Team USA: Durant Is Golden Against Serbia

By Mark Bacon

Kevin Durant did it again. Just like in 2012, Durant led the United States men's basketball team in scoring with a performance to remember in the gold medal game on Sunday in Rio de Janeiro. Durant scored 24 of his 30 points in the first half of Team USA's 96-66 win over Serbia, dominating like the best player at the Olympic Games should.

Team USA had a slow start offensively, but the game was out of reach by halftime. The Americans went on a 29-10 run to blow the game open. The end result was their most lopsided victory in a gold medal game since the Dream Team beat Croatia by 32 points 24 years ago.

This is the United States' 15th gold medal at the Olympics and its third in a row under coach Mike Krzyzewski, who will now be replaced by San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich.

The Kevin Durant Show
This has been the summer of Kevin Durant, and the Olympics continued the storyline. There were a few bumps -- his shooting game against Australia, his passive game against Serbia -- in group play, but he more than made up for it in the medal round. Earlier this week, Durant said he is at his best when he doesn't care about winning or losing. He's also clearly at his best when he doesn't care who else is on the court with him and just plays his game.

It was fitting that Durant was the story here. He was the recipient of more media attention than anyone else on the team, and it had more to do with his decision to join the Warriors than the fact he was the best player on the roster. If he had struggled or the team had failed, the criticism would have been endless. Instead, Americans will celebrate this performance ... and then many of them will go back to portraying him as a villain.

Better Intensity, Better Focus
Overall, the United States looked a lot sharper yesterday than it did earlier in Rio. Team USA was disruptive defensively, jumping into passing lanes and getting easy points in transition. Whether it was Kyle Lowry diving on loose balls, Paul George locking up Milos Teodesic or DeMarcus Cousins dominating the glass, these stars did all the little things that Coach Mike Krzyzewski has been talking about lately. In the second quarter, there was even a Spurs-like offensive possession where everybody touched the ball, Serbia looked lost and Durant made an open 3-pointer.

When Team USA played like this in Rio, it was unbeatable. None of its games should have been close, but this group was vulnerable in group play because of a lack of cohesion, especially compared to other national teams that have chemistry from years of playing together. When the United States went on a big run in the second quarter, Serbia had no hope. In a way, it's a shame the competition is over now because Team USA had just found its rhythm.

Carmelo’s Legacy
Carmelo Anthony got emotional in his postgame interview on NBC. He had just won his third gold medal at the Olympics in four tries, assuring that he will go down as one of the national team's best players ever. Anthony told Ros Gold-Onwude that he will retire from international basketball.

"I know this is the end," Anthony said. "This is it for me."

Anthony did not stand out in the gold medal game -- he had seven points, seven rebounds and two assists -- but he did not have to. Thanks to his commitment to USA Basketball over the years, he is now the program's leader in games played, points, field goals made and rebounds at the Olympics. When he is inducted to the Hall of Fame, this will be a big part of it.

Paul George
It's unclear how this iteration of Team USA will be remembered, but George should be a significant part of the story. Not just because he came back from a serious injury that was suffered in a USA Basketball exhibition game two years ago. For all the talk about the United States struggling on defense throughout the tournament, it was largely fine when George and Lowry were on the court. In the gold medal game, George only scored nine points on 2-for-9 shooting, but his fingerprints were all over the win.

George had three steals against Serbia, and just like in the NBA, it looked just about impossible for anybody to create space against him. With the Indiana Pacers, George has grown from a glue guy to a No. 1 option on offense, becoming a true franchise player. With Team USA, he had a few high-scoring games, but he mainly played the role Andre Iguodala did at the 2012 FIBA World Championships and 2012 Olympics. No one was more reliable.

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Team USA: Winning Ugly Looks Good

By Mark Bacon

Team USA men's basketball defeated Spain 82-76 on Friday to advance to Sunday's gold medal game. The final score was a little closer than the game actually was down the stretch, as the U.S. hovered around a double-digit lead for much of the second half, but Spain never went away.

Klay Thompson
Aside from a few possessions in which Klay Thompson was trying to draw a foul by throwing up a horrible heat-check shot, the Golden State Warriors' shooting guard was a flame-thrower for much of this game. He's been shooting 30 percent from the field and less than 30 percent from deep recently, but he connected on half his shots and half his 3-pointers against Spain to lead Team USA with 22 points.

