As Olympics open, US men stressing defense

BEIJING (AP)—You can’t spell gold without “D.”

That’s why Team USA has been shoring up its defense as it prepares for the Olympic opener against China on Sunday. The Americans hope to prevent a repeat of their 2004 Olympic wipeout, when they conceded more than 90 points to Puerto Rico, Spain and Lithuania.

“I think the defensive end of the court is what we’ve worked on the most,” coach Mike Krzyzewski said on Friday. “We feel, actually, it’s a strength. Our guys are playing hard. They play together. They have each other’s back. I think in order for us to win, our defense has got to be the key.”

And the key to international defense is defending the pick-and-roll. In the 2006 world championships, the U.S. was powerless to defend that seemingly simple play as Greece shot 63 percent from the floor and stunned the Americans 101-95.

By ANDREW BAGNATO, AP Sports Writer


This team appears to have a more cohesive defense, thanks in part to the addition of Kobe Bryant and Jason Kidd, who have been named to the NBA’s All-Defensive first team.

“This might be the best team ever assembled defensively,” said Kidd, a member of the 2000 Olympic gold medal squad that gave up 73.4 points per game, a fraction less than the ‘92 Dream Team. “Each position, each guy understands how to play defense at a high level.”

Bryant, the reigning NBA MVP, has accepted a role as the U.S.’ designated defensive stopper.

“I love it,” Bryant said. “It’s no different really than on the Lakers. It’s just on the Lakers I have to do a lot more. I don’t have LeBron (James) and Chris Paul and all those guys with me. So here I get to focus in a lot more on playing defense. I don’t have to exert so much energy on offense.”

In a 120-84 rout of Lithuania on Aug. 1, Bryant limited longtime U.S. nemesis Sarunas Jasikevicius to nine points on 2-for-8 shooting from the floor. Jasikevicius hit seven 3-pointers and scored 28 points in Lithuania’s 94-90 victory against the United States during Olympic pool play four years ago.

Bryant has made the NBA’s All-Defensive first team six times, including last season. But he isn’t the only American with solid defensive credentials.

Kidd also made the first team five times, most recently in 2007. Dwyane Wade, Tayshaun Prince, Chris Paul and Dwight Howard have each earned second-team All-Defensive honors.

James’ versatility gives Krzyzewski and his staff options as they map defensive strategy. The 6-foot-8, 240-pound James can find himself matched up against the other team’s point guard or its power forward.

James is also athletic enough to take advantage of an international rule that allows defenders to take the ball off the rim, which he did to spark a fast break early in the rout of Turkey.

“We can all go back to our respective teams and be offensive juggernauts or whatever we may be,” Wade said. “But for right now, we all understand if we don’t play defense we won’t win. We have to play smart, intelligent team defense.”

Team USA’s defense was at times impressive as it swept five pre-Olympic exhibitions. The Americans limited their opponents to 41.2 percent shooting from the floor, 37 percent from beyond the 3-point arc. Opponents are averaging 75 points per game.

Still, there have been glitches. The Americans conceded 30 points to Turkey in the first quarter on July 31 but made up for it by limiting the Turks to seven in the second quarter.

When the offense sputtered in Team USA’s final tuneup, the defense carried the day, limiting Australia to 10 points in the second quarter.

To take advantage of the U.S.’ depth and athleticism, the coaches want to pressure opposition ballhandlers before they reach halfcourt. The idea is to make the other team chew up more of the shot clock before it begins to run its offense.

“We’re not a big team, and we have to take advantage of our speed and our athletic ability, so we’re going to attack,” assistant coach Nate McMillan said. “With our guys, we have extended our defense. That’s a style that we feel is necessary, and we’ve tried to put a team together that’s capable of doing that.”

But the Americans may still be vulnerable against teams that excel in the pick-and-roll. In closed practices leading up to the Olympics, the U.S. has been working on different schemes to limit the damage.

If the Americans can figure out a way to stop that tricky play, they may win their first Olympic gold medal since 2000. If they don’t, it could mean another disappointing finish.

“It’s the oldest play in basketball, and it’s still the most effective play,” McMillan said. “And if you have two players that can run it, and run it well, it’s almost impossible to stop. What we feel we needed to put together is a defensive package. So there won’t be one way of covering that pick and roll. There’ll be packages as far as what we can do to defend the pick and roll.”