Defensive commitment fuels US' fast start

BEIJING - When USA Basketball managing director Jerry Colangelo assembled the men's Olympic team, he asked every player for a three-year commitment.

Three games into the Olympic tournament, that commitment is paying dividends on defense. The players have become a cohesive defensive unit, suffocating China, Angola and Greece in their first three games.

"We have a better rhythm defensively," guard Kobe Bryant said. "It has to do with us playing together for a while and understanding the system that we want to play with. It's a system that Colangelo put into place that you see really coming to fruition."

The defense will face its sternest test on Saturday night, when the U.S. meets world champion Spain in a game between two of the remaining three unbeaten teams. It could be a preview of the gold medal game.

Along with the three-year commitment, the international format is another reason for the U.S.' defensive dominance. Games last only 40 minutes, eight fewer than in the NBA. With fewer minutes - and fewer scoring responsibilities - players can spend their energy shutting down opponents.

Asked if the same approach would work in the NBA, 35-year-old point guard Jason Kidd chuckled. "You'd be dead after 10 (games)," he said. "You wouldn't make it to Thanksgiving."

This team only has to play eight games to bring home the U.S.' first gold medal in a major competition since 2000. A gold medal seems inevitable if the U.S. keeps playing defense as well as it did in a 92-69 rout of Greece on Thursday night.

The game underscored how far the U.S. has come defensively since Colangelo took over. Two years ago, when the Americans were still getting to know each other, the Greeks sliced them up with the pick-and-roll in a 101-95 upset victory in the world championships.

Thursday night the U.S. choked off the passing lanes and harrassed the Greek guards. Greece managed only 26 baskets while committing 25 turnovers.

"They were much more aggressive," Greece guard Nikolaos Zisis said. "They knew what they needed to do to take us out of our game."

So much for the notion that the U.S. is a bunch of scorers who can't - or won't - defend the pick-and-roll.

"I would tell you that last night, that premise was buried once and for all," Colangelo said. "The guys played it the way (coach Mike Krzyzewski) wanted to play it, and look what happened."

The Americans baffled the Greeks at times with a scheme that mixed man-to-man on the perimeter with a zone along the baseline. That defense would be difficult to play if a team had only been together for a few months.

"We chose the team to fit the type of defense that we felt needed to be played in the international game," Krzyzewski said. "We're good with that decision. We have to go out and continue to prove it. We've been playing very good defense. That's been the one constant - that and effort."

Asked to compare his team's defense to where it was two years ago, Krzyzewski said, "It's like two different worlds."

The Americans aren't always perfect; they still give up open looks on the perimeter. But when they make a mistake, their athleticism allows them to erase it quickly.

That was evident on back-to-back blocks by LeBron James and Chris Bosh against Greece - both denying easy buckets after the Greeks had penetrated the lane.

"I think we understand each other, the tendencies," Kidd said. "If somebody gets beat, there's a guy there to help out. That's a big thing, and I think the three-year program is a big reason for that."

Spain will present a new challenge for the defense. With Toronto point guard Jose Calderon and European star Ricky Rubio in the backcourt, the Spaniards aren't likely to rattle under the Americans' relentless pressure. And the Gasol brothers - Pau of the Los Angeles Lakers and Marc of the Memphis Grizzles - will test the Americans in the paint.

"Spain is a little bit more like an NBA team," Krzyzewski said. "They have depth, they have a top-quality point guard. Calderon is respected by everybody on this team. You're not going to shake them up. You're going to have to play them every exchange."

The U.S. is limiting opponents to 37.9 percent shooting, and only 30.3 percent from beyond the arc. The Americans are conceding 71.7 points per game. Since pros began to play in the Olympics, only the 1996 team gave up fewer points (70.3 per game).

The Americans' defense has compensated for their occasional shooting woes. The U.S. is hitting only 35.6 percent from beyond the arc. But that number will be irrelevant if the defense keeps producing dunks and lay-ups at the other end of the floor.

"If they play that kind of defense," Colangelo said, "it doesn't matter how we shoot."