Wednesday’s game ended with USA Basketball 86 to Canada 72.
Next is an Olympic gold medal.
Officially, the U.S.-Canada game was a meaningless exhibition game, a chance for the North American neighbors to knock off some rust before flying overseas for the real thing. But Canada swept the U.S. in the bronze-medal game at the World Cup last summer. On Wednesday, Canada waved the white flag early in the fourth quarter.
Seriously, who can compete with this U.S. team? Soccer has come a long way since the days of the Dream Team, when Charles Barkley wrestled hapless Angolans and Cuban players posed for photos on the court. France has a great lineup this summer. Nikola Jokic leads Serbia and Giannis Antetokounmpo plays in Greece. With Victor Wembanyama and Rudy Gobert on the Bucks, it’s hard to score in the paint on a French team.
Still, this U.S. team LoadedPossibly the most talented team in the history of U.S. basketball. Success in the NBA and the grueling schedule that comes with it kept Stephen Curry off the Olympic roster. But when LeBron James called last fall to gauge Curry’s interest, he jumped at the chance. Shooting was a problem for the 2023 World Cup team. The best sniper in NBA history solved that.
To solve their size problem, the U.S. acquired Joel Embiid, a Cameroon-born player with French-American citizenship who was a free agent-like signing last year. Embiid fouled out after 12 minutes against Canada and will have to adjust to FIBA officiating, but he did grab six rebounds in those minutes. With Embiid, Anthony Davis and Bam Adebayo, the U.S. has a rotation of centers that can play against anyone.
And the players who should win everyoneEven without Kawhi Leonard (with Boston Celtics guard Derrick White filling in), the U.S. is comprised of 12 players: 10 current All-Stars and four former MVPs. Early in the fourth quarter, Canada emptied its bench. All-NBA guard Tyrese Haliburton remained on the court when the U.S. dropped its starters.
There will be ups and downs at times. What the international team lacks in talent, it makes up for in consistency. This U.S. team has only been together for a few days. In early scrimmages, it barely managed to fend off a select team led by a 17-year-old. Against Canada, the U.S. team scored 14 points in the first quarter and dominated the game in the second half.
“We’ll get there,” U.S. coach Steve Kerr said, “but it’s just going to take time.”
Of course, time is not on your side. The U.S. heads to Abu Dhabi this week for exhibition matches against Australia and Serbia, then stops in London to face South Sudan and Germany. Practices are where you implement the system, games are where you fine-tune it. The rules are different in FIBA. On a team with all-stars, the roles are different.
“We’re focused on the guys that we know can beat us in FIBA games,” Kerr said. “I’m not going to blame the guys for mistakes that they might make — dribbling the ball out of bounds, mis-passing it. I’m going to blame FIBA for mistakes.”
“It’s a completely different game. The rules are different, the rhythm is different, the flow is different. All the players are used to taking 20 shots a game. They might only take five or six. They have to get used to FIBA and this style… We’re trying to get the players to understand what is winning and what is losing in a FIBA game.”
Wednesday’s exhibition was Team USA’s first chance to learn. The ball was moving in the first quarter, but maybe a little too much. Too “It was an unselfish play,” said USA Basketball managing director Grant Hill. Possession looked disjointed. The uncertainty that comes with playing newcomers was palpable. The U.S. committed 15 turnovers and shot just 30.4 percent from 3-point range.
“Frankly, we were awful offensively,” Davis said.
But when they had to raise it,WowDefense will be this team’s hallmarks. The interior muscle of Embiid and Davis. The versatility of July Holiday, Anthony Edwards and (eventually) White. The intelligence of James. Among non-U.S. teams competing for the gold medal, Canada shot 33.8 percent. The U.S. had 11 steals and nine blocks.
“That’s our goal,” Embiid said, “and we’re going to get there offensively.”
That will be the case. The Americans have too much offensive power. Curry made 3 of 6 3-pointers. Edwards scored 13 points off the bench. Jayson Tatum (8 points) had some strong drives to the rim. Meanwhile, the U.S. team’s all-time leading scorer (Kevin Durant, who is resting with a minor calf injury) watched the game in street clothes.
Yes, there is some stuff to clean up, but there’s no reason to believe it can’t be cleaned up.
“I have to coach them,” Carr said. “They have to get better. They know that. We have to get better as a staff. We’re focused on that every day.”