Here’s where Thompson can be an overwhelming for the international teams. You have to pay so much attention to Kyrie Irving, and keep you eye on DeAndre Jordan who is always angling for a lob, not to mention the scoring punch of Kevin Durant and Carmelo Anthony (though they haven't exactly been setting the world on fire), that Klay ends up getting a lot of open looks.

Once he gets hot and you have to rotate to him, the other guys get going. When he's not making his shots, the defense can at least stay honest in other places, which makes Thompson a swing player. Certainly this will be the case in the gold medal game against Serbia. If Thompson hits his shots early, the U.S. offense become terrifying.

DeAndre Jordan 
DeAndre Jordan has had a stellar Olympics so far, but he hasn't had a game in which he truly dominated above the rim like you'd expect him to do in international competition. Unfortunately for Spain, Jordan broke through with one of those games and dominated the air up there. Jordan set a U.S. Olympic record by grabbing 16 rebounds against Pau Gasol and the Spanish frontcourt. In a game in which DeMarcus Cousins was ineffective and fouled out in the third quarter, Jordan's effectiveness from above was needed.

Defense
The defense has been a big problem for Team USA. Paul George has alluded to it in comments and Tom Thibodeau has often looked apoplectic. This game, you saw much sounder defense from Team USA throughout, as they held a pretty good Spanish team to just 39 percent from the field and 31 percent from 3-point range.

What changed can be credited a lot to how Jordan protected the paint and was able to be more effective in covering pick-and-rolls, but the team also seemed to communicate much better. That helped the American players chase around screens and survive when they switched on the perimeter. It also helped that point guards like Sergio Rodriguez and Ricky Rubio are poor outside shooters while Juan Carlos Navarro is basically a shadow of himself at this point.

They can look to this effort and execution on defense as to what helped them carry on to the victory in a tighter game than it should have been down the stretch. The defense made this an easy-ish victory, even though the final score was closer than it appeared.

Playing the Prevent
At a certain point in the game, the U.S. stopped attacking aggressively and just played a prevent offense to chew some clock and let the mathematics of what Spain needed to do on offense in a short amount of time decide the game. It wasn't a great strategy and it wasn't a strong way to close the game, but the defense was good enough throughout the contest to make it work. Overall, the U.S. had its worst quarter of the game in the fourth (16 points), but it almost seemed by design because of the clock issue for Spain.

In the final quarter, USA shot just 7 of 20 (35 percent) from the field and turned the ball over three times. They also had a stretch when they were up 78-69 with a little over two minutes left in which they grabbed multiple offensive rebounds, ate up some extra seconds on the game clock in extending these possessions, and ended up scoring inside on a Kevin Durant lay-up to push the lead to 11 with 1:43 left in the game.

The U.S. banked on its size and athleticism being enough to make this strategy work.

DeMarcus or Draymond?
DeMarcus Cousins has struggled with FIBA officiating and it's really compromised his effectiveness. While his presence was too much for the smaller Argentina frontcourt, he couldn't keep his head trying to defend Gasol in the semifinal. It's led to quite a few people wondering why Draymond Green isn't seeing more time at backup center, though Green hasn't found his footing either in limited time.

So why isn't Coach K going with Draymond as the backup center? It might be because he's not into the small-ball thing or it might just be because Green has been bad during this time. The ball movement isn't coming from him. The scoring isn't happening because he can't make a shot (21.1 percent from the field, 10 percent from deep, 57.1 percent from the free throw line). And while his defense has been fine, it hasn't been anything like what we're used to seeing from him in the NBA.

Going to Green this late in a bigger role could probably work because he's a very talented player, but he wasn't good in the exhibition tour before the Olympics and he hasn't been good in these seven games in Rio. So do you hope he cracks through in the biggest game or do you hope Cousins can stay out of foul trouble?

Or is the answer to go to a frontcourt of Durant, Melo and Paul George? Whatever it is, Coach K will probably stick with Cousins early and hope Jordan has another big game so it's less of an issue.

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Team USA: Regains Form, Defeats Argentina

By Mark Bacon

After being down 19-9 early in the first quarter of their game against Argentina, Team USA used a 27-2 run to take control and eventually dominate on its way to a 105-78 victory. Kevin Durant's 27 points on 9-of-13 shooting and Paul George's defense being injected to the game changed the complexion of this contest after an initial scare.

