2014 FIBA World Cup: 10 major takeaways
By Bryce Olin
9. Even with the “C” Team, the USA was never truly tested
Well, I think it’s safe to say Team USA would have been tested had they played against Spain in the final, but that didn’t happen and the USA virtually coasted to the gold winning by an average of 33.0 PPG. Once again, it proves how deep the USA basketball talent pool is when they take a team like this abroad.
Of course, there’s some stars on the team like Rose, Steph Curry, Anthony Davis and James Harden and even more up-and-coming stars, but I was honestly surprised how bad the USA was killing some of these teams like Slovenia, Serbia, Turkey, and Lithuania especially.
While the basketball talent gap might be shrinking between the USA and other countries around the world, the USA used their swarming style of defense and made it impossible for teams to sustain any offensive rhythm while constantly being berated and trapped by a team full of Groots from Guardians of the Galaxy. That’s what you can do when you’ve got some of the best athletes in the world on the team.
Even when the USA trailed Turkey heading into the half, did anyone ever feel like he game was actually in question? I was just waiting for that big USA run that happens every game when the other team looks like Charles Barkley, Patrick Ewing, Mugsy Bogues, Larry Johnson, and Shawn Bradley after they lose their “talent” to the Monstars in Space Jam. The USA went on to win the Turkey game by 21 points, their closest game of tournament.