Team USA started the FIBA World Cup in China with an easy 88-67 win over the Czech Republic even though they experienced a bit of sluggish start. The Boston Celtics’ new duo of Kemba Walker and Jayson Tatum impressed in the first half and combined for 20 points as Team USA created a solid lead.
FINAL: 🇺🇸 USA 88, 🇨🇿 CZE 67
1-0 in China. @spidadmitchell goes for a team-high 16 pts. & @hbarnes adds 14 pts.#USAGotGame x #FIBAWC pic.twitter.com/5mu771RDcn
— USA Basketball (@usabasketball) September 1, 2019
“Playing together so much together now [with Walker] has built up chemistry for the season,” Tatum said. “Hopefully there’s good things to come for the future.”
The Czechs’ strategy on the other end was to keep Kemba Walker away from the basket through Tomas Satoransky who is taller than Walker. However, Walker is not the player he is if he doesn’t know how to cope with this kind of situation.
“Oh yeah, they came after me,” said Walker, who finished the game with 13 points. “It’s a different game than the NBA; it’s a lot more physical. We’re Team USA, we’re going to get everybody’s best shot, especially physically. Teams are going to be tough against us. We just have to hold our composure and be tough and play through everything.”
Walker was also quite useful in the defense and played a big part in the opening half, helping the team to keep the opponents to just 35 percent from the floor. Following their awful defense against Australia in a friendly defeat, head coach Gregg Popovich is satisfied with the improvement.
“Happy is not a word that coaches employ, because we’re sick puppies and probably never happy,” Popovich said. “But defense has to be our calling card. We’ve got to put our money there. All in all, it’s getting better.”
Donovan Mitchell and Harrison Barnes took over for Team USA in the second half and finished with a combined 30 points. The next game is against Turkey on Tuesday, the strongest opponent in the group, and it will likely be a tougher test.
H/T: ESPN
