NBA Basketball News: Team USA coach Steve Kerr after his team opened the test game by beating Canada 86-72.
“A good first game for us. We just started with four days of practice. Right from the start, we could see our weakness in attack. We had a lot of turnovers in the first half, [tetapi] I like the defensive intensity and the hard work on the glass. “It was a good first attempt to build the game going forward,” Team USA coach Steve Kerr said.
In addition to determining the style of play, one of the biggest questions hanging over Team USA is who will fill the five spots in Kerr’s starting lineup. Three spots appear destined to be filled by Stephen Curry, LeBron James and Joel Embiid.
On Wednesday night, the other two spots went to Jrue Holiday, who appears to fit alongside Curry in Team USA’s backcourt as the world’s best perimeter defender, and Devin Booker, who could fill the spot left open by Kevin Durant, who is out for the fifth straight day also with a calf injury.
Meanwhile, a second unit of Tyrese Haliburton, Edwards, Bam Adebayo, Jayson Tatum and Davis dominated the game, looking like a unit that could be very effective in the coming weeks if Kerr chooses to stay together. Of course, Kerr, who doesn’t like to talk about rosters, said there was nothing to factor into his lineup decisions for Wednesday’s opener.
“You can’t go wrong with a starting lineup with this group,” Kerr said. “I’m going to do something different the next couple of games. We’re going to look at different combinations before we decide anything. We want to develop Joel early in the game, knowing Canada doesn’t have size. We want to play Bam and Anthony Davis with the second group. We want to get a feel for what that looks like.
Article Keywords: Team USA, Steve Kerr, Canada
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