FIBA World Cup: Team USA Looks Bad Against Turkey
By Ronald Agers
Aug 1, 2014; Las Vegas, NV, USA; USA Team White guard Kyrie Irving (23) chases a loose ball during the USA Basketball Showcase at Thomas & Mack Center. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports
And to think I was going to take the night off. Then one of the Pippen Peoples wants to get slick. Oh well let me say my piece and move on. But the FIBA World Cup is turning into a reality show named “Which Derrick Rose will show up?” But more on that later.
One day after a vacation in the FIBA World Cup opener blowout against Finland that should have gotten the Americans arrested for assault, Team USA faced Turkey on Sunday. Let me take it back about 24 hours to a piece about Pau Gasol and Spain on Pippen Ain’t Easy called FIBA World Cup: Iran Vs. Spain…Pau’s Doing All Right!
"Team USA needs to keep working and not fall asleep on the laurels of their blowout win. Sometimes that can be fool’s gold. Finland folded like a cheap lawn chair in the second quarter."
Oh yeah, I know Team USA don’t read Pippen Ain’t Easy. This just in, they need to start. Unlike their bully beatdown on Finland, Team USA had to do a little work to outlast Turkey 98-77 win following a less than ideal first half effort. With the win Team USA moves to 2-0 and will probably run the table to stay at the top of the Group C standings.
Aug 16, 2014; Chicago, IL, USA; United States forward Kenneth Faried (18) during a game against Brazil at the United Center. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-USA TODAY Sports
Let’s get the good out-of-the-way before we deal with the issues of this game (strap in folks and stay awhile, there was a ton.) Anthony Davis is just on a different planet as he scored 19 points on an absurd 8-11 shooting with six rebounds, two steals and two blocks. His field goal percentage is so high, it’s news if he misses. The player of the game in my opinion was Kenneth “The Manimal” Faried. Faried scored 22 points on 11-14 shooting with eight boards, three steals and two blocked shots. You might want to get to know these guys because they are going to be Team USA’s keys to repeating in the World Cup.
Now let me take you to an excerpt from an earlier preview on Pippen Ain’t Easy of what to watch before the FIBA World Cup even started!
"If teams move the ball quickly and efficiently, Team USA can be had in the later rounds.…International teams have familiarity from playing with each other longer and more frequently. This is why Team USA’s defense will need work during this Pool Game and beyond. Many times after three or four passes, I see the opposing team with open looks with the perimeter player out of position.…it won’t be about speed and athleticism, it will be about position and defensive discipline to finish up the defensive plays."
Ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce you to the guy that your USA Chairman calls the team leader James Harden.
Folks, sometimes you just hear things but you can’t really get a complete understanding of what people are talking about until you experience it. Well my experience was James Harden’s defense. Man this dude couldn’t guard a 95-year-old man flatlining in his death-bed. I’m telling you he would drop 20 points on Harden. They say Sampson’s strength is in his hair in the Bible…maybe James Harden’s lack of defensive intensity is in his beard. He was about as bad as it gets.
Let’s go to another excerpt of Team USA’s preview.
"There is going to be a night when shots are not falling. It tends to happen once or twice in every International tournament the National team has played in. It’s not a slight, it’s just the game of basketball."
Umm…I have a question. Did anyone see the first half? I did. The Americans were having fits with the zone defense of Turkey. The Americans fell right into the trap of firing up three pointers and coming up empty. In the first half, they missed eight of twelve from the land of the extra point while being outrebounded 21-12. Oh you want more? USA committed 14 fouls while getting outshot from the line 18-5 and turned the ball over nine times. All of this adds up to a 40-35 deficit going to halftime.
Luckily in the second half the Americans went on a run by speeding up the tempo and eventually put this game away at the end. Don’t let the score fool anybody, these two teams were tied 59-59 in the third quarter.
In contrast Finland scored 55 points…for the entire game.
Now for the Derrick Rose report.
Aug 20, 2014; New York, NY, USA; United States guard Derrick Rose (6) looks on during the second half of a game against the Dominican Republic at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
Yeah D-Rose, I was trying to figure this dude out too.
Check out Brandon Norris’ “Love Letter” to me in the comment section after one of my articles.
"Lol u had to put that knock on D Rose in there, it was expected believe me. Not surprising at all……He is obviously fine clearly as well as he played today (against Finland), did u not see the crossover and finish with his head above the rim? He is out to prove haters like yourself wrong and to put your mediocre writing back in the trash where it belongs, just be here when it happens and “don’t forget where ya heard it first” or don’t say “Brandon didn’t warn u”Lol…After trashing D Rose as much as you have I still don’t see one positive piece on how well he played today (against Finland). Hmmmm? Laughing at u hater?"
Hey Brandon, still laughing?
Let’s all tell Brandon how his favorite player did Sunday night against the Turks Pippen Peoples…
Well Brandon Norris, your player Derrick Rose in 17 minutes scored two points and grabbed two rebounds!!!!! Back to you Ronald!
Well I am assuming the wonderful people I work for at FanSided seem to be cool with what I am doing so I’ll be here. I’m the Editor of the website so why am I going to hide? I’ll stand by anything I write. Good grief! If you stink, you stink! Right now Derrick Rose stinks!
Sorry?
But before I move on if I have been telling the Pippen Peoples that something is not right with Derrick Rose which there obviously is since the exhibition season started. So that makes my writing mediocre?????
Let me revel in my mediocrity. Let’s take Finland’s game out of the equation. Derrick Rose scored three points in the last exhibition game with no field goals and three missed free throws and two points on Sunday. So basically you are telling me that he is a player that can jump high? Speaking of jumping high…
As for your argument about that dunk against Finland. Hello? It was against Finland! They lost by 59 man!!! We all could have dunked on that squad. That play looked like a And One Mixtape defensive effort instead of a FIBA World Cup game. Furthermore everyone else on Team USA shot better than 50%. Rose shot 3-8. If my math is correct that is less than 50%.
Just sayin.
Plus there is a tidbit of information because we are all about educating here, a dunk only counts as two points.
Pippen Ain’t Easy has already stated that Team USA will breeze through Pool C play. But let me tell you something. Let the Americans play a clunker against Spain like they did Sunday night with THAT squad and see what happens.
Or maybe I’m just hating…eh Brandon Norris?
That was fun. Keep it locked to Pippen Ain’t Easy to follow the FIBA World Cup through to the Gold Medal game for analysis and opinions. Like us on Facebook: Pippen Ain’t Easy and follow us on Twitter: @BullsBeatBlog.