The U.S. men's basketball team, who topped the FIBA Men's World Cup power list and is recognized as a favorite to win the championship, finally ushered in their debut in the evening golden age of the second matchday, against the New Zealand men's basketball team. Considering that the Webster brothers did not make the final list, the strength of the New Zealand men's basketball team actually declined significantly, as evidenced by the reversal of the Chinese men's basketball team in the warm-up game. But it was this declining New Zealand men's basketball team that gave a disgrace to the somewhat underestimated American men's basketball team in the opening period - the score between the two sides was once 14-4, could it be that the US men's basketball team was shocked by the Maori war dance, and wanted to repeat the drama that only finished seventh four years ago and set the worst World Cup record in team history?
The answer, of course, is no, and the U.S. men's basketball team, which has gradually stabilized its position, has opened a steady and steady mode, and has overtaken the score before the end of the first quarter. With strong defensive ability, taking advantage of their own mobility, and constantly scoring easily in the conversion offense, the final difference between the two sides was 27 points, which was also the largest point difference of the game. During the whole process, the head coach of the US men's basketball team Steve Cole's expression was very relaxed, and he and his assistant coach Heat coach Spostela and "King of Reversal" Taryn Lue chatted and laughed, and the progress of the game was as Cole expected, New Zealand was exhausted again and again, and the US men's basketball team almost achieved such a big victory.
It is worth mentioning that the starting performance of the US men's basketball team in this game was not very good, except for Edwards, who scored 14 points and 7 rebounds, other starters were lacking. Jalen Jackson Jr. was once again deeply troubled by fouls, playing less than 13 minutes before leaving the game; Ingram, who was originally regarded as the leader of the team, scored only 2 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists, and got an "alternative triple-double" report card, which was shocking.
On the contrary, the Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon on the bench injected extra energy into the team when the starting lineup was sluggish. The turning point in the game came on when the substitute trident of Halliburton, Rivers Jr. and Banchero came on, and the entire American team's offense became different. Compared to Brunson, who relies more on individual ability to break through, Halliburton's offensive organization has a traditional No. 1 beauty and sense of seniority, the 1.96m guard not only has a height advantage, but also his passing vision and organizational ability are significantly higher than other players. Last year's top pick Banchero interpreted the dimensionality reduction blow to the extreme, playing 19 minutes to quickly brush 21 points and 4 rebounds, and shooting 8 of 10 in sports games, cutting points is as simple as probing for things. And Reeves, who was questioned about not taking the free throw, did "appear" - this is the village mamba, this is simply the American version of the "demon knife" Manu, 12 points and 6 assists, full of silkiness.
I believe that after watching the performance of the disciples in the first game, the coaching team led by Cole will also seriously consider making lineup adjustments after watching the video. For example, putting Halliburton in the starting XI can maximize the offensive advantage of the stars, give Banchero more playing time, and can also be regarded as an alternative part of protecting 3J from fouls. There is also Reeves, as a bench bandit, I believe that he will give more surprises in the later games.
For the U.S. men's basketball team, they have only one goal, that is, to win the championship, and any other outcome is bad for them except the final victory. So just winning a New Zealand is obviously not yet a time to celebrate, just a small start, and I look forward to what kind of answer the basketball overlord will deliver in the subsequent games.