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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