Team USA Hold Off Australia In Olympic Warm-Up
Team USA moved to 2-0 in 2024 International Exhibition matches, with a 98-92 win over Australia in Abu Dhabi. The team has looked solid in the first two warmup games, now it's a matter of whether they can continue to gel as a team, to tighten up their game on both sides of the ball.
Anthony Davis Dominates Again
Back-to-back double-doubles for Anthony Davis, this time finishing with 17 points and 14 boards in a dominant display down low, even hitting a corner 3 off the assist of Laker teammate LeBron James.
Whether he should start over Joel Embiid, who began again today, alongside Curry, Edwards, Tatum, and James, regardless, Davis is still getting starter-level minutes and has been pretty easily the best player on the team throughout the two games.
Ferocious Aussie Comeback Falls Short
Once down by 24 points, the Australians fought hard in the second half, only losing by 6 in the end. The effort was led by NBA experienced guys Josh Giddey (17 points, 7 assists), and Jock Landale (20 points, 7 rebounds). New Atlanta Hawk, Dyson Daniels, also finished with 14 points on 6-8 from the field.
It was another team effort for the U.S., with six different players scoring in double digits, including Davis with 17 and Booker with 16 off the bench. Anthony Edwards played a team-high 27 minutes and finished with 14 points.
Still, things to work on
Steve Kerr and the rest of the coaching staff will be happy to get the win, but there’s certainly some fine-tuning to do for the team before they begin their Olympics campaign.
Anthony Edwards said at halftime of the Canada game that Kerr wanted the team to have 8 turnovers or less per game. They finished with 18 as a team tonight, an inexcusable amount regardless of whether it’s a warm-up game or not.
On a more positive note, the 3-point shooting was much improved in this game, as the team shot 12-29 from downtown as a collective, good for 41.38%.
Team USA faces Serbia in a few days, in what will no doubt be a fun contest against Nikola Jokic and company if he ends up playing.
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