FanPost

Team USA is Warriorsing the Rest of the World

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The mighty Team USA looked vulnerable, at least for a quarter, against Venezuela on Monday. Surprisingly, the game was tied at 18 after the first quarter, but Team USA returned to its dominant form and outscored Venezuela 95-51 through the final three quarters, winning 113-69.

A hungry Venezuela pounced on the US, who played sloppy and uninspired basketball, by slowing the game down and aggressively pursuing rebounds and loose balls. Sound familiar, Warriors fans? Carelessness with the basketball and losing the battle on the boards have been common refrains in Golden State over the past two seasons, and those weaknesses culminated in a historic collapse in the Finals after taking a 3-1 series lead. Team USA's struggles seem to parallel the Warriors' weaknesses. However, The US eventually cleaned up their turnover issue and intensified their defense en route to a 44 point thrashing of Venezuela -- a level the Warriors can feasibly reach next season.

Of course, the Warriors' turnover and rebounding problems aren't new. Their transcendent efficiency on offense paired with their ability to harass opponents defensively with long, switchy defenders covered their Achilles Heal until it became exposed this past June. While Team USA was shaky with the basketball in the opening quarter, Kevin Durant's steady hand on offense kept his team afloat. He scored the first 7 points for the US and ended the game with an effortless 16 points on 5-5 shooting from the field.

As Anthony Slater notes in the tweet above, Durant has been incredibly efficient thus far in the Olympics, which is partly due to his decreased workload. Since he's playing with numerous other NBA All-Stars, Durant has scored a decent amount of his Olympic points via backdoor cuts, handoffs, and catch-and-shoot situations -- all of which are staples of Golden State's offense. Durant doesn't need to pound the air out of the ball to score, which is why many basketball pundits expect him to fit in seamlessly with his new team in the Bay.

Nonetheless, the Warriors' motion offense, with all of its passing and cutting, naturally leads to a higher number of turnovers than teams that are ISO heavy. With the addition of Durant, the Warriors no longer have to rely entirely on Curry to bail them out with impossible 35-footers or scoop shots when the system is generating too many turnovers. They can now turn to the NBA's statistically best one-on-one scorer in Durant, which is a far cry from his predecessor Harrison Barnes, who's prone to dribbling the ball off his feet and bricking shots in the post over smaller defenders. A very HB moment took place in the fourth quarter of the USA-Venezuela when he missed a runner in the paint before blowing a wide open putback dunk.

The vine above perfectly encapsulates every Warriors' fans frustration with HB. Golden State essentially swapping Barnes for Durant is akin to an A student who upgraded from taking notes in class with a messy notebook to a versatile laptop, complete with a stylus, detachable keyboard, and other nifty features.

Not only can Durant make the same shots Barnes took at a much higher percentage, but KD's skill-set is also much more diversified. His ability to score in a multitude of ways adds a new element to an already multifaceted Warriors team. Barnes loved to post up smaller defenders, but Durant's astronomically high efficiency numbers on post ups make him easily the best post player the Warriors have had in years.

Moreover, the scoring prowess of No. 35 in isolation will come in handy when the Warriors' tendency to move the ball again and again and again is leading to turnovers. He's adept at drawing fouls and getting to the free throw line consistently (something no other Warrior can boast), and it's a useful tool to have when the three-pointers aren't falling.

Speaking of which, Klay Thompson couldn't buy a bucket in either of Team USA's first two games thus far. He's susceptible to cold shooting nights and at times last season the Warriors needed someone other than Curry who could create his own shot. It's very unlikely, however, that all three of Curry, Durant, and Thompson will be off on the same night next season. Draymond Green also had a quiet night against Venezuela, but he showed flashes of his ability to drive to the basket with improved spacing and propensity to find open shooters after grabbing the offensive rebound.

Although the scrawny Durant won't completely fix the Warriors' rebounding woes, his 8.2 rebounds per game are markedly higher than Barnes' 4.9. Additionally, Zaza Pachulia (who's expected to replace Andrew Bogut in the starting lineup) was a marginally better rebounder than Bogut last season. The former averaged 9.6 boards per game while the latter averaged 7.

While Durant showcases his versatility and otherworldly efficiency on Team USA, the world (and the NBA) is likely doomed. The league has never seen a player as good as Kevin Durant join a team as good as the Warriors, and it seems as unfair as the smartest kid in class pulling technology from the future out of his backpack. Joe Lacob wasn't lying when he said the Warriors are "lightyears ahead."

This FanPost is a submission from a member of the mighty Golden State of Mind community. While we're all here to throw up that W, these words do not necessarily reflect the views of the GSoM Crew. Still, chances are the preceding post is Unstoppable Baby!