| Team U.S.A. Cruises to 99-77 Victory Over Slovenia |
By Jason Behr
August 29, 2010
Team U.S.A. started of on a torrid pace starting off 6 of 8 from the field slowed slightly
in the 2nd quarter then cruised thru the 2nd half with a 20 point margin through most of
the way.
It may be stating the obvious but Kevin Durant is one heck of a player and is the clear
leader and best player on the U.S.A. squad. He started off the game with a steal and
dunk on the other end on the very first possession of the game. He scored 7 of the first
12 U.S. points on a variety of dunks, jumpers and 3 point shots. He led all scorers with
22 points along with 4 rebounds, assists, and steals to round out a most impressive all
around stat line. He also got plenty of help from Rudy Gay who added 16 points along
with Russel Westbrook and Andre Iguodala each chipping in with 11 points each.
The 2nd unit struggled in the middle part of the 1st half committing to many turnovers
and not enough ball movements leading to contested shots with no rebounding. Until
Kevin Love came in and single handedly pulled the 2nd unit together and did Dennis
Rodman like work on the glass pulling down 11 rebounds and adding 10 points in just
13 minutes of game action. Kevin Love definitely fills that “doing the little things” role
that is so essential for any winning team. He might look a little gangly and awkward but
he makes up for it with effort and determination. They ended the half with a comfortable
14 point lead.
The U.S. came out in the second half taking much better care of the ball and not
committing their first turnover until 7:30 minutes had passed a stark contrast to the first
half. Kevin Durant came out on fire once again and along with some nice orchestrating
by Derrick Rose helped build a comfortable 20 point margin. Like Fran Fraschilla
stated it will be an awful nice luxury in 2012 for Coach K to pick from the trio of Chris
Paul. Deron Williams and Derrick Rose to run the point guard spot and Kevin Durant
will be adding his talents as well. Chauncey Billups is playing the role of experienced
leader to the utmost providing a valuable source of information and guidance for Rose
and serving as co-floor leader when needed as evidence by his co-leading 5 assists
along with Rose. The only negative trend I saw were the young U.S. players reacting a
little too much to the more physical play style of International Basketball and to much
complaining to the referee’s. All though with some more experience and the guidance
of Coach K I am sure this problem will be remedied.
Overall a very nice way to start pool play going to 2-0 with an easy 99-77 victory this
morning and facing their toughest opponent Brazil in tomorrow’s game. I would be very
surprised to not come out of play 5-0 based on their play so far. needed.
August 29, 2010
Team U.S.A. started of on a torrid pace starting off 6 of 8 from the field slowed slightly
in the 2nd quarter then cruised thru the 2nd half with a 20 point margin through most of
the way.
It may be stating the obvious but Kevin Durant is one heck of a player and is the clear
leader and best player on the U.S.A. squad. He started off the game with a steal and
dunk on the other end on the very first possession of the game. He scored 7 of the first
12 U.S. points on a variety of dunks, jumpers and 3 point shots. He led all scorers with
22 points along with 4 rebounds, assists, and steals to round out a most impressive all
around stat line. He also got plenty of help from Rudy Gay who added 16 points along
with Russel Westbrook and Andre Iguodala each chipping in with 11 points each.
The 2nd unit struggled in the middle part of the 1st half committing to many turnovers
and not enough ball movements leading to contested shots with no rebounding. Until
Kevin Love came in and single handedly pulled the 2nd unit together and did Dennis
Rodman like work on the glass pulling down 11 rebounds and adding 10 points in just
13 minutes of game action. Kevin Love definitely fills that “doing the little things” role
that is so essential for any winning team. He might look a little gangly and awkward but
he makes up for it with effort and determination. They ended the half with a comfortable
14 point lead.
The U.S. came out in the second half taking much better care of the ball and not
committing their first turnover until 7:30 minutes had passed a stark contrast to the first
half. Kevin Durant came out on fire once again and along with some nice orchestrating
by Derrick Rose helped build a comfortable 20 point margin. Like Fran Fraschilla
stated it will be an awful nice luxury in 2012 for Coach K to pick from the trio of Chris
Paul. Deron Williams and Derrick Rose to run the point guard spot and Kevin Durant
will be adding his talents as well. Chauncey Billups is playing the role of experienced
leader to the utmost providing a valuable source of information and guidance for Rose
and serving as co-floor leader when needed as evidence by his co-leading 5 assists
along with Rose. The only negative trend I saw were the young U.S. players reacting a
little too much to the more physical play style of International Basketball and to much
complaining to the referee’s. All though with some more experience and the guidance
of Coach K I am sure this problem will be remedied.
Overall a very nice way to start pool play going to 2-0 with an easy 99-77 victory this
morning and facing their toughest opponent Brazil in tomorrow’s game. I would be very
surprised to not come out of play 5-0 based on their play so far. needed.
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