpo announced Friday that he will miss the World Cup as he continues to recover from minor knee surgery. “Obviously I’m sad, he’s sad, that he can’t play in the World Cup, but maybe that’s good for the Bucks,” Portis said.
- Greece will also be without Kostas Antetokounmpo, who was declared out with an injury on Sunday, according to Johnny Askounis of Eurohoops. A former NBA player with the Mavericks and Lakers, Antetokounmpo represented Greece in last year’s EuroBasket and the Olympic qualifying tournament in 2021.
- Former Celtics and Sixers center Vincent Poirier has joined the French team because of uncertainty surrounding Knicks draft-and-stash player Mathias Lessort, who is sidelined with an ankle issue, per Eurohoops. France is also adding Isaïa Cordinier in the wake of Frank Ntilikina‘s hamstring injury.
The only real weakness I can see with this version of Team USA’s squad is their 3-pt shooting consistency.
They’ll be able to get easy buckets with fastbreaks and in transition against the vast majority of the weaker teams, but they’re going to have to shoot better from distance if they want to win out.
So far, it’s been a mixed bag, but it is still early for these guys. I really wish Desmond Bane could have suited up and been a part of this squad. I think he could have been the perfect compliment to this team, and would have fit in perfectly.
I think a starting unit of Brunson, Bane, Ingram, Banchero, and Jackson Jr. could have been a deadly blend of size, length, athleticism, three level scoring, excellent wing and low post defense, and they’d be absolute killers in transition and on fastbreaks…
Then, Haliburton, ANT, Cam Johnson, Bridges, and Portis would be an excellent Group B, and then you can sprinkle in Reaves, Hart, and/or Kessler to give guys plenty of rest while adding some excellent perimeter defense or a little extra size.
I wanna say this didn’t age well but the truth is that it was just as ridiculous the moment you posted it. They got great shooters up & down this roster. And even if Bane was healthy he wouldn’t start over Ant…. I didn’t love what I saw from Juan Nunez. Obv he’s playing against great players but he just looked like a huge liability defensively & a step slow overall. Still he’s obv very talented & should still be a 1st rd pick next yr
The US team at this point should be forced to play 5th generation Americans or longer only…
Everyone else gets sent to where their family is from for FIBA and Olympics…
Right now international play is boring as there is rarely a tight game and the upsets grab all the headlines…
bad take