London Balling — A USA Basketball Blog: Tunisia

USA

110

Final

Tunisia

STARTERS

	Chris Paul, G 1-4 FG \| 0-2 3PT \| 0-0 FT \| 1 REB \| 7 AST \| 2 PTS This was Paul's best game in quite awhile. He didn't score the ball much, but he saw the floor well and set up his teammates for easy looks, while also bringing the suffocating perimeter defense that he's been showcasing the past month. Solid effort.
	Kobe Bryant, G 2-5 FG \| 0-2 3PT \| 0-0 FT \| 1 REB \| 0 AST \| 4 PTS Kobe was mostly forgettable in this one. He played only 9 minutes, and most of those came during Team USA's ugly start to the first quarter when nobody looked particularly good. On the bright side, he got lots of rest, which will be essential moving forward.
	Kevin Durant, F 4-10 FG \| 1-4 3PT \| 4-4 FT \| 10 REB \| 5 AST \| 13 PTS Durant shot the ball poorly, but did enough other things well to make up for it. He was aggressive on the defensive glass, grabbing 10 boards, and facilitated for others more than in previous outings. He seemed particularly intent on getting Davis quality touches.
	LeBron James, F 2-4 FG \| 1-2 3PT \| 0-0 FT \| 2 REB \| 4 AST \| 5 PTS It's always amazing to me how much LeBron can influence a game without it necessarily showing up in the box score. He was solid in this one, always making the right pass and getting the ball where it needed to be. Then again, he also did this. No words.
	Tyson Chandler, C 3-3 FG \| 0-0 3PT \| 0-1 FT \| 6 REB \| 0 AST \| 6 PTS A solid offensive performance. Not quite on the level of his breakout game against France, but exceptionally efficient nonetheless. The only problem was on defense, where the Tunisians (particularly Ben Romdhane) finished at the rim far too easily.

Olympic Basketball Arena
London, England

Time: Tuesday, 5:15 p.m. EDT

TV: NBC Sports Network

With a convincing win over France safely in their back pocket, Team USA will be able to breathe a little easier on Tuesday. Instead of facing down an opponent with four or five NBA-caliber players in the starting lineup, they'll be squaring off with Tunisia — a country that, if we're going to be honest, wasn't even supposed to be here in the first place. Prior to 2011, the Tunisians hadn't made it to the final round of the FIBA African Championship since 1965. However, they made a storybook run last August and ultimately pulled off a stunning upset of heavily favored Angola in the finals to qualify for London. It's a wonderful story and all, but the United States should win this game by at least 40 points, if not more. Remember how the Dream Team steamrolled the competition by 50-plus every night? They were playing the Tunisias of the world — because in 1992, everyone else was essentially like present-day Tunisia from a basketball perspective. Things are different now, of course, and Team USA faced more NBA players on Sunday against France than their dreamy predecessors did in their entire Olympic run combined. Nevertheless, if this iteration wants to make a statement and begin shaping their legacy, they have to start by absolutely decimating the teams they should decimate.

	Chris Paul, G 1-4 FG \| 0-2 3PT \| 0-0 FT \| 1 REB \| 7 AST \| 2 PTS This was Paul's best game in quite awhile. He didn't score the ball much, but he saw the floor well and set up his teammates for easy looks, while also bringing the suffocating perimeter defense that he's been showcasing the past month. Solid effort.
	Kobe Bryant, G 2-5 FG \| 0-2 3PT \| 0-0 FT \| 1 REB \| 0 AST \| 4 PTS Kobe was mostly forgettable in this one. He played only 9 minutes, and most of those came during Team USA's ugly start to the first quarter when nobody looked particularly good. On the bright side, he got lots of rest, which will be essential moving forward.
	Kevin Durant, F 4-10 FG \| 1-4 3PT \| 4-4 FT \| 10 REB \| 5 AST \| 13 PTS Durant shot the ball poorly, but did enough other things well to make up for it. He was aggressive on the defensive glass, grabbing 10 boards, and facilitated for others more than in previous outings. He seemed particularly intent on getting Davis quality touches.
	LeBron James, F 2-4 FG \| 1-2 3PT \| 0-0 FT \| 2 REB \| 4 AST \| 5 PTS It's always amazing to me how much LeBron can influence a game without it necessarily showing up in the box score. He was solid in this one, always making the right pass and getting the ball where it needed to be. Then again, he also did this. No words.
	Tyson Chandler, C 3-3 FG \| 0-0 3PT \| 0-1 FT \| 6 REB \| 0 AST \| 6 PTS A solid offensive performance. Not quite on the level of his breakout game against France, but exceptionally efficient nonetheless. The only problem was on defense, where the Tunisians (particularly Ben Romdhane) finished at the rim far too easily.

Report Card: USA 110, Tunisia 63

Pre-Game Primer: USA vs. Tunisia