Team USA must keep pressure on Germany, coach Steve Kerr says
That means pressure, speed and relentless play. That’s what they put on the Italians in a blowout victory in the quarterfinals and what they vow to do again when they face Germany in the semifinals Friday (8:40 a.m. ET, ESPN2).
That mindset had eroded a bit as the tournament wore on, first in an uninspiring win over Montenegro and then a loss to Lithuania after the Americans had secured a spot in the quarterfinals. The U.S. seemed to bend a little as it worried about the opposition’s size and played a little tighter and less within the system, which is to attack to fatigue and then substitute in a fresh set of NBA players.
“We have so many guys with speed and quickness and ballhandling ability,” Team USA coach Steve Kerr said. “It’s always easier to attack a defense that’s not set than one that’s set. So that’s been a theme for us.”
Kerr and his strong staff of assistants – which include LA Clippers coach Ty Lue, Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra, Gonzaga coach Mark Few and longtime NBA coach Jeff Van Gundy – emerged from film study before the Italy 37-point win with the intention to re-invigorate the team’s identity. Which they did with an aggressive defensive game plan featuring halfcourt traps that contributed to 30 fastbreak points, exactly what Kerr and his staff wanted.
Germany presents a different challenge. They are the only team without a loss in the World Cup, a perfect 6-0. They aren’t a great offensive rebound team, though as usual for a European team they have a size advantage, or a particularly dangerous shooting team.
What they have is terrific depth — they have the rare roster where they can bring a highly-effective NBA player (Moritz Wagner) off the bench — and teamwide toughness. They also have point guard Dennis Schroder, who plays fearlessly and with aggression that isn’t often seen against the Americans’ superior guards.
Schroder has been one of the best players in the World Cup, though he had a miserable game in the quarterfinals against Latvia when his team barely survived, as its leader coughed up a 4-of-26 shooting performance.
Last month in a friendly game against Team USA in Abu Dhabi, Schroder repeatedly put the U.S. on its heels with his quickness as he scored 16 points with 10 assists. The Germans would probably like to see more of that type of Schroder than the one who kept missing Wednesday, even as key wing scorer Franz Wagner, just back from an ankle injury, was hot shooting the ball but got 18 fewer attempts than the point guard.
“They’ve probably been the best team in the tournament at overall,” Kerr said. “They’re connected, really well-coached and have a lot of continuity and have very strong team, physical team. So we’re going to have to play well to beat them.”
Germany’s concern will be Anthony Edwards, who had a dominating performance in the friendly game three weeks ago. Edwards scored 34 points in that win, which featured a 16-point comeback in the second half thanks to an 18-0 run that Edwards powered.
Over the last two games, Edwards has shown quite a range as he scored 35 against Lithuania as he hunted shots as the U.S. played from behind. Then he only took six shots and had just three points as he was a ball-mover and active defender in the win over Italy.
“It’s the same thing with the Timberwolves, I’ve got to look to score or look to pass,” Edwards said. “It’s not that hard.”
It might be a little hard. How Edwards finds his game, how the Germans look to play him (Italy sent double teams at times) and how the U.S. is able to dictate the game’s style might determine which team gets to play for the World Cup on Sunday.
“The challenge is to figure out when to attack and when to,” Kerr said of Edwards. “And we’re gonna need both. The last time we played Germany, he completely took over the game. (Against Itlay) when we throw the ball ahead, whether it’s him or anybody else, we’re really lethal. So you just got to find that balance.”