Argentina was paced by Facundo Campazzo's early scoring and they took advantage of USA missing some open looks. But eventually, the defense fixed itself and the offense was simply too good for Argentina to be able to keep up with USA Basketball. George also had 17 points off the bench and DeMarcus Cousins had 15 as well.

Four different scorers hit double digits for Argentina, led by Luis Scola's 15. Manu Ginobili, in maybe his final game for Argentina, finished with 14 points and seven assists.

USA moves on to play Spain on Friday, and the winner of that game will play for the gold medal on Sunday.

The slow start 
That 19-9 start by Argentina was certainly worrisome and it's indicative of the problems that have been there for Team USA despite them now moving its record to 6-0 with group play and the quarterfinals. Some will look at the scoring in that situation and wonder where the firepower is, but it was the defense that continued to be a problem.

Ball movement seemed to confuse the starting unit of Kyrie Irving, Klay Thompson, Kevin Durant, Carmelo Anthony and DeAndre Jordan. They either gave too much space or played too tight on the drive without help. Running guards around hand-off screens at the top left the U.S. in a mess in terms of defensive organization.

It eventually corrected itself with open shots falling for Team USA and the defensive effort finding better combinations, communication and execution. Most of this was due to the talent finally finding the right touch and angles, and the depth of Team USA being too much for the lack of depth with an older Argentina roster. That clear depth advantage won't be there with the matchup against Spain on Friday, so these slow starts have to find a way to correct themselves.

Mike Krzyzewski may want to think about starting Paul George to get the defense going early, unless he's worried another slow start, this time with George in the lineup, will leave them without that game-changer like George has been off the bench.

The Kevin Durant-Paul George combination
When the floodgates opened, it was thanks to the dynamic forward combination of Kevin Durant and Paul George. Durant looked like the same guy who has the third-highest scoring average in NBA history. For a few games, his impact has been inconsistent and his scoring touch hasn't been the regular volcano we're used to seeing with him.

That goes away quickly when Durant is bailing out the U.S. and dropping 3-pointer after 3-pointer on Andres Nocioni and whoever else was unlucky enough to cover him. Durant went 9-of-13 from the field and 7-of-9 from the shorter international 3-point line as he led the offensive attack for his team.

Combine that with the unearthly defense George was providing and it was just too much for Argentina to handle at one time. When Andre Iguodala was on Team USA for Coach K, he'd be asked to simply lock in on defense and make life hell for whoever was in front of him. That's what George has been providing as the tournament has gone on, and it showed his best effort against Argentina.

Kyle Lowry and DeMarcus Cousins were a great change of pace over Kyrie Irving and DeAndre Jordan
The defensive problems happened early on and didn't seem to correct themselves until George found his way on the court and Coach K swapped out Kyrie Irving and DeAndre Jordan for Kyle Lowry and DeMarcus Cousins. It's not that Irving and Jordan were bad in the game, but they just weren't sound or comfortable defensively. Putting Lowry into the game allowed better ball pressure to help settle the defense and Cousins' impact was felt whenever Luis Scola or someone smaller was caught inside trying to defend him.

Eventually, Irving got into his rhythm with the ball and Jordan found a way to be bigger than life above the rim. But Lowry and Cousins were huge assets against Argentina. Lowry was solid offensively and tenacious defensively. Even when he was switched onto the bigger Andres Nocioni, USA trusted him to hold his own defending a quick post-up and force the bigger forward into a bad shot in the lane (he air balled a layup).

Cousins did what he does. He was stronger than everybody inside. He had great touch. He found the creases in the offense that allowed guys to find him cutting to the hoop. How you lose a man that big on defense seems incomprehensible, but he made the spacing work and the lack of defensive awareness inside glaring.

It will be hard for both to have that same dominance inside and outside against a better Spain team, but if they play like they did in the quarterfinals, they'll help Team USA play for gold again.

Draymond and Klay still MIA
It wasn't all roses for the U.S. after that poor start to the game. Klay Thompson was still unable to find his touch on his jumper. He was just 2-of-8 in the game and 0-of-6 from deep on his way to four points in nearly 20 minutes. He's now shooting just 30 percent from the field and 28.6 percent from downtown in his six games of action. He's even shooting just 71.4 percent from the free-throw line.

Is it the FIBA ball? Is it the lack of minutes and consistent touches? He's not just missing shots. He's missing wide-open shots time after time. He missed a few open 3-pointers and was even a little gun shy on a couple of chances in which his teammates told him to let it fly.

