So Team USA opened their FIBA World Cup in Spain yesterday with a ... convincing ... yeah, we'll go with convincing ... win over Finland. They held the Finns without a field goal in the second quarter, led 60-18 at halftime, and cruised to a 114-55 win. Coach K broke with his own tradition and brought a big team -- and his bigs combined to make 19 of 23 shots, including 17 points from Anthony Davis. Klay Thompson made 7-10 himself to lead the US with 18. It's a good thing Steph Curry missed all five of his three pointers or this one might have gotten out of hand.
The pool play games won't all be that easy for the US -- and then again, maybe they will. Today's opponent, Turkey, made it to the Finals against Team USA four years ago, but (a) this game isn't being played in Istanbul and (b) this isn't the same Turkey team. The likes of Ersan Ilaysova, Enes Kanter and erstwhile Clipper Hedo Turkoglu aren't with the team, leaving them short on star power and playmaking. Basically, they're big (led by Omer Asik) and they can shoot. But they can't play with this USA Team.
As a side note, it's probably your best chance to see Aldemir Furkan, a Clippers second round draft pick from a few seasons back. Furkan's draft rights were traded to Houston in the Lamar Odom deal, and he may or may not ever come over to the NBA, but if you curious as to what might have been, there's that.