Undefeated in the preparatory phase, the Americans also managed a clear round in the first group stage. Not everything was perfect, but the results are there and the overall spirit is good.
The only adjustment made by Steve Kerr against Jordan in the third match: the introduction of Josh Hart in the five major at the expense of Brandon Ingram in order to rebalance the two groups, with Anthony Edwards as the offensive leader of the first and the winger of the Pelicans to relaunch with the “second unit”.
The Team USA coach has confirmed that he will keep the same framework for the second phase, against Montenegro tomorrow and then Lithuania.
“Josh has a strength and tenacity that sometimes allows him to overcome his size disadvantage. He’s used to defending taller players, with all the switches that happen in the NBA. I really liked the change for Ingram. The game was much smoother. … I know he enjoyed it,” slipped the coach.
Brandon Ingram had his best game of the tournament coming off the bench with 7 points and 5 assists in 15 minutes. With the substitutes, he has more opportunity to have the ball in hand.
“I felt good on the pitch. It was different coming off the bench. I hadn’t done that since my rookie season. I was able to prepare for it. It was just a different five, and I was happy to have that opportunity.”he soberly declared.
Nikola Vucevic and Jonas Valanciunas, just like at home
Before approaching the second phase, Steve Kerr has set the objectives of Team USA which will be to continue the series of invincibility started in preparation in order to approach the final phases as seeded, to benefit from a more clemency and an additional day of rest between quarters and semi-finals.
For that, it will therefore be necessary to defeat the Montenegro of Nikola Vucevic and the Lithuania of Jonas Valanciunas, two well-known NBA players.
“We reviewed the format today with the team during the video session. And yes, we want to win both matches to put ourselves in a good position. The guys know that.” added Steve Kerr before discussing the two upcoming matches. “I think knowing the opposing team’s players elicits immediate respect from the players who’ve faced them in the NBA. The hardest part is when you walk into a match and there’s a great player in front that the guys don’t know and he has a last name with lots of letters and you have to refer to him by designating him by his number. And our guys are not always ready for this player. It’s a huge challenge in this tournament”.
Photo credit: FIBA.com
