Andre Iguodala, left, with Victor Claver of Spain, is part of an American team that has begun to forge an athletic identity.
In Team USA's playbook, its 2-3 zone is called "orange" in honor of Syracuse Coach Jim Boeheim, one of the team's assistants.
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In the final seconds of a tense 86-85 exhibition victory over Spain on Sunday night, a slice of orange bailed out the United States. The Americans used a tactical shift on the final possession to secure a hard-fought victory over the defending world champion.
Leading by a point with 16.9 seconds left, the United States showed its typical man-to-man before moving to a 2-3 zone, a defense Boeheim has practically trademarked during his career at Syracuse.
Spain froze momentarily, and Kevin Durant blocked two low-quality shots by Spain, a long jumper by Ricky Rubio and a desperation 3-pointer at the buzzer by Rudy Fernandez, to seal the victory.
"He said he doesn't have any buildings named after him at Syracuse, so we named the zone after him," said Mike Krzyzewski, the Team USA coach, who said Boeheim proposed the zone to him before the final huddle.
Fittingly, the strategy that helped seal the victory came on a night marked by change for Team USA. Durant broke out of his shooting slump to lead all scorers with 25 points, and Derrick Rose started in place of Rajon Rondo and hit the winning free throws.
But the most important change may be in the perception of this American team, which is looking for its first world championship since 1994. Considered by many around the world as a collection of B-level stars, they began to forge an identity as a hyperathletic and scrappy defensive team that could be considered the favorite heading into the world championships beginning Saturday in Turkey.
"Guys are excited but not overly excited," guard Chauncey Billups said. "Although this is an exhibition game, that team is a machine."
When Durant blocked Fernandez's shot and the buzzer sounded, the American bench players ran onto the court to celebrate. Inside the sold-out arena known as the Magic Box, the deafening noise disappeared and the house band, which had been blaring tunes like the "Rocky" theme song all night, stopped playing.
"We made one more play than they did, and that's why we won," Krzyzewski said.
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SOURCE: The New York Times
