[Chiwas]

A more specific analysis from Fox

Sagging defenses cause U.S. hopes to sag

Charley Rosen / Special to FOXSports.com
Posted: 12 minutes ago

So the other sneaker finally dropped. Sunday's humiliating 92-73 loss to Puerto Rico was just another proof that the typical NBA player is overpaid and overhyped [uh oh]

Larry Brown claims that Team USA's lack of outside shooters is not a fatal flaw, but this is merely his public relations spin. In truth, without at least one player who can consistently bury 20-footers, the team is susceptible to any kind of sagging defense — be it man-to-man or zone.

And credit Puerto Rico's collapsing defenses for effectively negating not only Tim Duncan, but also the overwhelming advantage of the USA's quicker and more athletic big men. Moreover, when Puerto Rico was in a man-to-man alignment, they simply went under all pick-and-rolls and dared USA's guards to shoot undefended 3-pointers.

For me, the most vital statistic was that Team USA had two more airballs (five, not including a shot by Richard Jefferson that clanged against the side of the backboard) than successful 3-pointers.

But the lifeless performance, which was only the third Olympic defeat ever for the Americans and first since adding pros, also showcased several other shortcomings:


A game-long lackadaisical transition from offense to defense (although USA's bombardment of missed 3-pointers meant long rebounds and gave Puerto Rico a running start down-court).

The original game plan was to double-team Puerto Rico's high screen-and-rolls and then rotate along the baseline to cover the middle. But too often both the double-teams and the backside rotations were slow. How many times (especially in the second half) did Carlos Arroyo simply split the two-timing defense and penetrate to the basket unguarded?

Against both Puerto Rico's man-to-man and zone (mostly 1-2-2 and 2-3) defenses, the USA could only create acceptable shots through dribble penetration. This caused them to over-dribble, and try to make precise passes in heavy traffic.

The periodic spurts of turnovers created by USA's defense was mostly due to Puerto Rico's overconfidence (everyone except for Arroyo) as they reprised one of the loser's failings by recklessly dribbling headlong into crowds.

The USA defense simply could not deal with the multi-picks and staggered picks that were the basis of Puerto Rico's halfcourt offense.

The USA squad continued to show an inability to play anything but one-on-one or two-on-two basketball.

Unless they could dunk the ball, Team USA also showed an inability to make both simple and complicated layups.

The catch-and-shoot skills of Puerto Rico's guard corps contributed to their total domination of USA's dribble-happy backcourt.
It seems that the much-touted "wake-up call" after the exhibition loss to Italy was merely the snooze alarm going off. Can Team USA recover and win the gold? Absolutely, but they'll have to stop sleep-hooping and play harder and smarter.

Charley Rosen, former CBA coach, author of 12 books about hoops, the next one being A PIVOTAL SEASON -- HOW THE 1971-72 LA LAKERS CHANGED THE NBA, is a frequent contributor to FOXSports.com.