FIBA World Cup 2014: TV Schedule, Live Stream, Semifinal Prediction for Day 11
The road to the 2014 FIBA World Cup title is clearer than ever for the United States after France stunned Spain 65-52 on Wednesday.
However, before the Americans celebrate any type of championship, they have to get past Lithuania in Thursday’s semifinal contest. The showdown takes place at 3 p.m. ET and will be televised on ESPN with a live stream available on Watch ESPN.
It has been an incredibly tumultuous path for Team USA to reach this point. Superstars like LeBron James, Russell Westbrook, Chris Paul and Carmelo Anthony weren’t on the team, and Kevin Love decided to withdraw his name from competition. Then, Paul George suffered an absolutely gruesome leg injury, and Kevin Durant withdrew from competition in the aftermath.
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One player who stayed aboard was James Harden, and he commented on the experience, according to The Associated Press, via Fox Sports: “This is a great opportunity for me. I'm a young guy, so I'm just taking all this with the flow. You don't get the opportunity to compete for your country. This is a dream come true, so I'm definitely seizing the moment and I'm having a great time.”
A gold medal and the title of World Cup champion await Mike Krzyzewski’s squad after this process. Spain was the only team with enough talent on paper to knock out the United States with Pau Gasol, Marc Gasol, Serge Ibaka, Juan Carlos Navarro, Ricky Rubio, Jose Calderon and Rudy Fernandez, and it is no longer in the field.
Of course, it’s easy for us to sit back and say the result is all but a foregone conclusion, but it is important that the Americans don’t fall into that trap and overlook Lithuania. The NBA on ESPN pointed out why:
Remember, Lithuania beat the same Turkey squad in the quarterfinals that gave Team USA some trouble in group play.
Jonas Valanciunas, whom NBA fans will know as the center of the Toronto Raptors, is the best player on Lithuania. He is averaging a team-high 12.9 points and 8.6 rebounds a night and has controlled the paint on both ends of the floor against most opponents.
However, it may be a different story for Valanciunas against Kenneth Faried, Anthony Davis and DeMarcus Cousins.
Lithuania also has guard Renaldas Seibutis on the perimeter, who is scoring 10.3 points and dishing out 3.1 assists a night. If Lithuania wants to keep this game close, Seibutis will have to avoid turnovers and Valanciunas needs to prevent the American big men from completely dominating the rebounding department.
However, the talent gap is simply too wide.
Team USA has the advantage on the inside with three NBA superstars compared to just Valanciunas and the outside with the Stephen Curry, James Harden, Derrick Rose, Klay Thompson and Kyrie Irving combination. Neither of Lithuania’s key players will get much going if the Americans focus their defensive attention on them.
In fact, this game may get out of hand early. Even if it doesn’t, the United States has demonstrated a knack for turning on the switch when needed and dominating for five-minute stretches that completely blow the game open. Those spurts often start with a perimeter defense that forces turnovers, which leads to fast breaks and easy transition opportunities.
When you have a trio of big men who can also run the floor, it is rather simple to turn defense into instant offense. Lithuania is just overmatched in this one.
Prediction: United States 101, Lithuania 75
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