After the failure of the World Cup, the American team will be re-founded in view of the Games. Edwards and a few others will remain with coach Kerr. Are several stars like Curry and Durant on the way?
Failure served. A team that should have brought the US national team back to the top of the world sadly leaves the scene in a World Cup which, when the going started to get tough, became very complicated. The first alarm bells already sounded against Montenegro, in the second phase, only to then suffer two defeats that will remain well etched in Steve Kerr’s memory with Lithuania and Germany, punctuated by the walk against Italy. But the defeat suffered in the semi-final against a more physical, more aggressive team with more attention under the basket does nothing but illustrate the limits of a team built with a precise identity by its puppeteer Grant Hill. Fewer centimeters under the basket, more versatility and athleticism, to try to excel in the open court. A bet that didn’t pay off, however, and now Hill, Steve Kerr and the rest of the USA Basketball coaching staff will have to live with legitimate criticism for a group that will see radical changes in view of the Paris Olympics.
Arrogance
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Even against an incredibly disciplined offensively disciplined Germany, the American team paid its price in rebounding, giving Wagner and his teammates second opportunities in the series. A good dose of arrogance, seasoned with an approximation that greatly facilitated the task of a physical team like the German one, condemned Steve Kerr’s troops. Going to play the World Cup without a real centre, with the exception of Walker Kessler, used sparingly and often only in garbage time, and with long shots that were not exactly devastating on the rebound, seemed like a risky move even in a Fiba competition without some big players of the highest level, like Jokic and Antetokounmpo. Those who were supposed to make the difference in the frontline at a defensive level have struggled a lot, starting with the “defensive player of the year” in the NBA Jaren Jackson Jr. who in this World Cup averages a paltry 2.9 rebounds, showing that he is a a very different player compared to what he can do in the NBA as a power forward, alongside a physical center like Steven Adams.
Disappointment
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Not even his backup Paolo Banchero (3.4 rebounds on average), with his ups and downs, gave important answers from this point of view, thus significantly limiting the already not extraordinary defense of Team USA. “Germany dominated us on a physical level” bitterly underlines a devastating Edwards in attack in the semi-final, but with too many breaks in defence. After the bad defensive performance against Lithuania, the stars and stripes team did even worse in the semi-final, conceding 113 points in the end, the most in the history of Team USA between the World Cup and the Olympics. So coach Kerr also pays the price in his first experience on the American bench, joining coaches like Larry Brown, Mike Krzyzewski and Gregg Popovich who were unable to win the title in their first Fiba competition. The failure of this group will naturally weigh heavily on the future choices of Grant Hill and the USA Basketball coaching staff who will inevitably present themselves at the Paris Olympics with a profoundly renewed roster. Prominent stars who look at Paris 2024 as a “last dance” at Fiba level will most likely return, people like Steph Curry and Kevin Durant, and the slip-ups of the World Cup will also serve as a lesson when building the roster for the next round international. It is difficult to think that more than a couple of elements seen in the Philippines, Edwards above all, will return with coach Kerr in Paris. The road to the French Olympics for Paolo Banchero himself, who next season will also have to put up with the “flexing” of his Orlando teammate Franz Wagner, who was decisive in the match against the USA, appears decidedly uphill at the moment. Team USA has failed across the board and to return to dominance it will have to look in the mirror, admit the mistakes it has made and change its strategy. However, several superstars should arrive to help the Hill-Kerr couple who will not want to be missing in Paris.
September 8 – 10.10pm
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