Draymond Green wasn't very good either. He continued to struggle by not making any of his five shots. The defense was better, but not great. His playmaking seemed a bit erratic. As Doug Collins pointed out on the broadcast, USA needs Green to be in a rhythm moving forward in case his expertise/impact is required against Spain or maybe even in the gold medal game -- assuming they get there.

This Argentina team was one for the ages
This could be the end of the road for this Argentina core. Manu Ginobili, Luis Scola, Andres Nocioni, and Carlos Delfino have been the core four for this golden era of basketball for their country. During that time, they've been the only country to take a gold medal away from USA Basketball. They've been one of the best teams in the world consistently. And it might now be over for them.

Argentina was the country you could never take lightly or they'd embarrass you. Not just beat you. Embarrass you. Playing for two decades-plus alongside each other growing up and as they became professional players gave them the understanding that almost seemed telekinetic. Match that with their incredible skill and you had a problem on your hands.

They won the gold in 2004, the bronze in 2008, and just missed out on another medal in 2012 when they lost the bronze medal game. From 1999 to 2015, they never finished lower than third in the FIBA Americas Championship. They dominated South American basketball for about as long as the U.S. has dominated world basketball.

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Team USA: Defense Looks Shaky Again In Win Over France

By Mark Bacon

Team USA held off France 100-97 to finish 5-0 in group play and clinch the top seed headed to the quarterfinals knock-out stage. They will face either Spain, Croatia, or Brazil on Wednesday.

The good news? Klay Thompson finished with 30 points. The majority of the  game Team USA played better defense. Kyrie Irving really helped get the passing going and the bench provided a much-needed spark.

The bad news? France was without Tony Parker, who sat with a "toe injury" as France prepared to focus on medal round play. Also, Nando De Colo barely played in the second half yet France only lost by three points, and cut the lead to four under two minutes remaining as the Team USA's offense once again stalled.

Team USA is undefeated, their margin of victory in the five games was 117, but there are serious concerns about how many more times they can play lifeless ball on both ends and survive, especially when they start to get the best efforts from the best teams in the tournament.

They look beatable, and the world knows it. But they haven't been beaten yet.

Positive signs.
It doesn't seem like it based off the fourth quarter, but Team USA's defense was better and the bench was great. DeAndre Jordan was active on both ends. He made some great passes when the defense collapsed. Paul George continues to show excellent leadership. His six-point performance doesn't show how good he was at setting an aggressive tone.

And of course, Klay Thompson, who had been dreadful shooting coming in, got warmed up, and the shots started falling. Getting 30 points from any Team USA member probably means they're going to win, and if he can stay hot, that's going to help.

What happened to the defense?
France shot 56 percent from the field and this is a team that was without Parker and DeColo for much of the game. They continue to have zero coverage in pick and roll situations as Kyrie Irving and Carmelo Anthony are useless in helping down from the corners. When DeMarcus Cousins gets put in space, he's really struggling and there's no LeBron James to cover up those issues.

It makes me wonder if either DeAndre Jordan shouldn't start for Cousins, or Draymond Green (who has been ineffective but showed some things Sunday) should start for either Durant or Anthony -- a prospect that is never going to happen because of politics. They need better secondary recovery when a big has to attack a ball-handler because they've gotten past Irving or another wing.

They showed flashes of disruption with the second unit, and looked like they were finally going to swarm with their athleticism, but then they shrank back and looked tired.

This remains their biggest threat in medal round play. If they face a team that shoots the lights out, Team USA is going down.

The late-game offense once again a problem.
You know how Kevin Durant would dribble away the clock in Oklahoma City and everyone blamed Russell Westbrook? Well, Durant's doing the same thing late in these games and it's hurting Team USA. Smaller defenders are attacking his 6-foot-11 dribble and it's giving him problems. The rest of the team is just spotting up and waiting for the ball-handler to force help.

Kyrie Irving threw a phenomenal late-game alley-oop to Durant to help put the game away, but the offense continues to be an issue.

Team USA is the No. 1 seed and undefeated, but there's a confidence problem.
On average, they should win every game and get gold. It may not be dominant, but it'll be good enough. However, if they face a team that gets red hot from the outside, they could get bit. They won't have a 30-point comfort zone to play with.

This is looking like the most disappointing team since 2004, and if they do get caught, it will be considered an outright disaster. It's on them.

