Yep...that boy good. He's like a one man Nation of Domination. (Credit: YardBarker.com)

Some classes in college, are easy and some are difficult and you generally figure that out within the first couple weeks are so (hell sometimes Syllabus day tells you all you need to know). There are those classes where you can do the homework and get points, do the quizzes, get the attendance, and you might have an A but you never truly know what your grade is until that first test.

Today was Team USA’s first test, and they passed.

I used that college analogy because it fits here: had Team USA lost this one, it wouldn’t have been the end of the world. Just like failing that first test doesn’t mean you’re going to fail the class. It would have taught them a lesson and better prepared them for the real pressure cooker: the single elimination round. By passing, they have a better understanding of where they are at and know what to do in the future to get good results. And just like in college, sometimes you get lucky and the teacher gives you an answer or gives up free points. That’s what I’d call Huertas missing that free throw and Barbosa missing that layup.

It wasn’t easy and it wasn’t pretty but the Red, White & Blue prevailed. The odd part about this game against Brazil is its as if all of the concerns about this team coming in–interior size, pick and roll defense, experience, offensive ability, turnover–rolled together to create an awful storm which nearly bowled them over. Give all the credit to Brazil, they played a magnificent game, but Team USA could have helped themselves a lot more than they did. Brazil had an insane first quarter, shooting 14-for-21 from the field, 5-of-7 from three and scored 28 points on 19 possessions. While those may seem like numbers in a video game when the computer decides you aren’t winning, credit Brazil…their offensive movement was smooth, crisp and Team USA seemed to have no answer.

Problem #1 was pick and roll defense, something many were concerned with going in and something that was validated today. For some reason, for the majority of the game Team USA couldn’t put it all together. There were times where Lamar Odom was in no man’s land–not helping the guard and not putting himself in position to challenge the shot. Then there were times when he was there, but the guard couldn’t get back in time. Then there were other times when the helpside D sucked in just a little too much and Brazil found the open guy for a 3. It was almost like watching the Utah Jazz and the way they can pick people apart on the pick and roll. I now realize that this is where Team USA truly misses a ‘big’ center who can challenge opponents at the basket. Tyson Chandler didn’t play much, but when he did Brazil’s mindset changed. Instead of looking to score of their penetration they were looking to kick which made life a lot easier on Team USA.

Problem #2 was sloppy offense. Taking the first quarter and the first minute of the second quarter, Team USA had 7 turnovers…or as many as they had in 40 minutes against Croatia. As great as Kevin Durant was (27 points, main reason why the US was able to stick around), he can’t have 7 turnovers. Against a better team, 22 turnovers could be the death knell and some of those were just non-sensical. Not only that, but there was a little bit too much isolation offense for my liking for the majority of the game. Quick, contested jumpers can really hurt you in the international game because it’s either going to create a fast break opportunity for the defense or (even worse) you could end up having to play D for a full shot clock.

The good news is that Team USA was able to play different kind of styles in this game. From the jump, Brazil was the first team we’ve seen that was not afraid to push it right back at Team USA and play a faster game. To their credit, Team USA made the adjustments. Not only that, they were able to play a slower, smarter, half-court game in the second half to get the win. It wasn’t perfect, but showing that they are multi-dimensional and have that capability will be big in later rounds.

Durant, Derrick Rose and Chauncey Billups did the majority of the scoring, combining for 53 of the US’s 70 points. They need help, relying on Durant to drop that many could get this team in trouble. While he took some questionable shots, Billups was huge in the second half with the way he attacked Tiago Splitter. It was almost as if he took it personally. Rose was solid and sprinkled in some of his unreal athleticism. Lamar Odom has got to find a way to be more of a factor, because for the majority of his time out there he wasn’t. I thought Tyson Chandler did a phenomenal job in his 5 minutes of action, moreso because of the impact that he had on Brazil’s offense than anything he did in the box score.

