The U.S. men’s national basketball team began its FIBA World Cup run Sunday with a 88-67 win over the Czech Republic, and one part of the victory stuck out more than most.
Team USA forced 15 turnovers and held the Czech Republic to 40 percent shooting. Six steals, six blocks and 22 points off turnovers is a solid formula, and Boston Celtics guard Jayson Tatum knows this defensive cohesion will be key if they want to make it deep into the tournament.
“From day one, we understood that’s what’s going to help us win the gold medal, is our defense,” Tatum said, per USA Basketball. “So, if we lock in and stay focused for 40 minutes as much as we can on the defensive end, we are giving ourselves a great chance every night.”
Kemba Walker, now Tatum’s teammate in Boston, emphasized the importance of Team USA’s defense as well following Sunday’s win. According to the former Charlotte Hornets point guard, last month’s loss to Australia helped them improve immensely on the defensive end, which is exactly what Walker expected after Team USA’s first ever loss to the Boomers.
“We know. We watched the film against Australia and saw the things that kind of caused us to lose, and it helped. It helped us big time,” Walker was quoted as saying. “Of course, you don’t want to have any moral victories. It helped us.
“It was definitely a lesson learned, and we came out against Canada and we played extremely well from the very beginning of the game, and that’s how we want to be. That’s how we have to be. We have to be a team that’s going to pressure those guys on defense and play in transition. That’s who we want to be.”
Walker, one of Team USA’s three captains alongside Marcus Smart and Utah Jazz star Donovan Mitchell, had 13 points and four assists on 6-of-8 shooting Sunday. Tatum finished with 10 points and four rebounds.
