It was pretty much a foregone conclusion that Team USA would reach the knockout stage at the 2010 FIBA World Championships. Now that they’ve gotten there, though, the real games begin. One loss takes Team USA out of medal contention, which would be a major disappointment.
But even if Team USA struggles today, they should be okay. Their Round of 16 game is against Angola, a team without much top-level talent. Angola reached the knockout round with a 2-3 record, including an upset win over Germany, but they are likely the weakest team left in the field. None of their players play abroad, whether it’s the NBA or Europe. Their best player, 35-year old forward Olimpio Cipriano, is questionable with a leg injury, and is not in the starting lineup. It would take a colossal collapse for Team USA to fall in this round.
Team USA will go with the same starting lineup they've used through the preliminaries, with Derrick Rose, Chauncey Billups, Kevin Durant, Andre Iguodala and Lamar Odom taking the floor. There was some talk that Odom would be replaced, but it appears Mike Krzyzewski will stick with him.
The winner of today’s game will play the winner of the Russia-New Zealand game later today in the quarterfinals.
FIBA World Championship 2010: Team USA Rolling Over Angola Despite Defensive Breakdowns
If you’re a head coach, you’re probably a bit frustrated with the way Team USA played in this second quarter. Sure, Team USA is rolling, leading Angola 65-38 at halftime of this Round of 16 FIBA World Championships game. But after locking Angola down defensively in the first quarter, Team USA’s concentration waned, and Angola was able to get into a nice offensive rhythm.
Team USA is still dominating offensively, dropping 32 points in the second quarter after 33 in the first, but they allowed Angola to score 25 points of their own in the second quarter. One reason that’s happened is because Team USA is doing a poor job containing dribble penetration. Another is because Angola went to a zone defense midway through the period, which kept Team USA out on the perimeter. When Team USA missed their threes, Angola was able to push the ball up the floor and get some buckets early in the offense. Angola won’t be able to stifle Team USA’s offense fully with a zone, but better teams will later in this tournament.
Read Article >FIBA World Championship 2010: Team USA Rolling Over Angola After First Quarter
It was pretty much a given that Team USA would defeat Angola pretty easily, but few figured this game would be this much of a blowout this soon. But thanks to an outstanding start by Team USA’s starters, that’s exactly how things are looking right now.
Spurred by hot three-point shooting, pressure defense and transition buckets, Team USA leads Angola 33-13 after one quarter. Team USA has dominated this game from the opening tip, preventing Angola from getting anything going. They have completely taken Angola out of their offensive rhythm, which has resulted in transition opportunities and easy buckets.
Read Article >FIBA World Championship 2010: Team USA Takes On Angola In Round Of 16 Game
It was pretty much a foregone conclusion that Team USA would reach the knockout stage at the 2010 FIBA World Championships. Now that they’ve gotten there, though, the real games begin. One loss takes Team USA out of medal contention, which would be a major disappointment.
But even if Team USA struggles today, they should be okay. Their Round of 16 game is against Angola, a team without much top-level talent. Angola reached the knockout round with a 2-3 record, including an upset win over Germany, but they are likely the weakest team left in the field. None of their players play abroad, whether it’s the NBA or Europe. Their best player, 35-year old forward Olimpio Cipriano, is questionable with a leg injury, and is not in the starting lineup. It would take a colossal collapse for Team USA to fall in this round.
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