(Speaking of Splitter, he looked solid and just looks like a guy who should be in a Spurs uniform. I don’t know if he’ll get the kind of freedom he had here, but he’s going to contribute for them from the jump.)

The starters had to do a lot of the heavy lifting tonight (all 5 playing 29+ minutes Durant playing 39), possibly because Coach K didn’t trust his bench or they didn’t perform. The depth that we had all fawned over the past couple games just wasn’t there. Russell Westbrook, Rudy Gay and Eric Gordon all were spotlighted as being great sparks off the bench before the game by Fran Fraschilla–they combined to score 3 points on 0-for-5 shooting and were a non-factor. I still maintain that Kevin Love is a major factor on this team–confirmed by Coach K picking him as the first big off the bench and one of the first subs–but this was not his match-up. He can rebound and defend in the post, but he struggled a bit in the pick and roll simply because guys thought they could finish over him. The bench has to be better.

The good news is the starters should be able to get some rest and the bench should get their swagger back over the next two games. Barring a weird or wacky performance, they should steamroll over the bottom 2 in their group: Iran and Tunisia. A well deserved day off tomorrow before returning to the court on Wednesday against Iran…get your Haddadi jokes ready.

"When I start making shots, I don't just make shots....I BE STROKIN'." (Credit: YardBarker.com)

Team USA passed their first test in the 2010 FIBA World Championships, running away from Croatia on route to a 106-76 victory. The story of the game was simple: Team USA came out hot (7-0 run in first 2 minutes), Croatia answered and made it a tight first quarter, Team USA made the right adjustments in the second quarter and pulled away from there. Not much else to it if you ask me, but Team USA did look flat-out dominant in the final 30 minutes of this game. They out-scored Croatia 84-58 over the last three periods and shot 54% for the game.

I’ll admit the first quarter freaked me out a bit, for a couple reasons. It wasn’t just because the score was close, it was why it was close. Team USA came out with a lot of fire, tremendous activity on defense combined with crisp movement on offense. And then, when the second unit came in that kind of came to a halt. All of a sudden, Team USA looked a tad bit flat footed on defense, occasionally late on rotations, sometimes even watching Croatia shoot or get rebounds. Offensively they became a little more impatient than many should like, struggling to attack Croatia’s zone early, instead opting to take quick jumpers. It seemed as if bad habits were creeping in, the kind of habits that can kill you in international play. The kind of habits that have hurt the US in the past.

However, the beauty of this Colangelo/Coach K era of USA Basketball is those bad habits are gone. They make adjustments, they slow down, and they will their way to victory. Slowly but surely whenever Croatia brought that zone back the ball was moving more. Whenever Croatia tried to foul to slow fast breaks, Team USA executed in the half-court. It’s those little things that win you games in international play. Derrick Rose and Kevin Durant combined to score Team USA’s first 10 points of the 2nd quarter, giving them a lead they would never give back. I credit their play for Team USA’s win, however I think some credit should go to Chauncey Billups. Say what you want about Mr. Big Shot, but he definitely is having a large impact on this Team USA. His experience shows in the little things he does. He picked the team back up defensively, setting the tone by picking Croatia’s guards up in the backcourt and the rest of the team followed. Offensively, they looked better and more focused with him running the show. He’s much more important to this team than many believe.

The beauty of this victory (and this team) is it was truly a team effort, everyone played their role and played a role in this victory. Five players scored in double figures (Durant, Gordon, Billups, Gay, Westbrook) and no player scored less than 5 minutes. It just felt like everyone had a hand in the win and you could honestly point out what everyone did. Iguodala’s defensive activity, Odom’s work on Ante Tomic (Tomic went 4-10, didn’t get many deep post opportunites), Gordon’s shooting (incredible, 3-5 from deep), Westbrook’s speed, Granger/Gay’s versatility, Chandler’s size, Love’s rebounding and outlet passing (don’t sleep on him), Curry’s mouthpiece (rough game). Let’s not forget this is an ‘inexperienced’ team only turned the ball over 7 times. If everyone continues to chip in like this, Team USA is going to be a problem for everyone to deal with.

