Team USA kicks-off FIBA World Cup with opener against New Zealand
And now the games start to count.
Team USA cruised through its FIBA Showcase with an undefeated 5-0 record. The FIBA World Cup, however, is no exhibition.
A shot at gold is officially on the line.
USA Basketball has five gold-medal finishes in FIBA World Cup play: 1954 in Brazil, 1986 in Spain, 1994 in Canada, 2010 in Turkey and 2014 in Spain. They look to add No. 6 in the Philippines, with Saturday’s matinee matchup against New Zealand the first of three group-stage games.
There are no active NBA players on New Zealand’s World Cup roster.
If Team USA wins gold, it automatically punches a qualifying ticket to the 2024 Paris Olympics.
The group stage will round out with matinee showdowns against Greece on Aug. 28 and Jordan on Aug. 30. Team USA is heavily favored in all three games and needs to win at least two to advance to the next round.
The games against New Zealand and Greece will air on ESPN 2 at 8:40 a.m., and the group-stage finale against Jordan will also air on ESPN2 with a 4:40 a.m. tip-off.
eam USA head coach Steve Kerr started the same five players through each of the five Showcase games: Minnesota Timberwolves superstar Anthony Edwards, Memphis Grizzlies reigning Defensive Player of the Year Jaren Jackson Jr., Knicks star Jalen Brunson, Nets star Mikal Bridges, and New Orleans Pelicans All-Star Brandon Ingram.
Kerr has also settled on a rotation: First off the bench has traditionally been a combination of Los Angeles Lakers forward Austin Reaves, Milwaukee Bucks forward Bobby Portis and Indiana Pacers star guard Tyrese Haliburton.
Kerr also plays Knicks forward Josh Hart and Nets forward Cam Johnson in spurts off the bench, and reigning Rookie of the Year Paolo Banchero adds size and athleticism off the bench in the front court.
Star on the rise
Edwards has been electrifying in World Cup play. He averaged 18.8 points on 50% shooting from the field through the five exhibition games, and fueled a double-digit Team USA comeback in the finale against Germany with 34 points in 34 minutes. Edwards has also been a standout on defense and averaged 1.2 steals and 1.6 blocks through the Showcase.
Lack of size
Team USA’s biggest weakness is a lack of size. After Jackson, who has been dominant defensively when avoiding foul trouble, the next-biggest player on the roster is Banchero, who is inexperienced. Opposing teams took advantage of the size weakness routinely in exhibition play. Specifically, they hunted Bridges on cross-matches, then isolated him in the low post on a bigger player.
This is important because even though Team USA is expected to blow through the Group C Stage, Round 2 features games against the winners of Group D. Among Group D teams are Lithuania and Montenegro. One of the NBA’s premier bruising big men, Jonas Valanciunas, headlines a Lithuanian team loaded with size and strength, and Chicago Bulls star center Nikola Vucevic captains Team Montenegro.
New York minute
Brunson averaged 12.4 points, 4.8 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 1.8 steals and shot 58.5% from the field through the five World Cup exhibition games. He earned the starting job over Haliburton, a supreme talent at the point guard spot, due to his leadership abilities.
Haliburton, however, played integral minutes down the stretch as Team USA made a late comeback against Germany in the Showcase finale. Kerr has played Brunson and Haliburton together, alongside Edwards, but that lineup makes a small team even smaller.
Brunson and Haliburton are largely competing for the same minutes.
Bridges also played large minutes in the finale against Germany, tallying seven points, two steals and a block in 29 minutes. He averaged 10.4 points, 1.4 steals and shot 38.5% from 3-point range across the Showcase and hit a go-ahead 3 in the fourth quarter to give Team USA a lead over Germany.
His Nets teammate, Johnson, was shooting lights-out for Team USA through the first four Showcase games but played just four minutes in the finale against Germany. Kerr has played the other Knick on the roster, Hart, good minutes off the bench as part of the second unit.
