Gong is no stranger to the gulf in class that exists between the U.S. and most of the teams they go up against. By those standards, at least, each could and did claim success.
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The second exhibition for USA Basketball leading up to the 2016 Rio Olympic Games took a little while to get off the ground, but once Team USA got going against China, it became predictably out of hand.
For the Americans, Kevin Durant led the way with 19 points, while his future Warriors teammate Klay Thompson added another 17 points. “Individually, everybody knows what we have around us”. “And it’s way more important than what we do”.
The sputtering start was enough to summon some concern from Krzyzewski, who hasn’t suffered a loss as US coach since 2006. “All of them. They can all shoot, and so in your coverages and how you react, they have good movement, which gives them windows of opportunity”, Team USA head coach Mike Krzyzewski said after Friday’s win.
The two sides will play on 6 August in Rio, the opening day of the Olympics, in Group A. The challenge for China will be to not allow another heavy loss to affect the rest of their Olympic campaign.
Jordan got the exhibition off to a rousing start with a blocked shot on China’s first possession and an alley-oop dunk on the other end for the Americans’ first points.
Providing a preview of what’s to come this season, Green immediately set a screen, freeing up Durant for a 3-pointer from the top of the key.
Krzyzewski said he didn’t mind the sluggish offense in the early minutes but he didn’t allow it to fester. Two other China players were drafted in the second round of June’s draft: Houston’s Zhou Qi tallied two points and five fouls, while Memphis’ Wang Zhelin scored one point in 22 minutes. He’s really, I think, one of the great players in the league right now-and an awesome teammate.
Team USA also received double-figure scoring from the Toronto Raptors’ DeMar DeRozan (13 points), the Los Angeles Clippers’ DeAndre Jordan (12 points), the Sacramento Kings’ DeMarcus Cousins (12 points) and the Cleveland Cavaliers’ Kyrie Irving (10 points). The depth of the USA showed as coach Mike Krzyzewski rotated players in and out, searching for the right combinations on a team with 10 new players from 2012.
“One thing doesn’t change”, he said.
Krzyzewski’s team is intent on becoming stronger and more cohesive in the three exhibitions before its Rio opener.
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Of course, the Dream Team dropped out bit by bit over a few competitions, and Team USA was eventually reduced to the “embarrassment” of a sixth-place finish at the 2002 FIBA World Championship, then followed by a bronze medal at the 2004 Olympics and a semifinal loss in the 2006 Worlds.
