Although they fell behind in the start of the battle against New Zealand, the United States eventually repelled their opponents, then defeated Greece and Jordan, won three consecutive victories in the World Cup, and still advanced to the round of 16 as the first place in the group.
It's just that the process of the game, but it is a little different from expectations, in fact, such "expectations" have been very felt since the formation of the American team, this time the composition of the American team, and the past is completely different, neither the three "dream teams" before 2000 superstars pressed the thunder, nor from 2006 to the comprehensive group training plan as the base, ace stars to take the lead in the clear division of labor, not to mention the situation that the final results were not good from the group training in 2002 and 2019, this time the American team looks like it is going to go" The eldest Josh Hart in the team is only 28 years old, and the most senior Bobby Portis is only 8 years old, which is clearly a group of rookie soldiers who have experienced the world battlefield at the beginning.
Because of the clear division of labor, many players on the American team have different functions, mainly serving as the banner of offense is Timberwolves young owner Anthony Edwards, Jaylen Brunson, who has transferred to the Knicks to shine more, and the 2016 list Pelicans "Durant Jr." Ingram, but the game has not performed well so far, Edwards also has the highlights of the warm-up game, he and Brunson currently have double-digit average points, Ingram has been sluggish since the warm-up game.
Ingram is absolutely reasonable to expect, but there is obviously no small way to grow from "Durant Jr." to Durant.
Ace tag on the back of a large flank
Although the battle against Jordan changed yesterday, since the warm-up game of this year's World Cup, the starting lineup originally used by US team head coach Steve Cole has always been Jalen Jackson Jr., Ingram, Edwards, Mikal Bridges and Brunson, the truth of this formation is completely the embodiment of the modern basketball trend, a main control, a frame guard, mobile center (long man), the remaining three positions are all wings, but Ingram represents a large wing with the ability to project from the surface and the ball, Edwards is the main offensive workhorse, and Bridges is a standard 3D player, responsible for defense and off-ball reception.
From the warm-up game, JJJ's defense, Brunson's control, Edwards' attack is no problem, Bridges seems to be still adapting to FIBA's defensive scale, and the cooperation with the long teammates against the block, the situation is mediocre, the biggest problem is Ingram, including the warm-up game, Ingram only scored 11 points on 5-of-7 shooting against Spain, but the United States won that game by relying on excellent crosshairs to make up for too many mistakes and the disadvantage of being dominated by Spain, Ingram is not outstanding in holding the ball, the defense can not protect the rebound, Ingram has not scored double digits in other games, in short, there are not a few mistakes that dropped the ball before entering the half, or they can't find the crosshair, the offensive presence is extremely low, and they can't protect the rebound, these shortcomings will happen at least two or three times a game, making Ingram completely lose the demeanor of looking forward to being the main force of the American team before the game.
Cole or the outside world expects Ingram to become the main force for a reason, since the United States adopted the comprehensive training model in 2006, on the one hand, of course, it also hitched a ride on the strong period of LeBron James, Cameron Anthony, Kevin Durant, and on the other hand, the transformation of the world's basketball trend, the United States is not like Serbia has a super center like Nikola Jokic, and the large ball-carrying wings that can ignore the defensive hard solution under FIBA rules are the most suitable for the American talent pool and attack philosophy. James will sometimes fail to become the number one center of gravity because of a slight lack of shooting skills, but Melon and Durant really carry the banner of American offense, in addition to the 2004 Athens Olympics that the melon first tried but was like a nightmare for the United States, from the 2008 Beijing Olympics to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, a total of 7 Olympics, World Championships (World Cup) large-scale international competitions, Melon and Durant participated in a total of five times, each time allowing the United States to sweep thousands of troops with attack alone, It also includes the picturesque joint attack images of the two Olympics in London 2012 and Rio 2016, which fully interprets the firepower demonstration under the attack philosophy of the Coach K era.
But the turn of the times must eventually take over, in fact, because James has been in the championship game for years to add load, Durant injured his right foot in the 2019 playoffs Achilles tendon, melon has been no longer the team's signature since he transferred to the Thunder in 2017, it is generally believed that the three themselves will withdraw from the front line of the national team, and even Durant's comeback from a major injury at the Tokyo Olympics is surprising to be called up again, and the 2019 World Cup is because of these three indicator stars, And in 2014, when star guards such as Curry, Harden, and Irving, who helped the United States win all the World Cup gold, did not participate, the extremely poorly recruited American team only finished seventh that year, which became the worst result since the 2006 comprehensive group training. At that time, the United States also wanted to find players on the large wings, but in the end, only Jason Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Chris Middleton, Harrison Barnes and other players were either immature, or the ceiling was not enough, in short, they were all players who played for the country for the first time, and in the end, they were completely unable to have the influence of other stars, and the United States swallowed a tragic record.
