“But we really have an inside presence on the boards”.
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Yi earned most valuable player honors in the Asia Championship last October, leading China to a victory over the Philippines in the final that secured their Olympic berth.
“I respect the guys that declined the opportunity, but I think we still have a great team here, a lot of talent”, said Cousins. “They didn’t have a guy out there who didn’t play hard and together”.
Argentina faced its biggest hurdle against United States’ size, which could become a common theme for teams down the road.
China connected on just 30.9 percent of their shots, and 26 Chinese turnovers led to 36 USA points. Thompson finished with 17 points on six-for-10 shooting (including four of eight from three-point range), DeMar DeRozan of the Toronto Raptors contributed 13 points, Sacramento’s DeMarcus Cousins had 12 points and seven rebounds, and Durant and Toronto’s Kyle Lowry each had five assists.
Jordan began the game with a thunderous block on China’s Wang Zhelin, then raced down the court to slam home an alley-oop, that got his home crowd out of its seats early.
What Gong wanted before the tip-off is for his 2015 FIBA Asia Championship winners to gain experience against the best, and the United States of America, the team most people expect to capture the gold medal at the Rio de Janeiro Games next month, are certainly that.
They cruised past Argentina 111-74 on Friday.
“No, I didn’t hear it”, Durant said when told he had been booed during pregame introductions. China did manage to get to the free throw line 21 times, so perhaps the defense can tighten up in how much they’re fouling the opponent.
In the meantime, Krzyzewski said he’s pushing the team focus on building a defensive identity because of the versatility and athleticism they have on that side of the ball. With strong play and under Coach K’s guidance, team US should have the ability to bring home the gold.
“Here, the Chinese team is a younger team”. But if he remains the defensive impact he was tonight moving forward, it won’t be his shooting or play on offense that will look to make his Olympic campaign a successful one. They each had personal reasons for declining, mostly injuries, but also resting bodies worn down by an 82-game regular National Basketball Association season and in some cases long playoffs runs.
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This is perhaps a little surprising considering it was a Team USA game, but by signing with Golden State, Durant knew he was going to be booed wherever he goes that isn’t Oakland (Mark Cuban may even call him a villain).