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Team USA: After Sluggish Start, U.S. Handles Venezuela

By Mark Bacon

The Americans overcame a rough first half of play to beat the Venezuelans by 44 points. Yet despite the 44-point victory, Team USA did not look dominant at the start of this game.

Playing sloppy and continually getting called for cheap fouls, Team USA just had a miserable start to their second Olympic game. They turned the ball over six times and scored just 18 points on 7-of-15 shooting. The score was surprisingly all tied up at 18 after one, as a scrappy Venezuela took advantage of Team USA getting in foul trouble by shooting 9-of-10 from the free-throw line.

But led by Jimmy Butler, Carmelo Anthony (10 points in the half), Kevin Durant and DeAndre Jordan. Team USA quickly collected themselves in the second. Playing hellacious defense and taking better care of the ball, Team USA closed the second quarter on a 24-4 run to go into the half up 48-26. The aggressiveness picked up on both sides of the court for Team USA in the second but defensively they were again very solid, and held Venezuela to just eight points in the quarter.

Team USA continued to cruise in the second half, locking down Venezuela on defense and keeping their offense flowing, extending the lead to 30-plus and then 40-plus points. Paul George led Team USA with 20 points, Butler had 17, Durant chipped in 16, Anthony had 14 points and Jordan finished with a near double double of 14 points and nine rebounds.

Team USA will have a day off before facing off against the 2-0 Australian team on Wednesday. A team that might make the U.S.’ life interesting tomorrow night.

Paul George Continues Dominant Play
After suffering a gruesome leg injury in an USA basketball two years ago, George has quickly gotten back to playing like a superstar. And since he suffered the injury while suiting up for Team USA, it’s wonderful to see George actually playing in the Olympics just two years after what could've been a career-altering injury.

George was just brilliant against Venezuela. He played tough, pressuring defense and was aggressive on offense, leading Team USA with 20 points. Now George did score the bulk of his points once everything was out of hand, but he also had the highlight of the game during this time frame with a one-handed hammer dunk on a fast break.

George was also lights out from long range, as he shot 3-of-4 from three and overall, shot 86 percent from the field. Team USA is incredibly deep and George's versatility on both ends of the court is one of the many reasons why they are the favorites to win gold.

Center Dominance
Team USA only has two true centers on their roster with DeMarcus Cousins and DeAndre Jordan, yet as they showed on Monday, that is more than enough. Especially since with Cousins plagued with foul trouble (he actually fouled out during garbage time), Jordan stepped up and made a big difference for Team USA.

Jordan was a key part of Team USA's big second run as his energy and sheer size on defense sparked the team's aggressiveness in the quarter. Throwing down dunks and leading the team in rebounds, Jordan finished with 14 points and nine rebounds. He was quite efficient around the rim as well, missing just one shot on 6-of-7 shooting.

Klay Thompson Goes Ice Cold
Despite being one of the best shooters in the league, Klay Thompson's stroke has not carried over to Rio. He gets open looks but has simply been unable to convert.

Against China on Saturday, Thompson shot 1-of-6 from the field and missed all three of his 3-point attempts. He finished that game with just 2 points. Somehow, Thompson managed to take a step back against Venezuela. Shooting 0-for-5 from the field and missing all four of his 3-point attempts, Thompson was the only member of Team USA to not score, which seems wild considering his scoring prowess in the NBA.

Team USA doesn't really need Thompson to be one of their leading scorers, so his lack of scoring isn't that big of a deal. Besides, USA won by 44 points. That said, Thompson needs to be a threat from long range for Coach K's squad to secure another gold medal, which so far he hasn't. And with a tough Australian team on deck for Wednesday, Team USA will need Thompson to step up then and throughout the rest of the Olympic tournament, otherwise his role on the starting lineup could be in jeopardy.

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Team USA Hoops Off To A Hot Start In Rio

By Mark Bacon

Despite seeing the U.S. men's basketball team twice in pre-Olympic exhibition games, China was no match for Team USA in their Rio opener. The U.S. men’s team began their quest for Olympic gold in dominating fashion by defeating China 119-62 on Saturday

Carmelo Anthony may be the leader, but Kevin Durant was the killer. If you’re into the details of a 57-point margin of victory, know that Team USA started this game looking sluggish and sloppy. Rushed jumpers turned into missed jumpers, a handful of turnovers and China was getting a surprising number of open looks. The Americans were winning with size, foul shots and fast breaks. Even after a first quarter that ended with a 20-point lead, there was very little rhythm for the U.S. team.