In short, in this World Cup call-up, the figure and style of play at the debut were considered similar to Durant, using Durant as a template to advance, and the last three seasons have also grown to 23 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists all-round skills plus excellent mid-distance shooting ability Ingram, in the context of personal technical improvement and the status of the team's top two stars, it is not too surprising that he is considered by all walks of life to be the successor to the ace of the American team. In fact, in terms of skill sets, Ingram does seem to fit Durant's pattern of calling for wind and rain in international competitions, but his biggest problem from the warm-up game is that whether or not because the offseason has not adjusted to the best condition, Ingram's threat of holding the ball from the beginning of dribbling is not enough, and the projection on the periphery is not as good as that of the predecessor Durant, melon, in the case of FIBA allowing all-area defense, as long as the United States fails to smoothly pull the opponent's defense, then Ingram simply cannot smoothly take a step to the middle distance shot. Even when he's slightly aligned, his mere dribbling is scary.
In addition, Ingram's style is not like Edwards from time to time rely on confrontational hard cuts, if the three waki of the pass and cut can not be "shot" to the bottom, then the cut and pass can not be used, and to fight with the opponent's inside under FIBA rules is not his strong point in the first place, when JJJ is pulled to the periphery by the high blocking tactic, Ingram can't act as a frame defense like Durant, and both ends of the offensive and defensive ends make Ingram's presence lower and lower.
Of course, Durant is an artifact that can call the wind and rain in NBA and FIBA rules, and it may be a bit high to compare him, but Durant's debut in the 2010 World Championships in the international arena, he can score 22.8 points with a high shooting percentage of 0.556 per game, when Durant was only 22 years old and played in the NBA for 3 years, and now Ingram, who will be 26 years old and has 7 years of NBA experience, must reach at least the 2008 Olympics, 24 years old, Melons with 5 years of NBA experience average 11.5 points per game, which is an important level of frontcourt firepower for the U.S. team, and based on the performance of the World Cup so far, there is still a big gap between Ingram and Template Durant.
The difference between the NBA and the international arena The distance between stars and superstars
In fact, no one stipulates what formation must be used in international competitions, Louis Scola and Paul Gasol can become the kings of the international arena with comprehensive interior skills, the past "Australian king" Patti Mills, now a German brother Dennis Schroeder can use the posture of a short attack guard to call the wind and rain, as long as they can make good use of their own advantages and run smoothly with the team, they have the possibility of cracking the opponent's defense and becoming an international ace.
It's just that in terms of the American team's training mode and tactical system, flank talent is the biggest selling point, offensive and defensive counterattack or group cooperation after DHO seems to be the easiest to amplify the flank advantage, and in the case of regional defense allowed in international competitions, the ball carrier is bound to encounter different degrees of confrontation in each single, and may not clear a large space like in the NBA, then whether he can have the offensive skills to get points in any high confrontation is the point, so why melon, Durant's offense is useful, In 2019, Tatum, Brown, Middleton, Barnes to this Ingram looks tied up hand and foot, and some people say that the trump card that can call the wind and rain under FIBA rules is the real trump card, which is reasonable to some extent.
We've all seen Tatum, Brown or Ingram show off their singles ability on the NBA floor, but all three have eaten turtles so far in the World Cup, so we'll say they're "stars" and Durant's "superstars" through trials have their origins. Ingram's current performance is not even as good as Edwards, even if Edwards' performance in the first two games is mediocre, but at least in the "abuse farm" against Jordan to show its power, it is inevitable that people will have a feeling of junior first.
Moreover, Jason Kidd, Kobe Bryant, James, Melon, Durant and others who helped the American team through the "downturn" at the beginning of the 21st century are all retired from the front line after serving as the leaders of the American team on and off the court, and the American team does have to wait for the next leader to take over the baton, but when Kobe handed over to Melon, James, and even Durant in 2012 cooperated with Kobe Bryant to continue such a leadership temperament, Durant was the undoubted big brother when he went to the Tokyo Olympics, but since them, The last two World Cup U.S. teams have not found a competent leader, and Ingram and Tatum should be in line with the technical leadership from the external conditions, depending on when they can really shoulder such responsibilities.
Tatum has slightly established himself in the Tokyo Olympics after the last World Cup tumbling, and he has been the first team of the year in the last two seasons after the Tokyo Olympics, perhaps one can look forward to whether he can shoulder the heavy responsibility in the international competition next time, Ingram's first experience is not very good, but whether it will allow him to regain the opportunity to challenge the national team master, or just watch Edwards grab the flag first, or whether there will be other ace competitors for the United States team in the future, whether there will be another formation in the "post-K coaching era", Creating another star status is a key point of U.S. observation on the international stage.