USA-Russia Preview
With Spain getting ousted today the World Championships have truly begun in earnest. At this point I don’t really think Team USA needs a wake up call, but if they do, that was certainly it. Make no mistake about it; this Russian team coached by American expatriate David Blatt can beat us if we don’t play a smart and intense brand of ball.
After watching the New Zealand game what worries me most is Russia’s size. Starting center Sasha Kaun (future Cav) is 6’11 and his backup Timofey Mozgov (current Knick) is 7’1. Combined those two have averaged 24 points and 10 rebounds in the tournament. Then there is starting PF Andrey Vorontsevich (6’9) who is a bruiser with enough skill to hit a 3-point shot. Quite frankly the USA can’t match their size and toughness unless Coach Mike Krzyzewski radically alters his rotation (which isn’t happening), and even then I doubt we’d have enough beef to contain them.
The Russians like to utilize their size to play more of a power game than most other European squads, but they do have some perimeter people to worry about too. The first is swingman Sergey Monya (former Blazer). Andre Iguodala’s sole responsibility will be to shut Monya down, which really Iggy should have no problem doing. The next player is PG Anton Ponkrashov. He’s not a great athlete but is one of those pesky Euro PG’s that knows how to play (high BBIQ) and can hit open 3-pointers. It’s imperative that whoever defends Ponkrashov stays in front of him and does not gamble.
For Team USA to be successful they need to get something…anything…from Tyson Chandler. While not very burly the human foul/complaint machine MUST earn his keep by providing solid minutes defending either Kaun or Mozgov. The next area the team needs to focus on is two-fold. First they can not fall behind early, and second they need to be patient on offense and not turn the ball over. The last thing America needs is for Kevin Durant to go off, and I mean big time. Luis Scola just dropped 37 on Brazil and Linas Kleiza 30 on China. It’s time for the cream to rise to the top and that means you KD.
Yes, I just called Durant out and demanded no less than 30 from him.
I expect this game to be far tighter than most experts do. In fact I’m predicting a nail biter that goes down to the last possession with the Durantula making a three to win it. If we do lose try and remember that Russia is playing without their three best players (Andrei Kirilenko, J.R. Holden & Viktor Khryapa) too, so no griping about our B-Team losing to theirs.
OK?
Good.
After watching the New Zealand game what worries me most is Russia’s size. Starting center Sasha Kaun (future Cav) is 6’11 and his backup Timofey Mozgov (current Knick) is 7’1. Combined those two have averaged 24 points and 10 rebounds in the tournament. Then there is starting PF Andrey Vorontsevich (6’9) who is a bruiser with enough skill to hit a 3-point shot. Quite frankly the USA can’t match their size and toughness unless Coach Mike Krzyzewski radically alters his rotation (which isn’t happening), and even then I doubt we’d have enough beef to contain them.
The Russians like to utilize their size to play more of a power game than most other European squads, but they do have some perimeter people to worry about too. The first is swingman Sergey Monya (former Blazer). Andre Iguodala’s sole responsibility will be to shut Monya down, which really Iggy should have no problem doing. The next player is PG Anton Ponkrashov. He’s not a great athlete but is one of those pesky Euro PG’s that knows how to play (high BBIQ) and can hit open 3-pointers. It’s imperative that whoever defends Ponkrashov stays in front of him and does not gamble.
For Team USA to be successful they need to get something…anything…from Tyson Chandler. While not very burly the human foul/complaint machine MUST earn his keep by providing solid minutes defending either Kaun or Mozgov. The next area the team needs to focus on is two-fold. First they can not fall behind early, and second they need to be patient on offense and not turn the ball over. The last thing America needs is for Kevin Durant to go off, and I mean big time. Luis Scola just dropped 37 on Brazil and Linas Kleiza 30 on China. It’s time for the cream to rise to the top and that means you KD.
Yes, I just called Durant out and demanded no less than 30 from him.
I expect this game to be far tighter than most experts do. In fact I’m predicting a nail biter that goes down to the last possession with the Durantula making a three to win it. If we do lose try and remember that Russia is playing without their three best players (Andrei Kirilenko, J.R. Holden & Viktor Khryapa) too, so no griping about our B-Team losing to theirs.
OK?
Good.
posted by D$ at 1:29 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home