On Monday, the U.S. men's basketball team continued its Olympic preparations with a tune-up against Team Australia at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. As expected, the Americans won the game, but it wasn't the dominating win that their countrymen expected.
Australia rallied from a 20-point deficit to cut the lead to four in the game's final seconds. Fortunately for the Americans, Devin Booker iced the game with four clutch free throws to give Team USA the 98-92 win.
Former Washington Wizards All-Star Gilbert Arenas thought that Team USA dominated when it wanted to but allowed the Aussies to come back in the game because they experimented with different lineups. Gil's Arena co-host Kenyon Martin took exception to Arenas' explanation. According to K-Mart, that is not an excuse for a lackluster win.
"Even with the experimentation of it," said Martin. "We still supposed to be putting foot to a**. You don't give a team like that hope. You don't know in this sh*, you might have to face them at some point. I don't know if we're in the same pool with them. But at some point, you give that team hope, and confidence, 'Sh* they only beat us by six the last time.' You can't say that they didn't play hard, because they are still supposed to be the best 12.
Team USA shouldn't give their opponents hope
Martin explained that Team USA is supposed to be composed of the 12 best players in America. That means that regardless of which five players Steve Kerr puts on the basketball court, they are supposed to be the best of the best, and no one should come close to competing with them.
K-Mart added that letting a team like Australia come back from a huge deficit and allowing them back in the ball game sends a wrong message. The former big man says that Team USA shouldn't give its opponents hope, even during exhibition games, because it gives them the confidence that they can hang around and possibly beat them the next time they play.
"So my thing is you don't give them hope," added Martin. "Dream Team give nobody hope in exhibition games. '96 team never gave anybody hope during exhibition game, 2000 never gave anyone hope in exhibition game. Why give a team any thought process that when this is for all the marbles, that we could possibly play with you?"
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Kerr is still getting to know his team
Martin has a valid argument, but Team USA head coach Steve Kerr is still experimenting with his lineups and throwing different combinations on the court. In their first exhibition game against Canada, he started with Steph Curry, Jrue Holiday, Devin Booker, LeBron James, and Joel Embiid. The Americans only pulled away when Anthony Edwards entered the game.
On Monday, Kerr started with Curry, Ant-Man, Jayson Tatum, LeBron, and Embiid, but the lineup that clicked featured Tyrese Haliburton, Jrue Holiday, Devin Booker, Anthony Davis, and Bam Adebayo. That unit gave the Americans a commanding 64-41 lead with seven minutes left in the third period. Kerr then began exploring other fives, and that's when the Aussies came back to life.
Australia is the No. 5 ranked team in the latest FIBA rankings, so they aren't any pushovers. While the Americans still sit on top of the mountain, the gap between Team USA and the rest of the world isn't as big as it was in 1992. Martin and many Americans still fantasize about the Dream Team, but that's just a dream now. The awe factor is gone, and long before Kerr's team gave the Aussies 'hope' last Monday, nobody is scared of Team USA anymore.
Related: Devin Booker urges Team USA to clean things up quickly before the Olympics tournament starts: "We will not win a gold medal"
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