Steve Kerr (C), head coach of USA, looks on during practice at the Mendenhall Center of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, August 3, 2023. /CFP
USA began their training camp in Neveda, Las Vegas, on Thursday for the coming FIBA Basketball World Cup. When asked who will be in the starting lineup, head coach Steve Kerr didn't give any hint but said he wants to keep things simple.
"It tends to shake out over the first week or two," Kerr said after the team's first practice at the Mendenhall Center of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. "As a coaching staff, we're watching the tape every day, we're seeing different combinations and then we're thinking about substitution patterns from there. So it tends to play out."
Most of the 12 players on USA's roster – Anthony Edwards, Jalen Brunson, Tyrese Haliburton, Austin Reaves, Brandon Ingram, Jaren Jackson Jr., Mikal Bridges, Cameron Johnson, Paolo Banchero, Josh Hart, Bobby Portis and Walker Kessler – are all starters, if not the top-two stars. Therefore, it's not easy for Kerr to decide their roles at such an early time.
Tyrese Haliburton of USA shoots in practice at the Mendenhall Center of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, August 3, 2023. /CFP
"Part of the FIBA commitment is none of that stuff matters. There's no contracts on the line. Nobody's getting traded. This is just us for six weeks, and I expect the same thing to happen here is what happened in [2021, for the Olympics] and in [2019, for the World Cup], in terms of the buy-in and the effort and the energy and the intensity, and, we'll see what happens," Kerr told reporters.
The oldest players in USA's lineup are Portis and Hart, both 28. It's a very young team, thus, with little experience playing in major international tournaments. In fact, none of them have ever participated in the World Cup or the Olympics before.
Experience matters in FIBA games, maybe more so for NBA players who have been playing under different rules throughout their careers.
Jalen Brunson (C) of USA dribbles to attack in practice at the Mendenhall Center of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, August 3, 2023. /CFP
"One of the rules, for example, the ball is taken out of bounds underneath all the time in FIBA, whereas in the NBA, it's on the sideline," Kerr said. "So, statistically, you run eight baseline out-of-bounds plays a game in FIBA. It's two and a half in the NBA. So you better execute better offensively, you better execute defensively on those specific eight plays every game."
Kerr divided the 12 players into two sides in Thursday's practice: Haliburton, Edwards, Ingram, Banchero, Hart and Jackson Jr. on one side, Brunson, Bridges, Reaves, Johnson, Portis and Kessler on the other. As point guards, Haliburton and Brunson are very different in their playmaking. So are Jackson Jr. and Kessler in protecting the paint as centers. It's very likely that Kerr will use different starters and rotations against different opponents.
Jaren Jackson Jr. of USA shoots in practice at the Mendenhall Center of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, August 3, 2023. /CFP
"Complex is not a word that we're going to use in USA Basketball very often, just due to the nature of the whole thing," Kerr said. "Six weeks, and part of my coaching experience with USA Basketball ... we got to carry forward the experience that we had, good and bad, and understand how we can make things more efficient and understand the timeline and how quickly this thing starts. So, simpler is better."
USA are in Group C with Greece, New Zealand and Jordan in the World Cup. They will play at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay, the Philippines, and their first game will be against New Zealand on August 26.