DeMar DeRozan No.9 of the United States drives to the basket against Yi Jianlian No.11 of China during the second half of a USA Basketball showcase exhibition game at Staples Center on Monday in Los Angeles, California.
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Even when wearing Team USA jerseys, Kevin Durant and Draymond Green didn’t get a lot of love when playing in one the pre-Olympic preparation games, this time against China, held in Los Angeles. Both teams struggled early, but the United States of America broke out of their funk as Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson opened up from three point range.
At the helm of the U.S. squad is Duke Blue Devils head coach Mike Krzyzewski, his third time doing so, along with a string of assistant coaches, like Syracuse Orange head coach Jim Boeheim, current Minnesota Timberwolves head coach Tom Thibodeau, and former Oklahoma City Thunder associate head coach Monty Williams. “It’s a luxury that we can play around and have these exhibition games to figure out what works and what doesn’t”.
Yi Jianlian, a 7-foot power forward who played for four National Basketball Association teams from 2007-12 and was the sixth player chosen in the 2007 draft, led China with 18.
Two players who couldn’t find their grooves against China were Carmelo Anthony and Paul George. Yi scored 18 points while second-round draft choice Zhou Qi scored only two on a measly 1-of-6 shooting.
Krzyzewski played the right strings by contorting his lineups to fit Jordan, who regularly starts for the LA Clippers in the same arena, over the probable starter at Rio 2016, DeMarcus Cousins. Cousins dominated the interior with 12 as the Americans raced to a 55-29 lead at the halftime buzzer. He wasn’t quite as lethal against China, but still managed to lead the way with 19 points in 18 minutes of action. The opening possession looked disastrous for China when their first attempt was blocked by DeAndre Jordan, who subsequently dunked home an alley-oop for the game’s first bucket. Team USA has three remaining exhibition games on the schedule before making the trip to Brazil.
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“Obviously, they have the best talent and the best size in the world”, Argentina’s Luis Scola said. “There’s a part of all of us that says, ‘Will it?’ I don’t care what team you’re coaching, you would feel that way”. “I think we’re learning more about one another, and our defense was there pretty much the whole game”, he said. “We’ve got wings that can guard four positions”. This team might not have quite the superstar pedigree of the 2012 London squad, but they proved once again that they possess all the pieces needed to capture a third straight gold medal. “Argentina has four guys who have played, if you add their worldwide experience, they’ve probably played I bet 800-1000 games for their country”.
