To the eyes of the world, the USA Basketball Men’s National Team’s 98-92 over Australia on Monday provided many of the exciting highlights that you would expect with a roster of this caliber, even if the final score was a bit closer than desired.
But for U.S. Coach Steve Kerr and his staff, the positive steps taken by the world’s top-ranked team that will play in the 2024 Paris Olympics as the four-time defending gold medalist were the most encouraging takeaways from the USA Basketball Showcase game at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
With a couple more practices under their belt and just over a week together, the Americans showed better offensive flow than their first exhibition game, while the defense remained a strong suit as the U.S. improved to 2-0. Still, there are things to work on, especially with fifth-ranked Australia (3-1-1) pulling within six midway through the fourth quarter and creating a stir in the arena once the U.S. lead reached single digits, then within four late.
“It was a good game for us to have to remind the guys we have to keep playing,” Kerr said. “We stopped playing there mid-third quarter. “We started turning the ball over, we gave up a ton of points at the basket, backcuts, offensive boards. So the game shifted. It’s a good lesson for us, better to learn it now than later. This will be a good tape for us to watch.”
Anthony Davis led the way for the U.S. with 17 points and 14 rebounds, while Devin Booker had 16 points and Anthony Edwards 14 points, four rebounds and two steals. LeBron James added 10 points, three rebounds and three assists, Joel Embiid 10 points, five rebounds and two steals and Bam Adebayo 10 points for the U.S. The Americans hit 12 3-pointers, with eight players making at least one.
However, the Americans had 18 turnovers after 15 in the 86-72 win over Canada to open the USA Basketball Showcase.
“We’ve got to stop turning the ball. That’s the main thing,” Edwards said.
The Americans will conclude its two games in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday against fourth-ranked Serbia and three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic, before the USA Basketball Showcase shifts to the O2 Arena in London for games against Olympic newcomer South Sudan on Saturday and 2023 FIBA World Cup champion Germany next Monday. The U.S. opens Olympic play July 28 against Serbia, which faces Australia on Tuesday.
“There’s enough time (to clean things up), but we have to take advantage of every game that we have of these exhibition games,” Stephen Curry said.
Jock Landale had 20 points and seven rebounds, while Josh Giddey had 17 points, eight rebounds and seven assists for Australia, which is seeking its first Olympic medal. While the U.S. improved to 36-3 in pre-Olympic exhibitions in the Dream Team era, the last loss was to Australia 91-83 in the USA Basketball Showcase in Las Vegas in 2021.
The U.S. went with a different starting five. Curry, James and Embiid were again on the court for the opening tip, this time with Edwards and Jayson Tatum. Those two were inserted for Jrue Holiday and Devin Booker as Kerr looks for the right combinations. Edwards led the Americans in scoring with 13 points in the USA Basketball Showcase opener five days prior against Canada in Las Vegas. Edwards has shown he will be relied upon for points in this star-laden group.
“That’s just who he is,” Kerr said of Edwards. “He’s a big-time scorer. He gets downhill, he gets to the rim, plays through contact. FIBA is very physical and he’s a very physical player. I think for sure he will be one of our leading scorers during this tournament.”
The only members of the Olympic roster who did not play were Kevin Durant, due to a calf strain, and Derrick White, who just joined the team as an injury replacement and only practiced for the first time Sunday. It led Kerr to sometimes substituting like hockey lines, with the second unit consisting of Holiday, Tyrese Haliburton, Booker, Davis and Adebayo.
The U.S. came out sharp in the opening 10 minutes. After Curry missed the team’s first 3-point shot, the U.S. hit its next four, with James and Edwards each hitting a pair. Edwards hit a third in the opening quarter, a stutter-step stepback from the left wing, as part of the Americans’ 6-of-10 performance from distance and 9-of-16 (56.3%) shooting overall as the U.S. surged to a 32-21 lead after the first quarter. The Americans also got to the line and made all eight free-throw attempts, this after just 12 trips in the entire Canada game and making five. Australia stayed in the game with a strong early performance from Landale, the Houston Rockets player who had seven points and three rebounds in the first 4 minutes, 51 seconds. Australia outrebounded the U.S. 13-11 in the quarter.
The U.S. cooled off a bit in the second quarter, going 8-of-22 (36.4%) but still managed to keep Australia at bay. Even when the Boomers made a run, like the Giddey-fueled 7-0 burst that trimmed the Americans’ advantage to 39-30, the U.S. had an answer, this time in the form of a momentum-stopping 3 by Curry. The sharing of the ball was on full display on one particular possession. James had the ball on the mid-right wing and had Tatum in the corner. Tatum started a drive but found Curry spotted up on the opposite corner, but Curry quickly moved the ball to Edwards on the left wing. Edwards drove to the lane and dished to Embiid crashing to the goal, with the Philadelphia 76ers star dunking for a 53-35 lead with 48 seconds left in the half. That type of play resulted in a 53-37 halftime cushion.
Australia made another run in the third quarter, this one 14-2 to pull within 67-55 with 3:02, but the star power of the U.S. was there to prevent any further damage as Edwards converted a three-point play. The Americans finished the third quarter with a 76-61 lead.
“We can’t get comfortable,” Edwards said. “I think the third quarter, we came out and got super-comfortable, took our foot off the gas, wasn’t sharing the ball as much. I think the second group shared the ball a lot more than the first group. We got to do a better job of getting each other involved, like the second group.”
It seemed like the U.S. would close out the game comfortably, but Australia had other plans. A 15-3 run tightened the game, with a Matthew Dellavedova steal and Dyson Daniels lay-in making it 86-80 with 5:05 to go. Back-to-back 3-pointers by Haliburton from the left corner gave the U.S. some temporary breathing room. Australia climbed back within four points on two occasions before the U.S. finished the job, with Booker hitting a jumper with 32 seconds left, then going 4-of-4 from the line in the final seconds.
“It takes a little time to become a team,” Kerr said. “We need a couple weeks, but we will get there.”
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