Game 2 of the USA Showcase - US Still Dominant

This is going to sound like a broken record, but Team USA just beat the hell out of China. In Game 2 of the USA Showcase, the US beat China 106-57.

Coach K used a completely different starting five in Los Angeles, letting Melo start with Lowry, DeMar DeRozan, DeAndre Jordan and Paul George, which resulted in an extremely slow start. The US was only up by 11 after the first, thanks to a run made when Durant, Boogie and Klay Thompson entered the game.

In the first half we saw Team USA empty one side of the floor with Durant catching the ball on the wing. USA brought up Boogie to run a pick-and-roll, leaving three shooters on the opposite side. What happened? An and-1 for Cousins and a play we’ll see a lot of.

China did have four seven-footers on the team, but obviously not nearly as talented as teams like Serbia, France or Australia. What I like about the Cousins-Durant play is it’s a pick your poison type of loss for the defense. You’re either putting a five on Durant on the wing or switching a four – and likely a stretch four – onto Cousins rolling into the post.

That’s one of the two major benefits for Team USA in Olympic play. The first is there are limited teams that have someone in the post that can compete with Cousins and DeAndre Jordan in the post. Cousins is the most gifted big man in the game right now and we’re seeing the advantage of having him, especially when it comes to the rebounding game.

The second advantage is the length on the wing. Guys like George, KD, Klay and Butler are all able to guard multiple positions, which leads to a trap press that Team USA should run after every dead ball. In the second quarter we saw it after a timeout. Whoever is defending the guy bringing the ball in, would double once the pass was made. They invited the entry pass to be made with the double coming right then. This should be a staple in Rio.

Yes, these games are just exhibition games, but it’s good to see Team USA absolutely rolling so far. They are back again on Tuesday night against China again. Hopefully NBATV gets their shit together, because that crew sucked if we’re being honest. It’s great having Marv Albert on the call, but Reggie Miller is the worst and Jared Greenberg talked about how we’re seeing the ‘Warriors big 3 playing’ with Steph Curry not there. Marv deserves better.