It may have taken longer than expected, but United States Basketball seems to be returning to normalcy after a dominant exhibition win over Argentina. The star-studded roster had previously lost the opening two exhibition games to Nigeria and Australia respectively by an average of 5.5 points per game.
However, within the span of 24 hours, the countries’ finest players are back on track after a 108-80 win over Argentina, marking team USA’s first win in scrimmage play in the Olympics this year.
Dynamic Duo?
Team USA found some consistency down the stretch in just their third game together thanks to the depth that they have on this roster. It all starts with Kevin Durant, who already has two gold medals to his name, and he put up 20.6 points per game across the 2012 and 2016 Olympics as well as the 2010 FIBA Basketball World Cup. It comes by no surprise that he is the most lethal scoring option as he proved just that during his inaugural season with the Brooklyn Nets, averaging 26.9 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 5.6 assists.
Durant racked up 17 points, six rebounds, three assists, one steal, and had help from his teammate, Bradley Beal, who put up an identical stat line. It seems like other than Damian Lillard, Beal and Durant will likely be the top-scoring options that this team will depend on.
Coach Pop is figuring it out…
One of the most controversial topics regarding team USA’s lack of success through three exhibition games has been the coaching of Gregg Popovich. Despite being one of the most decorated coaches in NBA history, when it comes to an international level, Coach Pop has been subpar.
It certainly is something to keep an eye on but one thing worth noting is that Popovich had high praise for the defense down the stretch despite his 2nd-largest win (28 points) as coach of Team USA after today’s dominant outing against Argentina.
“I thought both (Bam) and Draymond facilitated a lot of action. They were very active, got everybody involved, and that’s something that’s really important for us.” – Popovich after Team USA’s 108-80 win over Argentina tonight.
It’s Only the Beginning
The biggest takeaway is to believe Team USA has got this under wraps and this squad is not worried about what lies ahead. That is not an excuse for any of the previous two losses in the exhibition games. However, in the absence of Jayson Tatum, this squad was able to come together and take down the No. 4 team in the FIBA world rankings, which will ease some of the concern. Once Tatum is back in the lineup and Team USA allows Durant to control the pace on offense, it can work wonders. Sure, it’s worth noting a handful of talent from Tatum to Beal to even Lillard, but once again, Durant is Team USA’s most lethal scorer and as long as he can’t be slowed down, the rest of the team will be able to feed off that energy and get confident down the stretch. Until then, they’ll have another shot at Australia on Friday prior to heading to Tokyo and competing for a much-coveted gold medal.
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