While back-to-back blowout victories did little to diminish the United States’ status as the favorite in this year’s FIBA World Cup, the Americans may have showed just enough vulnerability in Sunday’s 98-77 victory over Turkey to raise a few eyebrows among those who were ready to hand over the trophy to the U.S.
Saturday’s opening round matchup against Finland saw the U.S. come out like gangbusters, as they blasted the Finnish 114-55. The Americans applied suffocating defense, holding Finland without a field goal for the entire second quarter. In fact, a pair of free throws near the midway point were the only points Finland would score in the quarter, as the U.S. coasted to a 60-18 halftime lead and never looked back.
Anthony Davis continued his outstanding play with 17 points, while Klay Thompson led the Americans with 18. The U.S. shot 59% from the floor, had 18 steals, and looked nearly unbeatable. Then came Sunday’s matchup against Turkey, the runners-up to Team USA in the 2010 FIBA World Championship.
“They want to slow the ball down a little bit, so we really got to make them push the ball and feel pressure with our defense,” Derrick Rose told ESPN prior to the game. When the Americans failed to do so early in the game, the Turks made them pay.
Team USA shot the ball poorly in the first half against the Turkish zone, missing eight of twelve 3-point attempts and trailing 40-35 at halftime. The Turkish forced the U.S. into the slower-tempo game that the U.S. was trying to avoid, thwarting the Americans’ advantage in athleticism. The U.S. settled for jump shots and did a poor job of sharing the ball, a stark contrast to their Saturday obliteration of Finland.
Turkey continued to shoot the ball well early in the third quarter and increased their lead to 51-45. But the remainder of the game would belong to the Americans, as Kenneth Faried and Anthony Davis began to take advantage of the significantly overmatched Turkish big men. The two combined for 41 points on 19-25 shooting and turned up the intensity on both ends of the floor, attacking the rim with reckless abandon. Faried finished the game with 22 points on 11-14 shooting while providing Team USA with numerous much-needed hustle plays. All of Davis’ 19 points came in the second half, including a series of high-flying, highlight-reel dunks, as the Americans pulled away for a 98-77 victory.
While it’s difficult to get too worked up over two blowout victories, Sunday’s game against Turkey did expose some potential chinks in the United States’ armor. The experienced Turkish backcourt did a good job of dictating the tempo of the game and kept the Americans on their toes with a series of well-executed pick and roll plays. Team USA also seemed frustrated at times by the officiating, something they’ll need to adjust to as they move forward in the tournament.
At the end of the day, the opening weekend showed that, as expected, the FIBA World Cup is the Americans’ to lose. But a valiant effort from Turkey may well provide hope to their future opponents that Team USA is ripe for an upset.
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