[steviechillzParticipant]

It’s the classic matchup between a team that has excellent chemistry and has been ballin with each other for 10 years(Spain) vs. a ultra-athletic USA team that enjoys beating you via one-on-one, pick & roll, and kind of has a pick-up game type of feel.

If I’m Coach K, these are my keys to winning the game tonight:

1) Defense will jolt my offense – USA has looked downright pathetic in the half court; settling for contested threes, ISOs, and late shot clock pick & roll’s, but when they get out on the fast break or the mid-fast break, there is no team in the world better than the U.S. at converting. How do you get those opportunities? By using your athleticism and length to get defensive stops and then run n gun!

2) Know your role – If we continue to not run complex offensive sets, then let’s stop with guys like Klay Thompson and Paul George running ISO’s to start the offense. Klay needs to be a shooter, George needs to be a elite defender and playmaker, Kyrie needs to be the initiator of the offense, KD needs to play the role as scorer, DeAndre needs to set strong high-ball screens, etc. All of these guys seem to want to play the same role, i.e. ISO scorer and late-shot clock pick & roll…why were the 2008-2012 teams great? Well they had LeBron, but they also had guys who knew their role. One of the keys tonight would be to see if the guys settle into their roles and not try to be in Hero-Mode all night.

3) Throw in some off-ball down screens – GSW this past regular season was SO tough to guard…their offense was always free-flowing, involved multiple on-ball and off-ball screens, but to me, one of their toughest plays to guard was an off-ball back screen initiated by Steph or Klay that would force a defender to either give up an alley-oop to the rim or a wide open trey. It’s one of the tougher plays to guard, but few teams besides the Celtics, the Warriors, and the Spurs use it to their advantage. Guys like Klay, Kyrie, and KD should be setting and using these off-ball screens to get open in the half court…there is no way I can see mildly athletic Spain being able to guard those types of plays.

What do you guys think? What would you want to focus on if your Team USA and Coach K?

[Dazzling Dunks and Basketball BloopersParticipant]

 Despite all their success over the past decade plus, Spain has never actually beaten the us in international competition. Spain should be able to score and make the game interesting, but its hard for me to see how they will successfully defend this team, with an aging roster and without great athleticism. 

Dont get me wrong, Spain can absolutely win this game, but I feel it’s a longshot and for it to actually happen the U.S. will have to basically beat themselves. If the u.s. plays with the intensity and executes the way they did against Argentina in the last game, it probably won’t be close. However, if they resort to iso-ball and lackluster d, then the door could be open.

 

[Dazzling Dunks and Basketball BloopersParticipant]

 Actually it’s not entirely accurate to say Spain has never beaten the us in international competition. They did beat them once during a consolation game at the 2002 worlds. They have never beaten them in Olympic competition and never in a game with medal implications.

[Anton123Participant]

The keys to beating the US would’ve been a more interesting read. Basically everyone except Americans are rooting for the US to lose, I would be super happy if it happens. It’s only possible if the US’s shots don’t fall and some players get discouraged and start playing sloppy defence.

I do think that it’s highly unlikely the US will play as bad as they did against Australia… and Venezuela… and Serbia… and France. The guys probably understand that these aren’t meaningless games anymore.

[Lebron’s HairlineParticipant]

 Move the ball. Play physical, take good shots, run the floor, play smart tough D. The end 

[cobi15Participant]

It’s that simple!!!!

[King CaluchaParticipant]

Well… the US coaching staff should look at the first couple of Spain games… they weren’t that good. Overall, running the floor is a good option against any team, because nobody has the same depth as the US. It worked against Argentina and other good teams. I believe if you stay close to Gasol and Rudy, you have a good chance. And it’s not because they are the best players… it’s because they are the most consistent.

[BlueRivers25Participant]

Coach K has done a great job at trying to find the best combination of players during this Summer run.  Starting Jordan over Cousins and putting back Thompson in the starting lineup has been key moves. 

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