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Another game, another emphatic victory for Team USA to open the 2023 FIBA World Cup. After decimating New Zealand on Saturday in their opener, the Americans continued their dominant start to the tournament with an even more convincing 109-81 victory over Greece on Monday. In the process, they clinched Group C and have advanced to the second group phase of the tournament.
Unlike Saturday's win over New Zealand in which Paolo Banchero scored 25 points, no single player dominated this one for the Americans. Austin Reaves led the way with 15 points, but all 12 players on the roster scored at least four. The win was ultimately the result of strong team play and a great shooting day from both 3-point range (9-of-22) and, more importantly, the foul line (30-of-34).Throw in a 40-25 domination on the glass and Team USA controlled just about every aspect of this game.
Greece was severely undermanned for this one, with just one NBA player, Thanasis Antetokounmpo, on its roster. His more famous brother, Giannis Antetokounmpo, may have played in this tournament if not for knee surgery. Instead, he sat out, and Greece posed no major threat to Team USA.
The Americans will now close group play on Wednesday against Jordan. Greece, meanwhile, will play New Zealand on Wednesday, and after they snuck out an overtime win over Jordan on Monday, that game will determine second place in Group C. As the top two teams advance to the second group phase, that game will be meaningful as the rest of the tournament shakes out.
The top two teams in Group C will join the top two teams from Group D (Lithuania and Montenegro) in the second group phase, with the top two teams out of those four advancing to the knockout stage. If Team USA keeps playing like this, the group should have no trouble making it that far. Here are the biggest takeaways from Team USA's victory
The bench continues to thrive
Team USA led by only four points when the starters exited the game in the first quarter. The lead was well into double digits when they returned. This has been a persistent theme for Team USA in both the exhibition season and the tournament itself. The starters are still struggling to figure things out. The bench, however, has dominated from the start.
Reaves alone led Team USA in points (15), assists (6) and tied for the lead in steals with Jaren Jackson Jr. (2). The leader in rebounds was also a reserve, as Josh Hart pulled in 11 of them. Five American players had double-digit plus-minus marks, and they were the first five Americans off the bench: Reaves (plus-19), Tyrese Haliburton (plus-19), Cam Johnson (plus-19), Banchero (plus-14) and Hart (plus-13).
There are plenty of possible explanations for this, and the obvious one is that high-level NBA players are typically going to have an enormous talent advantage over foreign reserves, but by the eye test, the obvious answer is that this group just fits together remarkably well. Haliburton and Reaves are great playmakers. Everyone in that group can shoot. Banchero has exceeded expectations on defense as a switching, small-ball five. With the starters struggling, Team USA's path to gold likely goes through the bench. It hasn't disappointed thus far.
Another quiet game for Brandon Ingram
Speaking of those struggling starters, no one has had a harder time adjusting to the FIBA game than Brandon Ingram. He expressed his frustration to The Athletic on Sunday, saying "The team is winning right now, so I can't be selfish thinking about myself. But it's a little frustrating right now for me, and I'm just trying to figure out ways I can be effective."
Well, those frustrations persisted on Monday. Ingram scored five points on four shots in 17 minutes and was largely an afterthought in Team USA's victory. Team USA likely hoped that he could play the old Carmelo Anthony role as a catch-and-shoot threat that offered a bit on defense and as a rebounder. It hasn't played out that way. Ingram's best skill is individual shot-creation, but with Jalen Brunson and Anthony Edwards thriving as the first-unit ball-handlers, he just hasn't had a place on this team. Kerr could bench him, but doing so would disrupt that excellent bench lineup. There's no easy answer here. If there were, Ingram and Kerr would've found it by now.
A clever adjustment from Steve Kerr
Kerr did have one particularly interesting adjustment in Monday's game. Greek center Georgios Papagiannis, a former Sacramento King, dominated Team USA in the first half because of its drop-coverage. The middle of the floor was totally open for Greece, and Papagiannis, a shooter and crafty post worker, took advantage with jumpers and hooks. When that drew Jackson out of the paint, the Greek pick-and-roll thrived.
So Kerr flipped the matchups. He allowed Edwards, just 6-foot-4, to defend Papagiannis, who is 7-foot-3. Why? So he could put Jackson, the reigning NBA Defensive Player of the Year, on the comparatively non-threatening Antetokounmpo, The Milwaukee forward is not a strong shooter, so Jackson could sag off of him and take away the rim. This disarmed Papagiannis and with him, most of the Greek offense.
It was a bit of a throwback change for Kerr, who pioneered the concept of size mismatches to exploit non-shooters in his early days as coach of the Golden State Warriors, when he famously used center Andrew Bogut to defend shooting guard Tony Allen. His strategy against Greece was the reverse of that move, but to the same effect. Kerr is among the NBA's more creative coaches, and it showed on Monday.
