Michael Redd, Deron Williams Prove to be USA's Zone Busters

In exhibition play, Lithuania and Russia resorted to playing the 2-3 zone defense that has successfully stymied USA basketball the past four years.

The difference this time is that coach Mike Krzyzewski has the perfect tandem off the bench to render the zone useless; namely, Michael Redd and Deron Williams.

That Redd has been successful as a zone-buster is no surprise.  His outside shooting is such that whenever he launches from the shorter international three-point line, the USA bench rises in near-certainty that Redd will hit.

The Milwaukee Bucks guard is doubly dangerous because of how he is used.  Other coaches might try to run set plays to get Redd open in hopes of thwarting the zone defense.  Instead, Coach K lets the ball find him in transition and half-court passing.

Because of this, opponents seem to lose track of Redd despite him being USA’s only pure outside shooter (although Kobe Bryant is as close as one can get to being one).  In all likelihood, Team USA’s first exhibition against Canada will probably not be the last time Redd leads the team in scoring.

A more surprising development has been Deron Williams’ ability to completely dissect the zone defense with his penetration.  His combination of strength and speed at the point guard position has proved to be the saving catalyst when USA has struggled to find its rhythm against the zone.

Both Lithuania and Russia played almost exclusively zone defense in the second half of their respective games against Team USA.  Both times it successfully stalled their offense.

Coach K, immediately recognizing what was transpiring, sent in Redd and Williams.  Almost immediately, Team USA started to pull away thanks to their combination of outside shooting and penetration.

Combined with Team USA’s improvement in defending the pick and roll, Redd and Williams may have obliterated the last obstacle for the United States to take gold in Beijing.