Anthony Davis is the Team USA human victory cigar. When you see him getting serious minutes, the game is in hand.
Expect to see a whole lot of Davis this week.
After a nice win over France to open the Olympics, Team USA enters the softer part of their schedule this week, starting with Tunisia on Tuesday. That is followed by Nigeria on Thursday then a decent Lithuania team on Saturday. (Things get more serious next week when it is Argentina to close out group play then the one-and-done medal tournament portion of the Games begins.)
Tunisia is the weakest team in the Olympic field. Give them some credit for making a push in the fourth quarter against Nigeria to make a game of their opener (they lost 60-56). Thing is, Nigeria is arguably the second worst team in the entire Olympics. As pointed out at The Painted Area blog, if Nigeria had this full roster (with Ike Diagu and Al-Farouq Aminu) at the AfroBasket qualifying tournament last summer Tunisia might not be at the games at all.
As for guys to watch, Tunisia has 7’1” center Salah Mejri who played for Utah in the just completed Orlando Summer League. He is a defensive specialist. And that’s as close as anybody on this roster has gotten to the NBA. As for guys to look for, we’re with Trey Kerby in wanting to see Jack Rebel Slims get in the game.
For Team USA, Tuesday is a chance to work on any sets or schemes you think need some polish. Want to practice playing some zone defense? Do it here. Ever wonder what a Deron Williams/Carmelo Anthony pick-and-roll looks like? Try it out now. Work out the kinks. Because once Team USA cranks up the defensive pressure this one will get ugly fast.
Just stay focused on the big picture and have some fun.
And get Anthony Davis some real run.