Then Kevin Durant heated up. He hit back-to-back threes in the second quarter, and that’s when Team USA looked as dominant as everyone expected. KD’s shooting alone made the whole offense more coherent. Durant kept it going in the second half and finished with 25 points, including 5-of-8 on threes. He was open for most of those looks, but then, at 6’ 11” with 30-foot range, he’ll likely never really be guarded in these Olympics. Even on Team USA, KD is a whole different level of talent.

Kevin Durant and the new-look U.S. Olympic basketball team look just as dominant as the ones who slammed and shot their way to the last two gold medals. Only he and Carmelo Anthony returned from the 2012 team, but the new guys were plenty ready for their Olympic moment.

DeMarcus Cousins added 17 points and Paul George 15 for the U.S., which is a heavy favorite to win a third straight gold and won't change any opinions after tonight.

Tougher competition might come later, but it should be an easy start for the Americans. They play Monday against Venezuela, another team they beat easily in exhibition play.

Anthony finished with nine points and made history by becoming the first U.S. male to play basketball in four Olympics. He will become the first three-time gold medalist on the men's side if the U.S. wins. Melo tied LeBron James and David Robinson by playing in his 24th game in the Olympics.

The Americans beat the Chinese twice in exhibition play by scores of 106-57 and 107-57, and this one was even less competitive. Former NBA lottery pick Yi Jianlian had 25 points to open his fourth Olympics. No other players were in double figures for the Asian champions.

Durant, Anthony, Cousins, Kyrie Irving and Klay Thompson started the game for the Americans, and all 12 players scored.

The Chinese got on the board first with a pair of free throws, and it was tied at 4 after a basket by Yi. Then it was nine straight points for the Americans, who closed the first quarter with a 26-6 burst to lead 30-10.

DeAndre Jordan shook the backboards inside Carioca Arena 1 with some of his powerful dunks, DeMar DeRozan had a couple, and in case the dunks were too easy, Irving knocked in four 3-pointers in the second half for his 12 points.

China just lost three games by 156 points. It all makes the American team much harder to gauge. The issue isn’t concern, but curiosity. Not every team in Rio will be this overmatched from the start. Let’s see what Team USA looks like when they actually have to pay attention. The U.S. was favored by about 50 points, so it wasn't supposed to be close. (Vegas knows things…) If Team USA keeps playing like this, the Olympic competition may not be, either.

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Team USA Defeats Nigeria 110-66 to Complete Unbeaten Exhibition Run

By Mark Bacon

In their final exhibition game before heading to Rio for the 2016 Olympic Games, Anthony led the U.S. in scoring with 19 points in just 19 minutes despite missing all six of his 3-point attempts. The last time he faced Nigeria, Anthony set the U.S. single-game scoring record at the 2012 London Olympics by draining 10-of-12 3s in a 156-73 win.

“I set the bar too high,” Anthony said.

While the U.S. might not have posted those record numbers in front of a sold-out Houston crowd, the defensive intensity was menacing.

Nigeria went just 4-for-29 on 3-pointers, while committing 20 turnovers.

“Obviously, they’re the No. 1 team in the world for a reason,” Nigeria coach Will Voigt said. “For us to shoot the percentage that we did from 3, and obviously, their defense is a big part of that, because they’re so good in transition, all of those misses led to big opportunities for them. They kind of feed off of that.”

The U.S. outscored Nigeria 22-7 in fast-break points and shot a blistering 53.9% from the field, including 13-for-33 from beyond the arc. Both Jimmy Butler and DeMar DeRozan had four steals, and Kyle Lowry led the team with 11 assists, including two sick alley-oops to DeRozan and DeAndre Jordan.

“He’s a high-flyer, and he’s a guy who they say, ‘Just throw it up to him from anywhere,’ so that’s what I’m doing,” Lowry said, referring to the 50-foot pass thrown to Jordan from several feet behind the half-court line.

Six players scored in double figures for the U.S., with Klay Thompson scoring 17 points off the bench on 5-of-9 shooting from 3, Kevin Durant scoring 14 points on 3-of-4 from deep, DeRozan scoring 13 points and DeMarcus Cousins and Jordan both adding 10 points.

The U.S. struggled to find a rhythm for parts of the first half, but when shots weren’t falling, they found success by attacking the rim.

