Team USA does what it does and that is basically own the rest of the world in a little game called basketball.
Here is the run-down from our 2010 FIBA tournament:
Group Play:
USA 106, Croatia 78
USA 99, Slovenia 77
USA 70, Brazil 68 (were we in a coma?)
USA 88, Iran 51
USA 95, Tunisia 57
Round of 16: USA 121, Angola 66
Quarter-final:USA 89, Russia 79
Semifinal: USA 89, Lithuania 74
Final: USA 81, 64
Here's a quick montage of our basketball rampage against the rest of the world
(You didn't a. actually think I have the resources or b. have the time to make a montage video, did you? Future point of reference: Here at Onions! when we say montage, we mean Rocky IV)
Add it up and you get pure dominance. Undefeated 5 wins and 0 losses in the group play capped by an undefeated run of 4 wins and 0 losses in the out-rounds. Though winning the tournament was the most important statistic for Team USA; this has to be my favorite stat from FIBA 2010:
(Courtesy of ESPN's Bill Simmons)
Kevin Durant, last three USA games: 100 points, 35-for-59 shooting (59 percent), 15 3-pointers.
Everyone else on Team USA, last three games: 159 points, 57-for-146 shooting (39 percent), 14 3-pointers.
I'm gonna go light myself on fire now. Can you believe those numbers?! I haven't seen that kind of individual production in a team game since Hugo Stiglitz joined the Basterds in 1944.
What's next for Team USA?
The winner of the FIBA tournament automatically qualifies for the Olympics in 2012 (in London town) so we're golden on that front. More interestingly though is the 2011 FIBA Americas in Argentina. My guess is that we'll send out a team of scrubs (I'm waiting on that phone call Coach Kryzyzewski...) and save the big guns (Kobe, LeBron, Durant, etc.) for the 2012 games.
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