The Australia of the ex-Barça players Joe Ingles y Dante Exum raised the Team USA The first doubts on their way to Paris. And serious ones. The Aussies, Olympic bronze medallists in Tokyo and Spain’s rival in the first phase, ended up falling (98-92), but a prodigious recovery in the last quarter allowed them to challenge an American team that seemed untouchable at times. The team from Steve Kerr They led by 24 points midway through the third quarter and seemed to have it under control at the beginning of the last quarter (76-61), but the Oceanic team, with determination and a choral basketball, plunged the Americans into agony, putting the score at 96-92 with 5 seconds left.
Anthony Davis y Devin Booker This time they led the United States with 17 and 16 points, with Jock Landale hitting the paint with 20 points and 29 PIR and Josh Giddey leading the way with 17 points and 7 assists in Australia.
What seemed like it was going to be a placid afternoon in Abu Dhabi, a strong statement from the United States to reaffirm itself after the solid victory against Canada in Jordi Fernandezended up being an act of survival for the favourite to take the throne in Paris, dizzy from Australia’s ball movement and paralysed in the final stretch after a fluid attack for most of the match.
The positive thing for Team USA is that it stood tall and can learn from the lesson that this eventful encounter taught it, even though it is almost two weeks away from the Games. In search of his quintet, Kerr came out with Cameroonian LeBron James (10 points), Stephen Curry (3 and only 1/6 on triples), Jayson Tatum (7) and the self-proclaimed number 1 Anthony Edwardswith 14 points and 11 of them in the first quarter. Edwards and Tatum came in for Jrue Holiday and Devin Booker in a team from the United States that was once again without Kevin Durant.
Joel Embiid improved after his brief expulsion in his debut with the American team after 12 minutes, recording 10 points with 3/6 in field goals, 5 rebounds and a 14 PIR in 16 minutes.
However, the US defense is faltering with Embiid, lost in the face of the ball movement of an Australia that ended up finding inspiration with pass after pass in the second half. The Sixers center, also favored by the non-existence of the 3-second rule, tends to stay in the paint or close to it, which opened paths for Australia, finding spaces with Landale distributing from the head and looking to tickle the 2023 MVP with pick and roll with the corner empty.
Spain’s rival came out with a starting five made up of Dyson Daniels, Nick Kay, Jock Landale, Patty Mills y Josh Giddey.
With Anthony Davis, Team USA’s defense overwhelms the opposition with a lineup that can change everything on the blocks, but Australia accumulated points when it correctly read this type of defense, with cuts to the paint when Davis came out to the perimeter and taking advantage of the mismatches generated. In that context, Landale accumulated points and Giddey gave a lesson in how to read those advantages every time the United States changed in the pick and roll. The team coached by Anthony Davis Brian Goorjian aHe was mischievous, involving players like Booker and Curry in his actions, who were more distracted in following their man.
Team USA suffered from Giddey and Landale what it is used to facing and will also have to deal with in Paris: devalued or undervalued NBA players who are eager to prove themselves before the constellation of American stars.
It is especially the case of a Giddey who ended up on the bench in the playoffs and has just been traded by the Thunder to a team that is in nowhere like the Chicago Bulls. For his part, Landale is overshadowed in the Rockets by a ‘5’ of present and future like Alperen Sengun. The illustrious player could not show as much Patty Millsinconsequential in the Heat last season and only 5 points and 2 assists Exum and Ingles contributed 6 points each.
The United States showed progress on offense, especially in Embiid’s post-up actions. Instead of crashing into the defense, the Philly center released the ball quickly whenever help came and that helped Team USA shoot accurately from the perimeter, with 12/29 on three-pointers in contrast to Australia’s meager 4/18. The Americans even played with double ‘5’ and dominated the rebound in the first half, although the Aussies ended up equalizing the contest in this section as well, with 45 rebounds to 40 for the first half. reigning Olympic champion.
Kerr’s people offered other interesting details such as the use of Stephen Curry as a blocker to facilitate a corner triple for LeBron or Tatum, penetrating in movements without the ball taking advantage of his size and athletic power. Deploying the essence Warriors Kerr’s team had some great moments moving the ball, but Australia’s reaction paralyzed them in the final quarter, abusing individual actions.
The Aussies, who conceded a lot in the first half in the pick and roll with Landale trying to deny the change, adjusted the rotations at the end and Goorjian’s board caught the United States in the last minute with several actions in plays of band. At the same time that they warned Spain, Australia raised the first questions to Team USA, who Serbia, with the best player in the world, Nikola Jokic, and a rogue old dog like the ex-Barça player Svetislav Pesic will be put to the test on Wednesday.
Datasheet
United States-Australia, 98-92
98; United States (32+21+23+22): Curry (3), Anthony Edwards (14), Jayson Tatum (7), LeBron James (10), Embiid (10) -starting five-, Haliburton (6), Jrue Holiday (5), Adebayo (10), Davis (17) and Booker (16).
92; Australia (21+16+24+29): Patty Mills (5), Josh Giddey (17), Dyson Daniels (14), Nick Kay (7), Jock Landale (20) – starting five – Exum (6), Green (6), Magnay (8), Reath (0), McVeigh (9), Joe English (0) and Dellavedova (0).
Incidents: Friendly match in preparation for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games held in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates.
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2024-07-15 19:48:25
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