So Far so Good, but Real Work Starts Now for Team USA

August 17th, 2016 by Dan Favale Leave a reply »

Team USA's 105-78 semifinal win over Argentina on Wednesday dimmed the fears kindled by a too-close-for-comfort stretch of group play. But it didn't extinguish them.

Still, credit the U.S. for finally making good on all the talk—from the exhibition slate to now—of buckling down on D.

"Defensively is where we have to man up," Paul George told reporters after Team USA sneaked away with a three-point win over Serbia on Friday.



"We can outscore teams," Klay Thompson told reporters after narrowly escaping against France on Sunday. "But that's not going to win us a gold. We've got to lock up, and we will."

Finally, the Americans made the leap from acknowledging the problem to implementing a fix.

"We played with passion and energy tonight," Kevin Durant said on the NBC broadcast. "That was the big difference."

Argentina shot 38 percent and saw its renowned offensive fluidity congeal as Team USA clamped down following yet another predictably lazy beginning. Head coach Mike Krzyzewski started DeAndre Jordan ahead of DeMarcus Cousins, likely searching for better ...

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