USA Basketball see off Canada in Paris tune-up as Obama watches in Las Vegas
For USA Basketball, the road to the Olympic Games in Paris started with a victory.
Anthony Davis scored 13 points, Stephen Curry added 12 and the United States opened its preparation schedule for the Paris Olympics by beating Canada 86-72 on Wednesday night.
Jrue Holiday scored 11 points and Anthony Davis finished with 10 for the US, who have four more exhibition games before traveling to France.
RJ Barrett scored 12 points for Canada, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Dillon Brooks each had 10.
Former U.S. President Barack Obama was in attendance for the game, as were many NBA coaches and dozens of USA Basketball dignitaries in town for the federation’s 50th anniversary celebration. Among them: Jerry Colangelo, Mike Krzyzewski, Jim Boeheim, Dwyane Wade, Carmelo Anthony, Dawn Staley, Lisa Leslie, Teresa Edwards, Swin Cash, Lindsay Whalen and many more.
According to USA Basketball, the total attendance was 20,757, a record for a game at T-Mobile Arena.
The U.S. trailed 11-1 midway through the first quarter after missing its first six shots. The rest of the half: U.S. 40, Canada 22, and the Americans shot 18 for 28 — 64.3% — in that period. The lead was 41-33 at halftime, and the Americans extended it to 69-54 entering the fourth quarter.
It was clear that the Americans, who have been together for less than a week, are still trying to get things in order. There were at least four occasions when people with a simple pass ended up in the front row of seats because someone thought a zigzag was coming instead of a zag pass.
The second unit for the U.S. — Anthony Davis, Bam Adebayo, Anthony Edwards, Tyrese Haliburton and Jayson Tatum — was particularly impressive. Each of those five players had a plus-minus of plus-10 or better, meaning the U.S. outscored Canada by at least 10 points with them on the court.
And that’s how it should be. Only the Americans can field a lineup of “bench players” at the Olympics who are all All-Stars. That quintet has 21 All-Star nods, two NBA champions in Davis and Tatum, and two perennial All-Defense players in Davis and Adebayo. It’s clearly not your typical second unit.
Oh, and don’t forget: the U.S. was without Kevin Durant (calf injury) and Derrick White (not yet with the team) on Wednesday.
American coach Steve Kerr’s first lineup this summer: Stephen Curry, Jrue Holiday, Devin Booker, LeBron James and Joel Embiid.
It could certainly change in the future. But if last year is any indication, it’s a clear insight into Kerr’s thinking right now.
Kerr has cautioned in the past against reading too much into lineups, especially from the first practice game on. That said, the starting five he fielded in the first practice game last summer leading up to the World Cup – Mikal Bridges, Jalen Brunson, Jaren Jackson Jr, Brandon Ingram and Anthony Edwards – were the starters in the tournament opener against New Zealand.
The US faces Australia on Monday in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.