HoopsHype.com Columns

USA Basketball keeps rolling along
by Marc Narducci / August 22, 2006

While 2004 Olympic coach Larry Brown didn’t take advantage of the athletic ability of his team by playing a half-court style, current coach Mike Krzyzewski is letting the team play the transition game that better suits its talents during the current tournament.

The other impressive aspect is that the players selected for the team have accepted their roles.

For instance, NBA Finals MVP Dwyane Wade came off the bench in the first three games for the USA, which has opened with wins over Puerto Rico, China and Slovenia.

Krzyzewski is basically using two units, so the players are fresh and hungry when they enter the game.

Wade, who had 26 points off the bench in the 120-90 win over Yao Ming and China and added 20 in Tuesday’s 114-95 win over Slovenia, is averaging 19.6 ppg. He could start for any team in the world, including the NBA All-Star squad, but Wade is accepting and flourishing in his reserve role.

The starting lineup for Tuesday’s win over Slovenia consisted of Shane Battier, Carmelo Anthony, Dwight Howard, LeBron James and Chris Paul.

Howard, entering his third season with the Orlando Magic, might be the best interior defender in the tournament, while Battier, recently acquired by the Houston Rockets, is the USA’s top perimeter defender.

This isn’t the biggest of teams, but it's very athletic. Howard has been a demon on the boards. Nobody can match up with James in the backcourt – or frontcourt for that matter – and Paul is the type of selfless point guard who gets everybody involved. His assists-to-turnover ratio has been off the charts.

Against Slovenia, Krzyzewski replaced his starters with Wade, Joe Johnson, Kirk Hinrich, Antawn Jamison and Elton Brand. Again, not the biggest of units, but quick and talented.

Slovenia has five NBA players on its roster, with the most well known being center Rasho Nesterovic. Yet Slovenia didn’t have nearly the talent level to hang with the USA.

Another weakness of the USA in the past has turned into a strength – team defense. Krzyzewski has his players employing suffocating half-court pressure defense, which helps create turnovers and, more importantly, helps pick up the pace of the game. When the USA is in a transition game, nobody in the world can match them.

The American squad still has one question mark that seems to surface at international play – the lack of a consistent perimeter game. Despite shooting 7 for 11 from beyond the arc against Slovenia in the decisive first half and 10 for 20 for the game, the USA will continue to have to prove itself from the outside. Still, this is a better shooting USA team than many in the past.

Krzyzewski's team will see plenty of zone defenses. For instance, the USA held a 30-27 lead after one quarter against Slovenia while facing a man-to-man defense. Slovenia switched to a zone in the second quarter and the USA extended the lead to 66-49 at halftime.

They were able to find seams and drive through the zone. And again, if the transition games gets going, no defense will be able to handle the USA.

And the gambling that the USA is able to do on defense against teams such as Puerto Rico, China and Slovenia won’t work against Argentina. So even though the USA should win this tournament, they could face some obstacles.

Anyway, a team would have to play a half-court game against the Americans and hope they don’t have their shooting touch.

The USA meets a 3-0 Italy team on Wednesday, but again, it would be a major upset if the American lose.

After beating Slovenia, the USA has clinched a spot in the round of 16. When that round begins, the USA should be well-rested because the starters are usually playing no more than half the game. And there is no dropoff when the reserves enter the game, nor should there be, especially when Wade is one of the substitutes.

While some may feel that the opening 111-100 win over Puerto Rico was a little too close for comfort, the USA is still a work in progress. The players are getting accustomed to their roles and each other. And most of all, they have shown that they bought into Krzyzewski’s system.

In international basketball, it’s not always the most talented group that wins, but the one that plays together the best. The USA has shown signs of togetherness that should complement its talent and earn a gold medal in Japan.

Marc Narducci covers the NBA for the Philadelphia Inquirer and is a regular contributor to HoopsHype.com

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