HoopWatch

A lot of lessons were learned by Team USA during the recent World Championships in Saitama, Japan. For one, a team cannot be expected to win it all when formed a month before a huge tournament. And teamwork, both on offense and defense, wins games. It does outwit any individual brilliance an opposition may pose.

Team USA may have swept all their games before their semifinal match against Greece, they may have won almost all of those games by huge or double-digit margins (except for that game against Italy where they won only by nine), but there were scary moments as well. Italy’s relentless defense and teamwork almost handled USA their first loss. Carmelo Anthony single-handedly brought the team on his shoulders by scoring 35 points. That game really revealed the chink on their armor.

In that game against Germany, USA only led by a single point in the first half. Melo once again bailed them out by scoring 10 of his 19 team-high points in the third quarter. It is, however, important to note that Germany can also be referred to be a one-man team. To stop Germany, all you’ve got to do is to stop Dirk Nowitzki. Nowitzki only scored 15 points in that game. That was also evident in Fiba Europa when Greece (with no NBA player in their roster) defeated Germany by clamping on Nowitzki.

For those two occasions (against Italy and Germany), USA had to call on Melo to bail them out. And in that game against Greece, USA tried once again to call on another NBA superstar to lead them out of their seemingly unshakeable slumber. Dwayne Wade, the recent NBA Finals MVP, tried his best with a superman effort by scoring 18 points in the fourth quarter alone to no avail. Greece’s teamwork on both offense and defense was too much for Wade to dismantle. The Greeks were just moving the ball all too well for the fazed Americans, hitting shots after shots. Add to that the confusion on the Americans faces on defense. They were just unable to stop the Greeks allowing them to shoot a very high 63 percent from the field. Ask any basketball expert, and they will say that that is too high of a FG percentage for any team to allow.

Furthermore, it was also evident that USA failed to scout Greece, and Greece was more than ready to manhandle the US players. Who doesn’t anyway? NBA basketball can be seen anywhere in the world. It’s the most popular and most prestigious league in the world. And with the US relying basically (as of this time) on individual athleticism, other teams knows exactly what the moves of these NBA superstars are. USA relied too much on their athleticism and individual skills. Their overconfidence became their poison. They did not how to defend Greek center Sofoklis Schortsianitis down low who erupted for 14 points and that Greek perimeter shooting who shot nine three-pointers.

Also, a team can never be expected to win if it was formed just a month before a huge competition. Teamwork, team-play can best be cultivated by years of playing together. As Greek point guard Theo Papaloukas pointed out in an article written by Brian Windhorst of the Aakron Beacon Journal. “I think we were just a little more clever than them today. They have the skills but we know how to play better as a team. You cannot do it in a month.”

But, moving along, as we all know, USA is geared towards the right direction. Manager Jerry Colangelo has formed a team that can bring back America’s dominance in the future. Team USA is still learning, and this is just the first tournament that they are competing in after they have been formed. There are still more games to play. And there are still other players in that pool that we haven’t seen yet who may in one way or another contribute to USA’s cause. The outside shooting and penetration of Kobe Bryant and Tracy McGrady, the long arms and defensive brilliance of Amare Stoudamire and Shawn Marion, the fast-break finishing ability of Vince Carter and the team-oriented attitude of Kevin Garnett. And they will learn to play as a unit as this is a three year commitment. They will still have more practices and tournaments to join. As Antawn Jamison said, “…We just have to keep our heads up high and go out there and be ready for the next game and next summer.” And we can expect USA to be more than ready for the Fiba Americas and even for the Olympics. They did learn a lot from this tournament and they will make adjustments. Other teams may have to be wary of them the next time around. (Pic courtesy of USABasketball.com).