Team USA Far Too Good To Give Up 100 Points

Team USA might have defeated Mexico 127–100 on Monday night at the FIBA Americas Championship — but the only parts that resonated to most observers were "100" and "Mexico." The Americans indeed surrendered the century mark to a nation whose crossborders exports have conspicuously excluded basketball talent. The lone Mexican player in the NBA, Eduardo Najera, wasn't even in uniform for our neighbors to the south, who instead fielded a team of current and former American college players.

While some might argue Team USA was due for a letdown after thrashing its first four opponents, it's become apparent that the American side was in the easier of the two brackets in group play. The rout of Brazil on Sunday, in particular, looks much more suspect after Puerto Rico crushed the same team by 22 points on Monday.

In the meantime, all that good defensive karma from the first four games now seems to be lost, as the familiar combination of pick-and-rolls and 3-pointers proved immensely difficult for the American side to handle during the game against Mexico. The Mexican side made 15 of 28 3-pointers, and became the first team to clear 40% from the floor against the U.S., while handing out 17 assists.

The bad news here isn't that Team USA is suddenly vulnerable in this tournament, but rather what it means for a year from now when they're going for Olympic gold. A year ago in the World Championships, it was Greece who used the combination of pickand-roll plays and 3-point shooting to carve up the American defense in the second and third quarters, much as Mexico did in the Monday contest.

That's why the U.S. team probably needs to use more of something that they've seemed reluctant to employ: zone defense. This is one way to both neutralize the screen-and-roll plays that have been the major bugaboo for the U.S. defense, and to keep shotblockers like Dwight Howard and Tyson Chandler in the paint where they can do the most damage. Too often in international hoops they're caught out by the 3-point line.

It's also the best way to take advantage of this team's size. If you haven't noticed, this team is huge by international standards. The shortest player is 6-foot-3-inch Deron Williams. Wings like 6-foot-6-inch Kobe Bryant, 6-foot-8-inch LeBron James, 6-foot-8-inch Mike Miller, and 6-foot-9-inch Tayshaun Prince can affect passing lanes and bother shots with their length.

Meanwhile, the one spot where the U.S. lacks size is power forward, but that's not so bad in a zone. A player like Carmelo Anthony or Prince is much more comfortable defending the corner of a zone than battling in the paint all the time. It's the best way to take advantage of Chandler in particular, who has been parked at the end of the bench thus far in the tournament.

Up until the Mexico game, Team USA's defense had been the best asset of this team so far. In the first four games, the U.S. team's hapless opponents shot 33.8%, 26.2%, 32.8%, and 39.1% from the floor; each also had at least 16 turnovers and rebounded fewer than a third of their misses.

Prior to the Mexico stumble (perhaps "stumble" is too strong — the U.S. did win by 27) there had been an unmistakable intensity at that end, led by Bryant. While some weren't sure how he'd adapt to the international team, so far it seems to be a perfect match — he's become the alpha dog and set the tone with suffocating pressure, particularly against highly regarded players. Venezuela's Greivis Vasquez and Brazil's Leandro Barbosa scarcely had room to exhale in the opening round games, leading the way to one-sided wins.

Speaking of changes to the U.S. team, it's nice having shooters for once, ain't it? Michael Redd hasn't started a game. But he is second on the team in scoring and has made 17-of-37 beyond the 3-point line, softening up defenses that can no longer get away with sagging for the drive. One wonders if he'll be starting in Beijing.

The U.S is shooting 46.3% as a team, with Anthony, Williams, Bryant, Chauncey Billups, and — surprise — James also hitting 3-pointers at a strong clip. The only one struggling is Miller, who came into the tournament with the strongest pedigree besides Redd, but is just 10-for-31 from downtown thus far. He'll want to start knocking a few down if he wants to stay on the team next summer.

Meanwhile, the one local player in this tournament, Jason Kidd, has decided shooting would be beneath him. Kidd's ability to distribute and run the break is beyond reproach: He has 25 assists against just two turnovers. But in five games he's scored only seven points. He's on his way to becoming the first point guard in recorded history to have more blocked shots (four) than field-goal attempts (three).

The competition is about to take a step up. After last night's latenight game against Puerto Rico, the U.S. now completes pool play against Uruguay and Argentina, who had the two best records in Group A during the opening round. Argentina in particular should pose a good litmus test for the American defense, as Argentina's precision passing and cutting has baffled team USA in other international contests (though not in the bronze medal game at last year's world championships).

Presuming the U.S. wins out this week, the only game that will matter is Saturday's semifinal, in which a win guarantees the Americans a spot in Beijing next summer. Even if the U.S. drops a game between now and Saturday, it will be seeded first or second in the semis, with Argentina a near certainty to join them at the top.

That means the U.S. will play either Brazil, Canada, Puerto Rico, or Uruguay in the semifinal on Saturday. One hopes it will be one of the first two, since the U.S. has already blown each to smithereens. But chances are it will be one of the latter, given how much better Group A has been.

The U.S. gets its first look at those teams this week, and one hopes they'll up the intensity after the Mexicans lit Team USA up. It's still highly unlikely this team will lose a game at the FIBA tournament. But the big-picture goal is to get the defense up to snuff for the far tougher test next summer in China.

Based on Monday's results, they'd fail.

jhollinger@nysun.com