After dominating the preliminary stage of the 2014 FIBA World Cup, the United States men's basketball team is ready to assert their superiority in the knockout stages of the tournament, where much better competitions awaits.
On Saturday, the Americans will try to punch their way into the quarterfinal round against the upcoming Mexican squad, which won the latest edition of FIBA Americas Championship last year.
USA is certainly the favorite in the match, but head coach Mike Krzyzewski pointed out the his boys need to step up their game to another level for them to keep on track of their gold medal bid.
Although they obliterated all of their five opponents in Group B, the Americans didn't have a flawless run at all. In fact, the Americans were tested in the first 20 minutes by Turkey and had a bad start against the Dominican Republic and Ukraine.
The paltry three point shooting clip (34.4 percent beyond the arc) of the American snipers has been the biggest concern for them heading into the knockout stages. Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry and Houston Rockets small forward James Harden have yet to produce an outstanding shooting night.
Thankfully for the Americans, Kenneth Faried and Anthony Davis have been monsters inside the paint as their athleticisms were simply too much for their groupmates to contain. However, ESPN reporter Marc Stein stressed the shooters need to wake up in the knockout round because opponents' interior defense is going to be tighter than ever. Curry apparently agreed to this analysis.
"We've gotta start the games a little bit better, with a little more assertiveness, but other than that we've played well," Curry told ESPN's Marc Stein. "You've gotta remember, we haven't played together that long. This is a brand new team. So every game you gotta stay focused on getting better and getting more chemistry on the court."
While Mexico's chance of stunning the Unites States is remote, they can still make the game competitive with their run-and-gun game. Mexico defeated Angola and South Korea to move into the next round, but they are aware the Americans are way different animal to beat.
Live Stream Information, TV Schedule & Box Scores
ESPN will broadcast the United States vs. Mexico match starting at 10:00 a.m (Eastern Time). The game can also be watched on World Cup Basketball TV and ESPN Watch, while box scores and stats are available on FIBA World Cup official site.
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