Team USA finding its identity as it punches its ticket to quarterfinals

This United States team is not like any previous team. They have flaws that they work around and a defense they have to rely on for more than steals.

All eyes have been on Giannis Antetokounmpo, the first reigning NBA MVP to participate in the FIBA World Cup. The crowds in China have a palpable buzz whenever Antetokounmpo touches the ball. They expect something special.

They got it on a few occasions. He scored a quick seven points at the beginning of the game. In the third quarter, he skied to the basket for a dunk as Greece tried to fight their way back into the game.

But that was about it. That was the only highlight Antetokounmpo had in this marquee matchup against the two-time defending champion United States.

Antetokounmpo was still stellar. He scored 15 points on 7-for-11 shooting with 13 rebounds. But it hardly felt like he had that big of an imprint on the game.

The U.S. made sure of that, using Marcus Smart to bother him on the perimeter at times or Myles Turner to put some size on him. And then adding in another guard to shade Antetokounmpo and force him left and keep bodies on him.

The U.S. bet Greece would not be able to beat them from the perimeter or that they could close out to those shooters after they forced Antetokounpo to dish it off. That bet proved true as Greece made just 7 of 27 3-pointers.

The U.S. had to be grimy offensively as the team struggled to shoot again. But it seemed like the Americans found their groove. It seemed like the light switch clicked in a 69-53 win to open the second round of the FIBA World Cup.

The U.S. played its first opponent that was favored to advance deep into this tournament and they did not blink. More than not blinking, the U.S. stared it down. And for a team that was still coming together and building chemistry, this could be a big moment.

The United States has gotten its scares. They had the loss to Australia in exhibition play where Patty Mills and Joe Ingles came alive in the fourth quarter to torch the team. That was perhaps a wake-up call and a sign of this team’s mortality.

It was not until the overtime win over Turkey that the United States probably got instilled with the necessary fear to take these games much more seriously. In that game, the U.S. needed free throws to force overtime and then needed Turkey to miss four consecutive free throws for Khris Middleton to win the game at the line.

This team has had to get a feel for each other and for their new coach Gregg Popovich. But it is clear they are starting to find their identity.

It is a different kind of USA team too. This team is not looking to pressure and harass to create fast-break opportunities — although they still want them to generate offense. This team wants to be solid defensively and look for ball movement to create offense.

This team is not flashy. They are grimy and dirty. They play like underdogs a lot, trying to scrap and fight their way defensively without a true big man. They try to fly to the ball and scramble defensively, throwing bodies at offensive players and drivers while staying disciplined.

That worked against Greece. They had a gameplan they all clearly believed in and committed to.

Even after Antetokounmpo’s early success, they adjusted and scrambled well. Their blowout victory came because their defense was so solid. They knew what they were willing to give up.

Their defense was the calling card for the American revival teams from 2008-16. But that was a constant pressure defense looking to force turnovers that knew it could overwhelm teams offensively.

That is not the case with this group. This group wants to keep their man in front, contest and scramble for rebounds. They will break when they have the chance, but they want to be more methodical overall. This is a slower-paced U.S. team.

The U.S.’s half-court offense is still the team’s biggest weakness. The shots are still coming inconsistent and Team USA has had struggles generating good offense.

Against Greece, the U.S. shot just 36 percent from the floor including 7 for 30 from beyond the arc. It has not been a great shooting tournament overall — 40-point wins over Japan aside.

And so the U.S. has had to make its half-court defense its backbone.

That has been inconsistent. It let them down against Australia and let them down again against Turkey. But the team was still trying to find itself and piece things together.

That near defeat seemed to lock the team into what they had to do. The game against Greece showed the U.S. at its most focused and zenith. That kind of effort will keep the U.S. on top and was a testament to their renewed commitment as a team and Popovich’s skilled coaching.

But there are still concerns moving forward.

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The U.S. went super small against Greece and have gotten very little from centers Brook Lopez and Mason Plumlee. Turner has been inconsistent as both a defender and offensive contributor.

Opponents know they can zone this team and lock up the perimeter, forcing the U.S. to rely on quick passes and fight against defensive schemes they rarely see in the NBA.

The U.S. can still devastate these defensive strategies. They can move the ball quickly and efficiently — they had 15 assists on 24 field goals in Saturday’s win. The U.S. still falls into the trap of relying too much on isolation plays. That is what their opponents want, especially in the more physical style FIBA plays.

There will be tougher challenges ahead.

The U.S. has yet to face an offensive-minded big as Spain and Serbia have. Those two teams will be awaiting the U.S. in the semifinal and final. Their potential quarterfinal opponent will also have centers they could struggle to handle — Andrew Bogut and Aron Baynes of Australia or Rudy Gobert of France.

The U.S. knows already how much work it is going to take to win this tournament.

But after a big win over Greece under their belt to secure their trip to the quarterfinals, the U.S. may finally be finding their identity and hitting their stride. And that makes them very dangerous if they are still not the favorites to win.

In Other FIBA Action

Evan Fournier helped France secure their spot in the quarterfinal with a 78-75 win over Lithuania

Evan Fournier continued his really powerful tournament run with 24 points on 10-for-22 shooting. Fournier looks really poised on the ball especially running pick and rolls. He found his rhythm early on scoring seven points in the games first 4.5 minutes, helping France stake a lead they would not let go.

Of course, there was a fair bit of controversy in this game.

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Lithuania came back and took a brief lead in the fourth quarter before Nando De Colo hit some big shots to ice the game for France. That included a controversial goaltending call where Nicolas Batum appeared to hit the rim while trying to knock a free throw away (FIBA goaltending rules allow players to touch the ball over the cylinder, but they cannot interfere with the rim).

Lithuania’s coach was not upset as the loss eliminated them from the tournament. France will play Australia next to determine who wins their group as both will advance to the quarterfinals.

Nikola Vucevic had his highest scoring output of the World Cup for Montenegro, scoring 20 points on 8-for-21 shooting, adding seven rebounds and five assists.

While the shooting numbers are mildly concerning, it was good to see Nikola Vucevic get that many touches and showcase some of his scoring ability. Vucevic has tried to fit in a lot throughout this tournament and has not really asserted himself much.

However, Montenegro led by 12 with five minutes left and again struggled to close the game. Vucevic was not much involved late in the game. He had one key turnover that led to a Turkey runout in Turkey’s 79-74 victory.

That has been their issue throughout this tournament. The group has simply been unable to go the distance.

It was a good showing for the country in their first intercontinental tournament since breaking away from Serbia. But the team still has a lot of work to do, especially in the backcourt to compete at this level.

And finally, Khem Birch added seven points and seven rebounds in 18 minutes as Canada hit 24 3-pointers in a 126-71 win over Jordan.

Sunday and Monday will be the last games for 17-32 classification and the final day of the second round before the knockout rounds begin Tuesday.