The FIBA World Cup is harder than the NBA
The defending champion twice, the United States started the step to win the third title in the FIBA World Cup in a row with a great track. In their first match in Group E, Team USA smothered the Czech Republic with a convincing score of 88-67.
In the match that took place at the Shanghai Oriental Sports Center (1/9), the United States started the match with mediocrity. They are only three points ahead, 17-14, at the end of the first quarter.
Despite the slow heat, but the number one team in the world survived because it has more deadly weapons. Although not reinforced by many NBA megastars, the United States found a good balance to reach full numbers comfortably.
Utah Jazz main star Donovan Mitchell led the United States with 16 points. Sacramento Kings forward Harrison Barnes and new Boston Celtics point guard Kemba Walker, added 14 and 13 points respectively to his team's victory.
From the stronghold of the Czech Republic, Chicago Bulls player Tomas Satoransky became the team's top scorer with 17 points.
"This is a very competitive and physical match. We also have the opportunity to learn a lot in this match, '' said Team USA head coach Gregg Popovic on the official FIBA website.
"International matches are a bit different from the NBA. There are a lot of amazing teams here. So, this tournament is an excellent field to develop our abilities. And we will try to look our best to be the best team in this competition, '' added the San Antonio Spurs coach.
The match against the Czech Republic itself became the inaugural collaboration of two Boston Celtics stars Kemba Walker and Jayson Tatum. Both play solid, collecting a total of 23 points (20 numbers printed in the first round).
"Playing together with Walker here, it is very valuable to build chemistry to welcome the season in the NBA. Hopefully good things will happen in the future, ’’ said Tatum to ESPN.
Walker himself realized that he was a player who was the main target of the defenders of the Czech Republic. As the primary regulator of the United States, Walker often clashes with opposing players. And chances are, he will experience the same thing in subsequent matches. Maybe even harder.
"Oh yeah, they are hunting me, '' Walker said. "This is a different match with the NBA. It's harder here. We are Team USA, all teams will of course make us the main prey. We will be beaten. The opposing teams will perform harder against us. So we must be prepared for all these possibilities, '' added the NBA All-Star three times.
The United States will face Turkey in their second match in Group E on Tuesday (3/9). Strengthened by three NBA players, namely Ersan Ilyasova (Milwaukee Bucks), Cedi Osman (Cleveland Cavaliers), and Furkan Korkmaz (Philadelphia 76ers), on paper, Turkey is a more formidable opponent than the Czech Republic.
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