On the third day of training camp, Team USA played a 5-on-5 scrimmage pitting the senior team fielding in a small-ball lineup with Los Angeles Lakers forward Kyle Kuzma playing at center. It was part of head coach Gregg Popovich's ‘experiments' as they continue to prepare for the upcoming FIBA World Cup.
In an interview with John Schumann of NBA.com, Kuz said that one of the main reasons why coach Pop decided to put him at the five is because of his defense.
“[Coach Gregg Popovich] and the rest of staff said that they like my defensive versatility, how I can guard multiple positions. With the Euro game, there's not too many people posting up. So, it's going to bring guys out who have to guard me. That will open penetration for our elite guards.”
However, during the senior team's scrimmage with the select team, the former struggled on both ends of the floor when they decided to go small. Their opponents had natural centers in Jarrett Allen and Mitchell Robinson, and Kuzma obviously had a hard time guarding them. This is the first day that Team USA tried to work with a small-ball rotation, so the coaches will probably look at the game tape and see the areas that they can improve.
But when asked if Team USA will go small in the FIBA World Cup, assistant coach Steve Kerr didn't give a definite answer.
“We're just trying stuff. We're looking at different players at different positions to see how they fit. [Playing small] is something that we will definitely consider, but it's Day 3 of training camp. Who knows if it's something we're going to do?”
Team USA has never really used a small-ball lineup in international competitions, so it will be interesting to see if they will decide to push through with this idea or not.
FIBA World Cup will run from August 31-September 15, so Team USA doesn't have enough time for too many ‘experiments.' But hey, they have two of the best coaches in the NBA calling the shots, so we'll just see what will happen.
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