![]() Latvia has made more threes per contest (13.2) than any team in the tournament so far. It's probably not sustainable to shoot at such a high level the rest of the way, but the performance should give Team USA's snipers confidence. Three Americans made multiple threes against Italy and all three of them converted those shots at a 66.7% clip or better. Their success put pressure on Italy, which only sank seven of its 38 attempts from beyond the arc in a blowout loss. They didn't sink more triples than Montenegro or Lithuania in the back half of the group stage but did convert 17 of their 36 tries on Tuesday. Team USA posted its second-largest margin of victory this tournament against Italy and the long ball helped fuel their success. Perimeter shooting makes a huge difference Giving up too many second-chance opportunities can only come back to bite Team USA. Italy lost the overall rebounding battle but did win the offensive rebounding battle 9-8. More skilled bigs from Germany and Canada will be able to pose more of a threat to America than Italy's did. But they could need his verticality in a critical moment later on. It's unlikely that Walker Kessler, a premier rim protector, will play meaningful minutes soon. This trend can't continue if Team USA wants to avoid a serious challenge en route to the gold medal game. Banchero and Portis were far more effective. He logged less than 11 minutes in the game and floated by with two points and three rebounds. Jackson is the reigning NBA Defensive Player of the Year but got in foul trouble early after picking up a pair less than three minutes into the first quarter. Jaren Jackson Jr., Paolo Banchero, and Bobby Portis are the staples of the rotation at power forward and center, but bigger teams could take advantage of this group. Lack of post presence had a lot to do with Team USA's loss to Lithuania and it's still a glaring weakness for the Americans. The Americans need more consistency at center All-around effort and intensity from the jump will produce results for this squad. The Americans can pull off convincing wins like this despite strong volume scorers like Brandon Ingram being in hibernation so far. Both reserve guards joined Bridges to give Team USA a trio of double-digit scorers. Then there's Haliburton, who's proved to be a valuable bench spark alongside Austin Reaves over the last five weeks. The Brooklyn Nets forward was an efficient 8-for-11 from the field and contributed a pair of steals alongside a block on the defensive end. He'll likely have a better showing before it's all said and done, but there's no need to make him a focal point with so many capable players on the roster.īridges has matched or improved upon the scoring output from his previous outing with each appearance this tournament and was clearly the engine that powered Team USA through the quarterfinals. Edwards tallied a mere three points on 1-for-6 shooting with three assists on Tuesday. ![]() While the Minnesota Timberwolves star did erupt for 35 points in the loss to Lithuania, his offense has been up and down in the tournament. Many American fans heralded Anthony Edwards as Team USA's ideal lead scorer ahead of the 2023 FIBA World Cup. Here are three takeaways from Tuesday's win. Team USA has already secured a better finish at the World Cup than 2019 when the team finished seventh. It was the kind of bounce back Team USA was looking for after the squad dropped its final game of the second round to Lithuania on Sunday. Tyrese Haliburton added 18 points and hit six 3-pointers off the bench in a blowout that Team USA led by 30 or more points for most of the second half. Mikal Bridges led all scorers with 24 points and went 8 for 11 from the floor. Team USA jumped out to a 10-point lead by the end of the first quarter against Italy and never looked back. Team USA will face either Germany or Latvia in the semifinals on Friday. The Americans crushed Italy, 100-63, in Manila on Tuesday to clinch a spot in the tournament's final four. Team USA basketball is heading to the semifinals at the 2023 FIBA World Cup.
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