Team USA's rim protection a red flag ahead of Paris Olympics

Team USA registered a 98-92 win over Australia in a Paris Olympics exhibition game on Monday, but not before conceding a staggering 68 points in the paint. Steve Kerr's team has been giving up an average of 50 paint points through its exhibition games thus far. Those numbers should prove concerning in a 48-minute NBA game, let alone a 40-minute FIBA-style outing.

After Monday's loss, coach Kerr admitted his players allowed the Aussies to dominate in the paint with misdirection and interior passes — lapses they need to correct before the July 28 Paris Olympics opener.

"We gave up a ton of points at the basket back cuts, offensive boards, and so the game shifted and it's a good lesson for us," Kerr said, via ESPN's Brian Windhorst. "Better to learn that lesson now than later. And this will be a good tape for us to watch."

Speaking on ESPN's "NBA Today ," Kendrick Perkins urged Kerr to bench Joel Embiid in favor of Anthony Davis at center. Kerr started the Sixers star as the sole big against Canada and Australia.

"When I look at Joel Embiid right now, he looks out of shape," Perkins said. "He don't look good right now — getting up and down the floor, he has no lift whatsoever. And when we think of playing at the biggest stage representing our country, we need the five best players on the floor. And Anthony Davis should be in the starting lineup."

Conventional wisdom should suggest that Team USA's rim protection should be better since FIBA rules don't preclude big men from staying in the restricted area for only three seconds, as is the case in the NBA. However, NBA players are likely used to playing a five-out defense scheme — what with all the threes in the modern game — and have forgotten what it's like to man the paint for 40-plus minutes.

It could be a matter of getting back to the basics.

Luckily, in Embiid, Davis and Bam Adebayo, Team USA has three big men who could be very competent at protecting the rim. They just need reps.

Team USA's next test will come against Nikola Jokic's Serbia on Wednesday. The game will be a preview of the Paris Olympics opener between the two nations on July 28.