This is becoming a trend at the 2006 FIBA World Championship: Team USA looks a little sloppy and sluggish in the first half, turning the ball over and taking several bad shots, leading to a close margin at halftime. After half, the team plays with a lot of energy, cranks up the defense and gets several easy baskets as a result. The team’s depth and versatility eventually wear their opponent down, leading to a double-digit victory.
And so it went in Team USA’s 85-65 victory over a wily German squad. The U.S. made 14 of 44 (32%) shots in the first half, including 5 of 20 (25%) from behind the arc, which led to a 40-39 lead at halftime. The U.S. was lucky that Germany’s best player, Dirk Nowitzki, came out cold and finished 3-12 (25%) from the field, scoring only 15 points in the game.
Carmelo Anthony led all scorers with 19, but struggled at times with his shot, finishing just 7-19 (37%) from the field. LeBron James added 13 points, but was sloppy, committing seven turnovers. The third captain, Dwayne Wade, had his worst game of the tournament, scoring only three points on 1-11 (9%) shooting.
The difference maker was Chris Bosh, who once again came off the bench with boundless energy, scoring 10 points and grabbing seven rebounds in just 14 minutes of play. That’s the beauty of Team USA’s depth – if Elton Brand and/or Dwight Howard are having an off night, head coach Mike Krzyzewski can call on the uber-talented Bosh to make up the difference.
The U.S. was the last of the four favorites to make it to the semis. Spain, Argentina and Greece were already in, defeating Lithuania, Turkey and France, respectively. Team USA faces Greece in the Final Four – the game will be broadcast at 6:30 AM (ET) on Friday on ESPN2, while the Spain/Argentina game starts at 3:30 AM (also on ESPN2).
A word of warning: if Team USA continues to get off to a slow start, they might find themselves down 10 or more at the break, which is a pretty big hole to be in with only twenty minutes to play. Greece, Spain and Argentina are simply more talented than any team the U.S. has faced thus far, and they’ll have to play well for more than 20 minutes if they hope to prevail.
