Team USA Review

Well Team USA has survived the first round of the FIBA Championships in Istanbul, Turkey with a perfect 5-0 record and is now ranked #1 in the FIBA rankings. They posted wins against Slovenia, Brazil, Croatia, Iran, and Tunisia. Each game was won by more than 20 pts. except for the Brazil game which gave USA a run for its money as they only won by 2 points with Brazil having a shot at the buzzer that would have sent the game into overtime. Kevin Durant continues to show why he is a top 5 player in the league if not top 3 behind LeBron and Kobe. He is averaging 17 points a game and 6 rebounds. Eric Gordon is also having a solid tournament by averaging 10 points a game despite coming off the bench. Derrick Rose is also playing well averaging 8 points a game and 2 assists. The starting lineup for Coach K has been Rose, Chauncey Billups, Andre Igoudala, Durant, and Lamar Odom. One player who has not logged a lot of minutes but is starting to show he is perfect for the international play is Kevin Love. He is only averaging 10 minutes a game but is leading the team in rebounding so I think he may be involved more in the next round. He is an undersized big man but has tremendous hands, a great passer, and can certainly rebound and finish below the rim. The next round is a single elimination and USA plays Angola on Monday, September 6 at 10 a.m. central time on ESPN2 and will be re-aired at 10 p.m. Angola went 2-3 in pool play and feature no NBA players. They were able to beat Germany and Jordan and took loses from Argentina, Serbia, and Australia. I expect USA to win easily but they need to cut down on careless turnovers and continue to get out on the open court and use their athleticism.