As expected, the US men’s basketball team tromped Slovenia by more than 20 yesterday, winning 99-77. A few things stood out from the game, mainly: The Americans are having trouble adapting to the austerity of FIBA rules, their defence remains extremely effective and Kevin Durant is by far the team’s most bankable player. Most importantly though is that despite winning by 20, Team USA is not a polished product and not a sure bet.
In comparison to the rest of the world, the NBA is a hyper-athletic league in which size and strength play much more definitive roles. Regulations have evolved to accommodate players’ athleticism and referees now tend to allow a variety of offensive half-steps from ball carriers. But unlike the NBA, FIBA is much less a business for eyeballs and highlights than it is a pure competition. Rules are thus adhered to strictly. Sunday’s game illustrated that when a player like 6’6”, 210-lbs Andre Igoudala catches the ball running at full speed, a dribble must come before his first step. Team USA’s disturbing proclivity to turn the ball over on Sunday illustrates that big, wiry NBA players aren’t used to this. In the first and second quarters, the US had 25 possessions with twelve turnovers, while only scoring twice. Meanwhile, slanted Slovenian twits in the stands complained of numerous other uncalled traveling violations, even going so far as blowing whistles they’d smuggled in. So it’s clear the US is struggling with the FIBA’s purism. To win they’ll most certainly have to adapt, because while Team USA may get away with myriad turnovers against bootlicking countries like Slovenia, they won’t against better countries in the later elimination rounds.
Positives for Team USA included its defence and another great performance from Kevin Durant. The US easily converted Slovenian offensive weapons into grumbling pick scramblers of no consequence. Slovenia’s best player, Bostjan Nachbar summed it up best, admitting "I had to expend a lot of energy just getting the ball". He was guarded by Andre Iguodala for most of the game. Kevin Love led with 11 rebounds in a limited 13 minutes, telling a reporter afterwards, ‘That’s what I do. That’s how I make my money’. Once again, Kevin Durant led the way for the US with 22 points on 8-for-13 shooting, with many of his points coming on the break. Rudy Gay finished with 16 points for the Americans, while Russell Westbrook and Andre Iguodala each had 11.
Team USA plays Brazil today at 2:30PM, which should be an interesting and foretelling match considering the South American country’s size and talent.
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