After a month of entertaining, competitive basketball, the FIBA World Cup has finally come to an end. On Sept. 10th, Germany defeated Serbia to win its first-ever World Cup.
The United States, which many argued had the best team in the world, fell to Canada in the third-place game.
Senior DJ Reyes was rooting for Slovenia because he is a fan of Dallas Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic. He thinks there are quite a few things that Team USA can improve on.
“I was definitely disappointed that they lost early on. I think if they had some defensive-minded guards like Lonzo Ball, they would have at least made it to the championship game. He’s a great playmaker and can lock down an opposing team’s best player,” said Reyes.
Led by the stellar play of Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards, Team USA was playing well in the early part of the tournament. They won their first four games and then lost three of their next four, starting with a loss to Latvia. In that game, Team USA’s defensive deficiencies were highlighted, as Latvia scored 110 points, shot a scorching 14/25 from three-point range, and outrebounded the USA by 16.
Even with reigning NBA Defensive Player of the Year Jaren Jackson, Jr. of the Memphis Grizzlies, Team USA struggled against size and had trouble containing dribble drives. They would consistently get outrebounded and leave shooters wide open on the perimeter. Beating your defender off the dribble causes the defense to collapse, leaving shooters wide open for uncontested three-pointers.
Going back to Jackson Jr., teams would lure him out of the paint by running a pick-and-roll every possession, forcing him to guard smaller, quicker players and leaving USA’s heavy guard lineup to defend the opposing team’s big men. This created unfavorable rebounding situations for Team USA.
Jackson Jr. is considered a power forward in today’s NBA because of his inability to rebound like an average center. Jackson Jr. only recorded three rebounds in the loss to Germany, then did not play against Canada because of illness.
These same problems continued in Team USA’s semifinal and third-place matchups against Germany and Canada. Against Germany, Team USA allowed 113 points and a very efficient 13/30 from three-point range. In the very next game, Team USA allowed 127 points and an even more efficient 17/37 from three-point range against Canada. That would mark the end of their tournament.
Besides the disappointing ending, Team USA still had some bright spots. As mentioned before, Anthony Edwards had a great tournament, averaging nineteen points, five rebounds, and three assists on 47% shooting from the field. Mikal Bridges and Austin Reaves played quality minutes as well, averaging fourteen points each on 63% and 57% shooting, respectively.
With the Olympics coming up next August, Team USA looks to be retooling the roster. As Shams Charania of The Athletic reports, Lakers superstar LeBron James is recruiting some of the NBA’s best talent, including Warriors superstar Stephen Curry and Suns superstar Kevin Durant, to compete in the 2024 Olympics in Paris. Hopefully, the United States will once again be on top of the basketball world the next time we see Team USA on the international stage.
