ESPN’s Brian Windhorst Is Worried About Team USA After Close Call Against Australia

The Men’s U.S. Olympic Team played a pre-Olympic exhibition game against Australia on Monday. While they came away with a 98-92 victory, there is some cause for concern for this talented Team USA squad. Midway through the third quarter, they found themselves with a comfortable 24-point lead. Australia then went on a 39-21 run, cutting the lead to six with 5:05 left to play.

The biggest reason for Australia’s comeback was their play inside the paint. Despite Anthony Davis’ 17 points and 14 rebounds, Team USA was overwhelmed by Australia’s size and physicality near the basket. Longtime ESPN writer, Brian Windhorst, is “worried” about Team USA’s lack of effectiveness in the paint, and he expressed his thoughts after the game during an appearance on SportsCenter:

Team USA Head Coach, Steve Kerr, wasn’t overly impressed with the team’s performance in the second half either. Like Windhorst, Kerr was quick to point to their struggles in the paint:

“We gave up a ton of points at the basket. Back cuts, offensive boards and so, the game shifted. It’s a good lesson for us. Better to learn that lesson now than later. And this will be a good tape for us to watch. But I give Australia a ton of credit. They were great. They fought. They were really physical. Took it to us in the last quarter and a half and really made it a game.”

Team USA’s next exhibition comes against Serbia on Wednesday, July 17 ^th at 12pm ET. As Coach Kerr stated, they will watch tape and look to correct their issues in the paint with three exhibition games left ahead of the start of the Paris Olympics.