"I haunt all of you in your dreams don't I Blazer fans?" (Credit: YardBarker.com)

We’re just a few hours away from the start of the 2010 FIBA World Championships, and I may be in the minority on this, but I’m pretty excited. As crazy as this NBA off-season has been, there hasn’t been that much excitement surrounding the event….at least in this country. It’s been stated time after time, but some European countries actually find the World Championships to be more prestigious than the Olympics, which actually makes sense considering the way other countries compare the World Cup and the Olympics. For one, it’s competitive basketball back on my TV screen. No offense to Becky Hammon and Diana Taurasi, but it’ll be nice to search elsewhere for my basketball fix (yes I’m a junkie).

The story of course is surrounding Team USA’s “B-Squad” attempting to bring home the country’s first World Championship victory since 1994′s forgotten squad won in Toronto. This year’s edition of Team USA hasn’t gotten a ton of fanfare for a couple of reasons. On one side, ‘World Championships’ have never meant that much in the USA. We’re a country that puts a lot of faith, support and importance on the Olympic Games. I mean let’s be real, the excuses for losing are already in place for Joe Schmoe if this Team USA falls: “We didn’t have our best guys. This isn’t the Olympics. We didn’t have any bigs, etc, etc.” The second reason is because of the lack of percieved ‘star power’ on the roster from the mainstream. How do I know this? They didn’t pass the Mom test, aka she doesn’t see this as the “real” Team USA. And I know that something is popular once it gets my mom’s position…when she started asking me about Jersey Shore I knew it was about to blow up.

I like this Team USA for a couple reasons. One, they actually are just flat out likeable. Kevin Durant leads the charge (what a summer he’s had, looking great on the court, tough to stomach for Blazer fans eh?), Derrick Rose is emerging, Chauncey Billups is sweating and they just have a group of guys who I have found to be easy to root for over the summer. They seem to get along with each other, they work hard, and they represent the country. Let’s be honest: the only time Coach K is likeable is when he’s on the sidelines for the USA, not for Duke. Secondly, I like the formation of the team. This is a collective group that together molds together to be a good team. They are athletic, can run, have skillsets that can bring the best out of each other. More importantly, everyone has a role and has bought into it. Have you ever heard Andre Iguodala or Rudy Gay talk this much defense, let alone play it ? Exactly.

Team USA has the talent, speed and teamwork to do really well in this tournament. The questions surround whether they can do the little things to win tough games. How will they do against zones? Will their inexperience hurt them against raucous crowds? What about teams who want to slow down the game? How about the crazy international refs? What about teams who try to smash Team USA in the interior? (I still think Kevin Love is underrated on this team, understandable since he’s the 12th man but still.) None of us know the answers yet. I hope the Greece blowout didn’t send expectations through the roof–this team still has a lot of proving to do. We know they can, the question is will they?

That same formation of roles and buying in is the reason why I wasn’t so ‘shocked’ or ‘upset’ about Rajon Rondo being the final cut or withdrawing. As great as Rondo is, I don’t think he was needed this year. In the international game, you need shooters, so you can see the value of keeping Eric Gordon and Stephen Curry. Not only that but I’ve really liked the way Derrick Rose has played and I think he and Rondo would almost duplicate each other on the same team.

As talented as this Team USA roster is, it won’t be an easy road to the World title for America. They find themselves in a group with tough, gritty European teams such as Croatia and Slovenia, a talented Brazilian team and a potentially crafty Iran. And then there’s Tunisia, bless their hearts for trying. Let’s not forget about the knockout stage which would require Team USA to win four pressure packed contests, potentially against powers such as Spain, Greece, Turkey or Argentina. I’m definitely excited to see what this Team USA team can do starting tomorrow, as should you too. At the very least, it’s some on-court basketball we all can talk about instead of constant streams of speculation.

Click ‘continue reading’ for my wacky, unfounded and mostly fun predictions for the World Championships and more…

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