By Jordan Long
Team USA Men’s basketball is gearing up for the Olympic Games with exhibition contests going on right now. They will start Olympic play on July 25 against France. Team USA is off to a rocky 0-2 start in exhibition games.
Heading into these tune-up games, Team USA had a record of 54-2 since 1992 when professionals were invited to play. Nigeria played against Team USA 5 years ago. Nigeria was no match for the Americans as team USA beat them by 43 points. Of course, that was a different USA basketball team and it all changed on Saturday. Nigeria stunned them 90-87.
Team USA was ahead in the 1st-half, outscoring Nigeria 43 to 41. In the second half, Nigeria played better basketball, outscoring the Americans 49 to 44 in the second half including 21 to 25 in the third quarter. That third quarter made the most difference in the game. Nigeria played better defense and ended up going into the 4th quarter with a two point lead. Team USA couldn’t overcome that.
The Americans were led by Kevin Durant who had 17 points. Jayson Tatum added 15 points, while Damian Lillard chipped in 14.
Team USA shot 41.6% from 3. In the game, they were 41.2% from the field. Nigeria shot 47.6% from beyond the arc and 43.8% for the game. Nigeria out rebounded Team USA 46 to 34. USA was better protecting the ball with 7 turnovers to Nigeria’s 12.
This should have been a wakeup call for Team USA. It told them if they expect to win Gold in Tokyo, it will not come easy. The rest of the world in basketball has caught up to them. Luckily, they had another game last night to show the game against Nigeria was a fluke, but it was against another tough opponent, Australia. They have NBA players on their roster including Patty Mills, Joe Ingles, and Matthew Dellavedova.
Australia knocked off Team USA 91-83. Team USA came out playing well with 46 first half points, limiting Australia to 37. It all changed in the second half. Australia was the superior team, outscoring Team USA 54 to 37.
Australia played a better game in the second half. Team USA couldn’t get a rhythm on offense and Australia used their defense to create tough shots for Team USA. Australia’s ball movement in the second half equaled easy and wide-open shots. For the game, Team USA shot 46.1% from the field and 36.1% from the 3 point line. Australia was an impressive 52.9% for the game and 41.6% from 3.
Rebounding was the story of this game. Australia boxed-out Team USA better. They didn’t allow team USA to have second chance points on offense which might have been the big difference in the game. Second chance opportunities allow a team to set up their offense to score again. Australia out rebounded Team USA 32-25 including 6 to 5 on offensive rebounds.
According to oregonlive.com, U.S. Head Coach Gregg Popovich said, “I thought we got better tonight. After a short time together, there’s a lot of things that have to be covered, but the first half and the second half were two different beasts. In the first half, we defended the way we wanted to defend. … We rebounded better. We moved the ball better at the offensive end and had more pace. In the second half, we tired out.”
This is not a good sign for Team USA. Sure these are warm up games but this is how a team gels and creates a winning culture heading into the Olympic games. Most of these players on Team USA haven’t played together except for the NBA All-Star Game. They have played against each other in regular season or playoff games. They know their strengths and weaknesses. They haven’t played well yet. This may be a concern but at least it is not the medal round yet.
Team USA has 3 more tune-up games including tonight against Argentina. This team must figure out how to play better. Otherwise, it could be a long tournament for them in Tokyo. The goal is always gold and anything less is a disappointment. Hopefully, these tune-up games will help Team USA. They are playing stiff competition which should make them better. At least they have time to improve their game before heading to Tokyo, Japan.
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