FIBA World Cup 2014 Day 1: Team USA routs Finland in opener

The first day of the 2014 FIBA World Cup featured a number of close calls, but no major upsets. Team USA and Spain, as expected, cruised by their overmatched opponents. Elsewhere, Brazil and France went down to the wire and Croatia and Turkey narrowly avoided upsets.

Team USA 114, Finland 55: This one was a laugher. Team USA held Finland without a field goal for the entire second quarter and was never seriously challenged. Full recap.

With six minutes and 25 seconds left to go in the second quarter, Finland’s Teemu Rannikko drew a foul and nailed two free throws. That was the last time Finland scored in the second quarter against Team USA.

In fact, it was the only time Finland scored against Team USA in the second quarter. Don’t believe me? Here’s their shot chart.

This is hopefully just a taste of what’s to come this season.

Team USA’s off to a flying start against Finland, even when they turn it over. After throwing the ball away sloppily, James Harden recovered, stole the ball and fed Rudy Gay for the one-handed throwdown. See, Harden does play defense!

The 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup has arrived, with 24 countries meeting in Spain to determine the best on the planet. Like most of the days in the group stage, there are 12 games on the docket Saturday, with Team USA facing Finland in one of the later games.

Team USA may be missing a number of its top players, but they remain the favorite to win gold and shouldn’t have much trouble against a far less talented Finnish squad. Team USA is scheduled to tip off at 3:30 p.m. ET and will be broadcast on ESPN.

Team USA begins its quest for gold at the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup against Finland on Saturday. The game is the first of five in six days during the group stage.

A major storyline to keep an eye on for Team USA against Finland and throughout the tournament is the play, and health, of Derrick Rose. Much has been made of Rose’s return to the court following a second major knee surgery, and after much fanfare at the outset of Team USA’s training camp, the optimism has died down a bit. Rose showed a healthy amount of rust during the exhibition games, and he also missed a game due to soreness.