A Good Test Tonight

A Good Test Tonight

Team USA faces Brazil in their second Olympic tune-up tonight in Washington, D.C. This will be a much greater challenge than the Dominican Republic exhibition.

Brazil has plenty of size, the one glaring weakness of Team USA. Their frontline consists of three NBA players – Washington’s Nene, Cleveland’s Anderson Varejao, and San Antonio’s Tiago Splitter.

Obviously injuries have kept several American bigs from competing in London. But the management and coaching staff has elected to use the traditionally smaller, international lineup. Tonight’s game will serve as a test to see if the smaller, more athletic USA lineups will be affected by teams with more size.

Brazil also boasts Marcelo Huerta, a guard who may be handle Team USA’s pressure, and Leandro Barbosa, a wing who was effective off the bench for the Indiana Pacers at times this season.  

I’ll be interested to see how much Team USA can turn Brazil over and how well they rebound at the defensive end.

When you talk about Brazil in international competition I can’t help but think of the great Oscar Schmidt’s performance in the 1987 Pan American Games in Indianapolis. Schmidt scored 35 points in the second half, 46 for the game, in beating the U.S. for the gold medal. That U.S. team had David Robinson and Danny Manning. Those Pan Am Games in my hometown were an unbelievable experience for me as a kid, but the Gold Medal Game was not pleasant.

Thoughts from the Dominican Republic Exhibition

Thursday night’s rout of the Dominican Republic was a chance for Team USA to see itself against other competition. And learn a little about itself.

I found it interesting that Kevin Durant came off the bench for Team USA. This is a similar role that Dwayne Wade had on the 2008 team. Don’t forget Wade was the leading scorer on that team. I would not be surprised to see Durant lead this team in scoring, as well. I know, I know, I’m going out on a limb.

Team USA was able to get a lot of open perimeter shots. Durant (24 points) and Andre Iguodala (18) shot really well. I think it is important that Team USA not rely on perimeter shooting against good teams like Argentina, Spain, or Greece.

I was hoping to talk a little more X’s and O’s from the Dominican game. There weren’t a ton. Team USA’s pressure defense made it a full-court, fast-break kind of a game. They were certainly aggressive trapping in their man-to-man, particularly on ball screens.  

I think Team USA is going to really benefit from Russell Westbrook’s nose-to-the-grindstone play. The ball pressure he put on the Dominicans was unfair. And he is in a much different situation than with the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Thunder need him on the floor at all times. He can afford to gamble defensively because of Team USA’s depth.  

I should be able to break down some X’s and O’s more after watching the Brazil game.

Davis Replaces Griffin

Blake Griffin became the third frontcourt casualty for Team USA (Dwight Howard and Chris Bosh are the other two.). He will undergo surgery on an injured knee. It is quite an accomplishment for Anthony Davis to be added to the team. What a year he has had. NCAA National champion. Wooden Award. NBA number-one pick. I think we will miss some of Griffin’s high-flying act in London but Davis will be an upgrade on the defensive end.

A Wonderful Tribute

If you have a chance to pick up a USA Today today, please do so. There is a great article by Jeff Zillgitt. Zillgitt talks about Capt. Scott Smiley and his appearance at a recent Team USA practice. One of the interesting points Smiley made was how well the team was communicating. That doesn’t surprise me. Krzyzewski has implemented a great communication system and leadership from guys like LeBron make it work. What was interesting was that Smiley is blind from a 2005 car explosion in Iraq.

Team USA also presented the wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Solider on Sunday. Coach K is once again providing this team plenty of reminders about who they are playing for.

I go back to who could be a better leader for Team USA than Krzyzewski? His military and basketball experiences make him the perfect guy for this job.

I look forward to watching the Brazil game tonight!