My first reaction was “this team has a long way to go”.
It will take some time to see some cohesiveness. It will help once Kerr cuts down the rotation.
Speaking of Kerr… he ran a flex set in the first half that got Cam Johnson a wide open three off the pin-down. Flex will never die.
Pros:
When the defense was right, they got out in transition. When you look at the makeup of this team, they aren’t going to scare the better, bigger teams in the half court. Live ball turnovers will be a stat to look for during the Exhibition schedule.
Also, the US pushed pace after made baskets. Need to do that for 40 minutes. Gotta sprint!
Austin Reeve’s energy is infectious. It might be cheesie to talk about doing things at “game speed” but Reeves did that. By having a purpose to every bit of his movement on the floor, he ended up being an impactful player.
When Puerto Rico went zone, the ball movement was good. It also allows the athleticism of the US show on the offensive boards.
Cons:
Brandon Ingram lack of energy. Ingram was the exact opposite of Reeves. His movements didn’t have a purpose. At times, he was floating in the half court offense. Just won’t work on this stage.
Didn’t always contest jumpers (came out with the hands down)
Over-dribbling which led to missing that “one more” swing into an open jumper or open attack.
Jackson had two fouls in the first half. He had foul issues with Memphis. With FIBA having 5 fouls, Jackson will need to watch his foul count.
The turnovers were frustrating. Telegraphing passes because you don’t ball fake and or players aren’t moving with a purpose.
Takeaways:
How does this team guard when teams run more movement-oriented sets?
What happens when pace doesn’t bother a team? A team like Canada or Slovenia for example.
Or what happens when a team successfully slows down the pace?
Don’t know how much Kerr can go to the lineup that has Banchero playing the small-ball five but against certain teams, that can be very impactful.
Speaking of combinations, would love to see Kerr have Haliburton, Johnson, and Reeves out there at the same time more during the Exhibition stage.
Up next: Slovenia August 12th.
