Team USA Men’s Basketball was favored by more than 20 points for Monday’s exhibition game against Australia in Abu Dhabi. They were lucky to escape with a 98-92 victory that leaves plenty of questions on their road to the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics.
How does a group of the NBA’s very best American players barely survive against an improving Australian team that isn’t expected to compete for the gold? Some of their main issues were the same ones that plagued the Warriors this past NBA season.
Turnovers were a major problem for Team USA’s slow start against Canada on Wednesday night in Las Vegas. Trailing 21-14 after the first quarter in their eventual win over the Canadians, Team USA had eight turnovers and only three assists in the first quarter. That issue seemed to be cleaned and wiped away early Monday against Australia.
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In their second exhibition game Monday, Team USA only had one turnover in the first quarter. Coach Steve Kerr’s decision to switch the starting lineup – replacing Devin Booker with Anthony Edwards and Jrue Holiday with Boston Celtics teammate Jayson Tatum – worked in his favor. Edwards was Team USA's leading scorer in their first game, giving them 13 points off the bench. He then came out on fire in the starting lineup against Australia, scoring 11 of Team USA’s first 19 points on a perfect 4-of-4 shooting.
At halftime, it looked like Kerr could experiment and it wouldn’t matter. Team USA was up on the Aussies 32-21 after the first quarter and outscored them 21-16 in the second quarter, giving them a 53-37 lead through the first 20 minutes.
Their 16-point lead then was nearly erased during a disastrous second half. Turnovers were a mess. Twelve of Team USA’s 18 total turnovers came in the final two quarters – seven in the third quarter and five in the fourth. Warriors fans are wincing at those numbers.
An Edwards free throw gave Team USA a 24-point lead with, 65-41, with seven minutes remaining in the third quarter. Edwards completely cooled off in the second half, and the Australians soon raced back within striking distance. Edwards after his perfect first quarter went 1 of 7 from the field and missed both of his 3-point attempts after making all three during his red-hot opening frame.
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The biggest question mark thus far from a roster standpoint appears to be at center in 2022-23 NBA MVP Joel Embiid. Steph Curry and LeBron James are locks to be in the starting five. Apparently, so is Embiid.
Curry, James and Embiid have been Kerr’s mainstays in his rotating starting lineup, despite Embiid’s fit being shaky at best through two exhibition games. Embiid scored 10 points and was the only starter who had a positive plus/minus at plus-10. But he also had three turnovers, and his backup, Anthony Davis, was the much better fit for the second consecutive game.
Davis’ 17 points off the bench on 6-of-12 shooting topped all Team USA scorers. Plus, the Los Angeles Lakers superstar grabbed 14 rebounds. Embiid’s five boards were second on Team USA.
Australia scored a whopping 68 points in the paint in four 10-minute quarters. Davis’ double-double in 18 minutes begs the question if he should start in place of Embiid. Curry and James should be flanked by athleticism, and Davis’ skill set seems perfect for the two. Maybe Davis can play the 4 next to Embiid. It’s hard to say if Bam Adebayo can do so in the same frontcourt as Embiid if the superstar center gets pushed to the second unit.
Team USA was cooked by interior play during their embarrassing showing in the FIBA World Cup last year, and now has Nikola Jokić and Serbia on deck. On a day where Curry went 1 of 6 behind the 3-point line, that’s where Team USA was saved thanks to a 24-point advantage from three.
These are why they play exhibition games. Cohesion and chemistry has been an advantage for Canada and Australia. Kerr’s rotations have been questionable at best. Team USA has had trouble against pressure defense and has shown holes of its own offensively and defensively, but still finds ways to come out on top.
Talent has been the ultimate deciding factor at the final buzzer.
The road only is going to get harder for Team USA from here, starting with a showdown against Joker, and their second exhibition win leaves us with more questions than answers.
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