We suspected that the United States would come back like cuckoos to forget their defeat against Lithuania, but we did not expect them to be so aggressive in defense. With constant pressing, they suffocated the Italians, to the point of only conceding 24 points at the break! Against Lithuania, Team USA had conceded 24 points after only nine minutes…
“We lost the last match, and we always want to respond to a defeat with effort” Kerr recalls about this successful start. “Fun and competitiveness go hand in hand. When you bring energy, when the ball circulates, it becomes fun. It doesn’t matter who scores or stats. It is a collective question. »
“Our players feel they are at the end of the course, and the energy, pace and strength are increasing”
The novelty is therefore to have imposed its power and aggressiveness from the start of the match. “Our guys got to work right from the start. We put the pressure on them and we kept it up” appreciate Kerr. “The ‘second unit’ came in and did the same thing. It was our best defensive effort of the tournament so far. That’s what it will take to win two more matches.
For Mikal Bridges, MVP of the meeting, “it was important to set the tone, and we knew what we had to do”.
It’s hard to blame the Americans for anything as they remained serious from the first to the last minute to win by 37 points (100-63). At no time, and despite their big lead, did Tyrese Haliburton’s partners sink into a “basketball hooray”. »
“The horse starts picking up the pace when he sees he is close to the stable” chooses Kerr as a metaphor. “Our players feel they are at the end of the course, and the energy, pace and strength are increasing. They know the goal and I have no doubt that they will show up with the same energy and power in the next game. It’s a five-week journey for this group, and there are five days left. That’s how we see things. »