The first half was summed up perfectly by the last possession before halftime. After the team missed three consecutive jump shots but got several second-chance opportunities, Anthony took matters into his own hands by going into the paint and drawing the foul at the buzzer. After Anthony made his free throw to finish the three-point play, the U.S. held a halftime lead of 54-30.

“We wanted to share the ball well and try some people with different positions and different lineups,” head coach Mike Krzyzewski said. “I thought we advanced, and I thought we got better tonight.”

Krzyzewski spoke especially highly of his team’s defensive intensity. Even late into the fourth quarter with their lead hovering around 50 points, the U.S. was relentless on defense, forcing near shot-clock violations on nearly every possession.

Kyrie Irving and Paul George did not play in the game, but Krzyzewski said they will be ready for Saturday night’s Olympic preliminary round game against China.

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All Eyes On Me

Louisville's Lamar Jackson enters into the spotlight for 2016

By: Raashaan Myers 

I've heard all kinds of nicknames thrown out there from Action Jackson, Mr. Electric, Captain Cardinal, and more for UofL's stud sophomore QB Lamar Jackson. And though this Cardinal team has been led by its defense the first two seasons of the 2nd Petrino regime Lamar Jackson in the unquestioned focus of the college football universe for Louisville Football. The stories of his conquests and legend of Lamar have grown since the end of the season to the point of Paul Bunyan-esqe proportions.

Now the question is can he live up to the lofty expectations that are being placed upon him? Well the easy answer is no and nor should he at this point in his still very young career as a true sophomore going through his first full off-season of Spring and Fall camp in college. That’s not so say that he will fall flat on his face either, more so just the fact that people are expecting Michael Vick level performances on a game to game basis is unfair. This year is about Jackson being able to do the small things to effectively and efficiently run the Bobby Petrino offense. During ACC media days Jackson admitted to knowing little to none of the plays well enough to really effectively run the offense and often just defaulted to playing sandlot football. With the strides he made in bowl game prep for A&M coupled with a good looking Spring and entering camp getting starter snaps this fall understanding of the plays and more calm in the pocket is a must.

Now the interesting question that will not be answered until the season starts will be how this new look offense under sophomore Jackson will look for Petrino’s offense. Classically known more for execution, misdirection, and nuance the Louisville offense under Jackson was for the most part an extremely vanilla package with a bevy of Pistol formation looks and plays Jackson was familiar with running in high school. The question is how much of the playbook and more traditional Petrino style offense will we see this coming year. It was a well-known fact that Jackson was extremely uncomfortable taking snaps from under center and that greatly diminished a ton of what Coach P likes run in his patented Power-I spread formations. Improvement in that area alone will give the Louisville offense diversity and flexibility that we haven’t seen from a Cardinal team since Stefan Lefors was running the show.

One thing that will not be questioned is the amount of weapons that Lamar will have at his disposal next year. The number of talented playmakers the Cards possess at RB, WR, and TE is as good as it has ever been and Jackson’s ability to spread the ball around and get the ball to the right guy on time and on target will be huge. One of the things that has made and continues to make Teddy Bridgewater very good at his job was his ability to not lock in on one guy and really spread and use all parts of the field. The ability to find the 2^nd, 3^rd, and even 4^th guy on a selected play puts a ton of pressure on the defense and will also allow your playmakers to make some big plays in space.

The last and biggest key to success for Lamar this season will be what he doesn’t do. He must take care of the ball and not turn it over! Lamar threw 8 interceptions last year and also had some issues running and fumbling the ball at times. Understanding that this UofL team is still more about the defense and not trying to do too much is going to be huge. With so much preseason hype and expectations being placed on his shoulders it is understandable that he may want to go out there and prove something, but that is not what is best for the team. Knowing when to throw the ball away, run out of bounds, and simply go down on 3^rd down if the play isn’t there and putting the game in the hands of his more that capable defense will be the most important thing he does this year. Coach Petrino’s #1 pet peeve is turnovers and he had to look past a lot of that last year because Jackson gave the Cards the best chance to win, but in year 2 that turnover number needs to be much better.

All in all I agree with those that see the potential greatness that Lamar Jackson has in his future. But I also know that these things take time and even Teddy Bridgewater had several mistakes and setbacks before he was the guy that left UofL as one of the best to ever do it. Hopefully the fans and Lamar both understand that it is a process and there will still be several ups and downs yet to come, but the future looks as bright as it has ever been for UofL. 

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