Team USA Whoops That Brazilian Ass And Secures The Top Seed For The Quarterfinals
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And just like that Team USA stays undefeated and secures the top spot in the next stage of this tournament. Outside of that little scare against Turkey they’ve navigated through this tournament with relative ease. While expected, I kept being told because this team was made up of a ton of Celtics that they had no chance once the games started for real. That the US was screwed. Obviously they haven’t had the toughest group so far, but as we move forward the teams are getting better and better and the way things are currently structes we could eventually see Serbia who would definitely be a legit test.
If you were perhaps concerned with the shooting in their win over Greece, Team USA was so much better this time around. They finished with 52% shooting and if this team ever consistently gets locked in from deep I’m not sure there’s a team out there that can beat them. Kemba continues to be the constant force for this group with another solid and efficient 16/5 and a little bit of everything. He’s still getting to the rim with ease, he’s knocking down there’s and more importantly he’s creating for others while not forcing too much and plying careless. Love to see that.
Pacers fans should also love how legit Myles Turner has looked of late. He owned his matchups today, was a big reason why Team USA got off to a good start and as someone who the Pacers hope has a breakout year, he’s had himself a good tournament. This type of play is especially important because we’re starting to see Pop move to more smal ball lineups, but having Turner playing well and engaged is going to be important against a team like Serbia if that matchup happens. He’s shown that soft touch that makes him a tough cover and you know he can already rebound and protect the rim.
The whole point of watching these games isn’t just to win gold, but to see if guys who are on your NBA team are able to show you any signs of progression. In my opinion, we’re seeing that with Jaylen Brown. Not only is his rebounding one of the pleasant surprises of this tournament, but much like Tatum the development of his ability of a facilitator and how he reads defense is so much better than I remember. Another 4 assists today, he’s making the right type of pass in the right situation, and more importantly has shown to be a more willing passing. This tells me you can get crazy and play with at a small ball four or something and still be OK. We know Brad loves versatility and the way Jaylen is being used for Team USA has me curious if the Celts continue with this approach because Jaylen has been responding well.
We also got ourselves another classic Marcus Smart performance where he was causing havoc on either end. It did look like he may have tweaked something so I don’t love that, but everything else about the Marcus Smart experience has been as advertised.
So while I feel for Brazil because their FIBA run is over, they also get to go home to things like this
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which makes me think they’ll be just fine. Team USA has France up next which will be interesting for fellow Celts fans so we can see another new player in Vincent Poirier, but I’m just glad this team for the most part has stopped dicking around and is back to winning with ease. Much less stressful.