Team USA Wins Big Over Tunisia, Trouble with Starters
The spread was originally thought to be a 39-point deficit that Tunisia would face against the American’s star studded team, however Team USA had something else in mind.
Team USA demolished Tunisia by a score of 110-63 Tuesday night, but it didn’t seem like an easy win at the start of the 1st quarter. The United States’ Men’s Basketball team has two big problems going into the medal rounds; a lacking presence of big men on the roster and the problem of limiting three point attempts and making thee point attempts against opponents. Those bad qualities were exposed in the 1st half.
The United States started 0-8 from 3-point land in 1st quarter while falling to an early deficit before ending the 1st quarter up by six points. Muhammad Kechrid of Tunisia started the game 3 for 6 from the three and was followed by teammates’ barrage of threes ending the first half. Makram Ben Romdhane ended up finishing the game with a double-double (22 points, 12 rebounds, 2 steals) while exposing the front court of the Americans by games’ end. Both teams gave up 6+ turnovers out of the first half and even though the Tunisian team was down 46-33 by the midway point, it seemed as though they still had life left.
The 2nd half of play turned out to be the difference maker as the United States went on a 24-2 run to put them up 70-35 by the middle of the 3rd. The highlights of the 3rd came from a pseudo “Lob-City” performance from the Men’s team after No.1 draft selection, Anthony “Unibrow” Davis, stepped on the court and delivered with some amazing acrobatics.
It was a “dunk-fest” by the end of the game followed by a gaggle of three-point attempts from James Harden and Kevin Love to put the contest out of reach for the north African athletes. However, this game should be a statement not only for the Tunisian team, who made their first Olympics in the history of the Basketball team in the country, but also to the American players as well.
The front court was embarrassed after first half play and the starters (mostly Kobe Bryant) decided not to show up and kept the Tunisians close enough to keep the game on edge. Coach Mike Krzyzewski would be wise to find a better way to get his starters involved rather than becoming a crutch to the rest of the line up. Kobe Bryant ended up playing deplorably finishing with 4 points, 2-5 from the field, 0-2 from three in attempts.
The Tunisians should be impressed by they’re play, just as the rest of the world was. To stay with the best team in the world after being rated so poorly coming into the contest is a testament of the skill set of the entire team. The United States, of course should be pleased with the win, but also should look towards alleviating playing issues in the future. Teams like Spain, Brazil and Argentina could easily run away with a Gold medal if not played correctly and less lackadaisically by the starting 5 from the United States.
The Kevin’s came to play Tuesday night. Kevin Durant finished with a double-double (13 points, 10 rebounds, 4-4 from the line) and Kevin Love clinched the game with a barrage of three’s (16 points, 6 rebounds 40 percent from 3-point land). Rookie Anthony Davis also came to play by finishing 5 passes with an alley-oop slam and finishing with 12 points and 3 rebounds will shooting perfectly from the floor. He turned out to be a blessing to the front court rather than a crutch.
If the United States wants to win a medal, they better start scoring from behind the arc. Kobe’s “Dream Team” is losing it’s weight and for our sake, I hope his game reflects his talking by time the next outing arrives.
Tyler R. Tynes is the Featured Columnist for the Philadelphia 76ers with Rant Sports, Beat Writer covering the Philadelphia 76ers for Buzz On Broad and 76ers Analyst for Philly Sports Nut.
Follow me on Twitter @RealTylerTynes for all Sixers and NBA sports updates. And also follow me on Instagram @TheRealTylerTynes.
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