LAS VEGAS — For the U.S. basketball team, the road to the Paris Olympics started with a win.
Anthony Edwards scored 13 points, Stephen Curry added 12 and the United States beat Canada 86-72 on Wednesday night to open the team’s preparations for the Paris tournament.
Jrue Holiday had 11 points and Anthony Davis had 10 for the United States, which has four exhibition matches remaining before traveling to France.
Former Knicks player RJ Barrett scored 12 points for Canada, while Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Dillon Brooks added 10 each.
President Barack Obama was in attendance at the game, along with many of the NBA’s coaching staff and dozens of officials in the city for the USA Basketball Association’s 50th anniversary celebrations.
Among them are Jerry Colangelo, Mike Krzyzewski, Jim Boeheim, Dwyane Wade, Carmelo Anthony, Dawn Staley, Lisa Leslie, Theresa Edwards, Swin Cash, Lindsay Whalen and many more.
USA Basketball announced that the total attendance of 20,757 was the highest ever for a game at T-Mobile Arena.
cold start
The U.S. missed its first six shots and was trailing 11-1 midway through the first quarter. The score was U.S. 40-Canada 22 at the end of the first half, with the U.S. making 18 of 28 shots during that period for a shooting percentage of 64.3 percent. Leading 41-33 at halftime, the U.S. extended its lead to 69-54 going into the fourth quarter.
Having only been playing together for less than a week, it was clear the Americans were still figuring things out, as at least four times a simple pass went to a front-row seat because someone expected a zig instead of a zag.
Second Unit
America’s second unit of Anthony Davis, Bam Adebayo, Anthony Edwards, Tyrese Haliburton and Jayson Tatum was particularly impressive.
Each of those five players had a plus-minus of plus-10 or higher, meaning the U.S. outscored Canada by at least 10 points whenever they were on the court.
And that makes sense: Only the Americans can field a lineup of “bench players” at the Olympics, and all of them are All-Stars.
This quintet, which features a combined 21 All-Star nominations, two NBA champions in Davis and Tatum, and two perennial All-Defensive players in Davis and Adebayo, is clearly not a prototypical second unit.
Oh, and keep in mind that Kevin Durant (calf strain) and Derrick White (yet to join the team) were unavailable for Wednesday’s US game.
First
The initial starting lineup for this summer announced by US coach Steve Kerr is Stephen Curry, Jrue Holiday, Devin Booker, LeBron James and Joel Embiid.
That could certainly change in the future, but if last year was any indication, it’s a clear indication of Kerr’s current thinking.
Kerr has previously warned players not to read too much into the lineup, especially in the first scrimmage.
Still, the same starting five he used in last summer’s first exhibition game before the World Cup – Mikal Bridges, Jalen Brunson, Jalen Jackson Jr., Brandon Ingram and Anthony Edwards – started in the tournament opener against New Zealand.
