We're nitpicking, but this should concern Team USA
If the self-appointed experts happen to be wrong, it's no big tremor on the credibility meter because the big, bad United States has the most talent and (on paper) should be favored. Simply put, Team USA can lose, but its critics can't.
The traditional caterwauls regarding lack of ego-free teamwork and intensity largely have been invalidated by the commitment demonstrated by the squad currently working in China. Team USA CEO Jerry Colangelo and Coach Mike Krzyzewski have developed a roster that — in addition to being exceptionally talented at NBA-style maneuvers — seems impressively cohesive.
Through five dress rehearsals, the Americans' point differential and statistical stockpile suggest success in the Olympic derby. Sunday's 90-68 victory against Russia and Tuesday's 87-76 win over Australia weren't exactly artful, but they did provide some fodder for Coach K's lab.
OK, so although the focus, tactics and effort appear to be of gold-medal caliber, a few troubling issues could manage to prevent the U.S. from returning to its long-lost international pedestal.
Please note that these issues go beyond the obvious pressure of rolling into Beijing with NBA mega-millionaires whose only face-saving option is overwhelming triumph.
The glorified scrimmages underscore the difficulty in making necessary alterations during a short camp in Las Vegas.
Defense
In a philosophy that jibes with American quickness, strength and depth on the perimeter, Coach K continues to emphasize pressure on the ballhandler. This, of course, creates turnovers (or rushed shots) and transition opportunities that reduce the number of times Team USA must face a pesky zone defense or collapse-oriented man-to-man.
Even though the effort to harass dribblers has been strong, the NBA-indoctrinated Americans frequently turn their heads when defending away from the ball. This bad habit can be exploited by medal-contending teams that emphasize off-the-ball player movement and quick passing by players who look for cutters before (or instead of) considering one-on-one options.
While working on the weak side, Team USA defenders also continue to hug the player they're assigned to instead of building a help-side wall. The Americans, who are conditioned — per NBA defensive three-second rules — to stay above the free-throw line and pinned to shooters, must adjust in a short period of time.
Another lingering concern is defending the ball screen, with the caveat that Coach K may be saving his go-to philosophy for when he really needs it. During the friendly dates, he's been content to have the on-ball defender attempt to fight over the screen while the teammate defending the screener lurks five feet behind.
This has enabled opposing guards to turn the corner and find clean looks from mid-range. Trapping the ball could be useful, although world-class point guards (such as Spain's Jose Calderon) may be capable of splitting attempted traps that co-star American big men who haven't had much time to become proficient in this area.
On-time rotation, zoning the weak side away from a trap and matching up after a trap are Team USA weaknesses created by insufficient practice time.
Effective double-teams on the ball — and early rotation to the slip screener — would make it harder for the ballhandler to see (or get a pass to) open shooters hiding on the far side.
Krzyzewski could throw change-ups regarding ball-screen defense ... if Team USA had more time to prepare.
Offense
Dribble penetration usually destroys a defense and Team USA has the greatest collection of handle-freaks outside of Rucker Park.
This ability to gut a defense seems to have been embraced by Coach K and assistant coach Mike D'Antoni, who are seeking to unleash this bounce-related proficiency against man-to-man and zone defenses. It's how they coach in their high-paying jobs and it fits the Team USA roster.
At the college and high school levels, spread-the-floor offenses such as the dribble-drive motion (still evolving after its creation by California prep and college coach Vance Walberg) and the read-and-react scheme (developed by Rick Torbett) are being copied and adapted by coaches all over the country.
Team USA's master plan has similar court-spreading properties, but the concept is challenged by Colangelo's casting; almost every American perimeter player is his NBA team's go-to guy and conditioned to create opportunities off the bounce. Aside from sniper Michael Redd, most of the U.S. players are not good at moving when the ball moves off the dribble.
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| Deron Williams might be Team USA's most effective point guard against zones. (Stu Forster / Getty Images) |
Things really get complicated when LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and — to a lesser extent — Kobe Bryant leave their feet and then attempt to pass. Steve Nash of the Phoenix Suns often gets away with this because he knows where his teammates are supposed to be and they move to the prescribed spots when he penetrates.
Spread-the-floor, attack-the-basket offenses are easy to learn, promote creativity (making them enjoyable for the players) and put pressure on the defense. But it takes more than a couple of weeks and a handful of games before one-on-one superstars learn to move to a shooting or back-cutting window when the dribble penetration is achieved.
Team USA looks committed to using the dribble against the zone as a method of bringing two defenders to the ball and creating numerical advantages in other areas. In theory, this dribble-attack mentality should have worked against Russia's match-up zone, but the U.S. players away from the ball did a poor job of making themselves available to the passer.
Against more traditional zones, the prevailing philosophy has worked. Instead of flashing a big to the middle for a quick pass and collapsing the zone, the Americans are using the big to set a ball screen, enabling Deron Williams (as the best example) to slide inside and find teammates when the defenders swarm.
Starting point guard Jason Kidd doesn't shoot well enough to be played honestly on a ball screen and Chris Paul — one of the NBA's greatest players — is bringing too much Globetrotter routine when a simple play is in order.
Team USA seems to deal with zones more effectively when Williams is handling the rock and Redd (right, obviously) rides the 3-point line to stretch the defense.
Transition has produced many dunk-highlight turns, but forced turnovers or bad shots by the opposition (leading to fastbreak opportunities) will be harder to come by against Spain, Greece and Argentina.
While I subscribe to the drive-and-kick concept (if player movement off the ball occurs), more pass-oriented attacks against the zone may be required. Maintaining that attack mode can be just dandy, but Team USA needs to learn the difference between taking the first available shot and taking the first available good shot.
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