Phoenix Suns point guard Ricky Rubio texted Utah Jazz shooting guard Donovan Mitchell “Welcome to FIBA” after Team USA defeated Turkey on Tuesday by just one point.
Rubio is the staring point guard for Spain. He was teammates with Mitchell on Jazz for the past two seasons, so the two have a close relationship.
Team USA is going to have to play much better than they did on Tuesday if they want to bring home the gold for the third consecutive World Cup. Mitchell says he and his teammates have to find ways to avoid getting taken out of plays because of hard screens set by other countries.
“I think we could have done a much better job on ball on defense,” Mitchell said, via NBA.com. “When we played the Czech Republic, we were into their guards a little bit more. As guys started to get tired, we started to lay back and give them shots that we really weren't letting them get at the beginning of the game.
“I think it's really on us as well, being able to take up space, that way we don't get hit on screens. I'm getting hit, Kemba's getting hit, guys are getting hit that we normally don't. That just comes with knowing each other and games like this help you grow in that sense.”
Team USA will play Japan on Thursday. It's another opportunity for the Americans to shore up their play on both ends of the floor.
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