Why USA Basketball Needs to Play Anthony Davis

Anthony Davis did not see a single minute of playing time against Brazil during Monday night’s exhibition game in Washington, DC.  If USA Basketball wants to win the Gold Medal in London, Team USA has to do better.  This means giving some quality playing time to former Kentucky Wildcat star Anthony Davis.

July 6, 2012; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Team USA forward Anthony Davis during practice at the UNLV Mendenhall Center. Image Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-US PRESSWIRE

With a crowd of 20,390 in attendance, including President Barack Obama, Team USA barely squeezed by Brazil.  The final score was 80-69.  This is not good enough for a team that Kobe Bryant says is better than and could beat the 1992 USA Basketball Olympic team, better known as the Dream Team.

Team USA blocked 2 shots from Brazil on Monday.  This is a team that could have blocked more shots and should have done so with Davis seeing some quality playing time.  Tyson Chandler, the New York Knicks center, didn’t even play for 20 minutes during the entire game so somebody had to pick up the slack for a team that really lacks in size.

Chandler is listed at 7’1” and is the only true center.  The next two bigs behind him are Davis and Kevin Love at 6’10”.  In Monday’s game, Love only saw 5:35 on the court and didn’t even score.

In the first 10 minutes on Monday, Brazil outscored the US by 10 points (27-17).  Team USA woke up in the second quarter, going on a 20-5 run.  The second quarter was the real difference in the game but there’s no reason why Team USA is not beating opponents by 35 points.  No excuse.

While it is true that the international competition has gotten better in the past 20 years since NBA players were allowed to play, USA head coach Mike Krzyzewski has got to let Anthony Davis see quality time in not only the exhibition games but the London Olympics as well.  At the moment, this is a squad with at least 3 Hall of Famers in Kobe Bryant, Lebron James, and Kevin Durant.  With everyone else, it’s hard to tell.

This is most definitely not a Dream Team.  If you were to take a time machine and have this squad play the Dream Team, the Dream Team would just blow them out by 20 points, if not more!

If the ankle is not healthy yet, I can understand but this is a guy that was named as the consensus Player of the Year in college basketball amongst many other accolades during his one and only collegiate season.  There is no excuse to sit Davis for the entire game.  His ability to rise up and block shots is what will be a key to the USA’s March to the Gold in a few short weeks from now.