FIBA World Cup: Mexico Can’t Keep Up, U.S. Wins By 23
The United States entered the elimination round of the FIBA World Cup on Saturday in Barcelona. Assuaging all fears that he wasn’t 100% after taking a hard spill two days earlier, Kyrie Irving easily went to the rim giving the United States the early lead against Mexico. The Mexican team was willing to give up rebounding in order to slow down the fast break of the United States. But they had no answer for the United States defense. Anthony Davis created a thunderous dunk off a midcourt steal. Kenneth Faried, once again, was all over the court. James Harden drove to the lane creating contact, his favorite one-on-one move, resulting in him going to the line. The U.S. had a double digit lead by the time the first quarter was over.
Aug 16, 2014; Chicago, IL, USA; United States guard Stephen Curry (4) during a game against Brazil at the United Center. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-USA TODAY Sports
Tournaments have a way of revealing weaknesses. Derrick Rose is not 100%. His lift isn’t there and his touch around the rim is missing. He missed all his shots in this game and once again turned the ball over. As dynamic as Anthony Davis is, he struggles with physical big men. James Harden is a disaster on defense and is intent on going one-on-four. Klay Thompson is a brilliant shooter when he’s on but when he’s not Klay is pretty one dimensional.
The competition for the United States, up to this point, has been below average talent and the final scores are deceiving. The United States are far from perfect. Their ball movement is nowhere near the level it needs to be if they expect to beat an experienced team like Spain. The United States won’t play a true equal until they play Spain a week from tomorrow, that is if they advance to the gold medal game at all. (If they don’t it will be a colossal failure).
A 16 point second quarter lead over Mexico was pretty much understandable. Gustavo Ayon was Mexico’s best player. The Atlanta Hawks center punished the United States inside and Davis struggled to stop him. But that was all Mexico had in terms of offense. The half ended with a James Harden three point miss and the United States were up by fifteen, 42-27.
Help defense by the United States in the third quarter discouraged the Mexicans game plan. Their only option was to dump it into Ayon and he isn’t a perfect player. While the United States could go inside to Davis they also had Steph Curry on the perimeter who sank a pull up three to give the United States a 25 point lead, the largest of the game, 55-30. This was Curry’s best game of the tournament. He sank (6) three’s and his passing was brilliant.
The 4th quarter was no different than every fourth quarter in the tournament. The United States was in full scrimmage mode after building a 30+ lead, hoping the team remained healthy in the waning minutes. They won by 23, 86-63.
The United States has two days off before their next game on Tuesday. They will face the winner of Dominican Republic/ Slovenia. They’ll either play Francisco Garcia (Houston Rockets). Or Goran Dragic (Phoenix Suns).