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USA basketball score, takeaways: Team USA crushes Italy to advance to semifinals at 2023 FIBA World Cup
Team USA basketball is heading to the semifinals at the 2023 FIBA World Cup. The Americans crushed Italy, 100-63, in Manila on Tuesday to clinch a spot in the tournament's final four. Team USA will face either Germany or Latvia in the semifinals on Friday.
Team USA jumped out to a 10-point lead by the end of the first quarter against Italy and never looked back. Mikal Bridges led all scorers with 24 points and went 8 for 11 from the floor. 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.
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. Team USA has already secured a better finish at the World Cup than 2019 when the team finished seventh.
Here are three takeaways from Tuesday's win.
1. Team USA doesn't need a go-to guy
Many American fans heralded Anthony Edwards as Team USA's ideal lead scorer ahead of the 2023 FIBA World Cup. 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. Edwards tallied a mere three points on 1-for-6 shooting with three assists on Tuesday. 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.
Bridges 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. 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.
Then there's Haliburton, who's proved to be a valuable bench spark alongside Austin Reaves over the last five weeks. Both reserve guards joined Bridges to give Team USA a trio of double-digit scorers. The Americans can pull off convincing wins like this despite strong volume scorers like Brandon Ingram being in hibernation so far. All-around effort and intensity from the jump will produce results for this squad.
2. The Americans need more consistency at center
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. 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. 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. He logged less than 11 minutes in the game and floated by with two points and three rebounds. Banchero and Portis were far more effective. This trend can't continue if Team USA wants to avoid a serious challenge en route to the gold medal game.
It's unlikely that Walker Kessler, a premier rim protector, will play meaningful minutes soon. But they could need his verticality in a critical moment later on. More skilled bigs from Germany and Canada will be able to pose more of a threat to America than Italy's did. Italy lost the overall rebounding battle but did win the offensive rebounding battle 9-8. Giving up too many second-chance opportunities can only come back to bite Team USA.
3. Perimeter shooting makes a huge difference
Team USA posted its second-largest margin of victory this tournament against Italy and the long ball helped fuel their success. 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. Their success put pressure on Italy, which only sank seven of its 38 attempts from beyond the arc in a blowout loss. Three Americans made multiple threes against Italy and all three of them converted those shots at a 66.7% clip or better.
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. Latvia has made more threes per contest (13.2) than any team in the tournament so far. Germany, on the other hand, is converting 2.6 more triples than Team USA per game while shooting an almost identical percentage. If things get tight moving forward the Americans will need some reliable shooting.
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