National Basketball Association

Team USA's only remaining challenge is to win a game by 100 points

Published Nov. 15, 2016 3:13 p.m. ET

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Andrew Lynch

Four years and four days ago, USA Basketball set a record for the most lopsided game in Olympic history with an 83-point destruction of Nigeria. Carmelo Anthony poured in 37 points in just 14 minutes, and Team USA rolled to a mind-boggling 156 points.

That epic beatdown was fueled from deep, as Melo and his squad knocked down 29 of 46 3s, accounting for more than half of Team USA's total points. After the game, coach Mike Krzyzewski offered a simple explanation for the eye-popping performance: "I've never had a team, at any level, shoot the ball like that," coach K told his Nigerian counterpart, Ayodele Bakare.

On Saturday, the 2016 Men's National Team fell far short of 2012's incredible margin of victory, as Team USA opened the Rio Olympics with a 119-62 victory over China — an unfortunate Chinese team, that is, which has now lost thrice to the United States (including two exhibition games) by a combined total of 156 points. Yet those who tuned in for what was an at-times lackluster game saw the blueprint for how this squad can surpass that record-setting team from 2012.

Team USA's combination of absolutely ridiculous defense — perhaps the best defense we've seen from the United States in international play — and outstanding 3-point shooting gives this team the capability to beat an opponent by 100 points. Period.

It's an absurd goal, to be sure. Perhaps laughable on the surface, sure — and it's one Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson, and the rest should absolutely pursue. The only way 2016's Olympic team will stand out against the backdrop of history is sheer domination.

Take Saturday's qualifying opener. If you tuned out by halftime, with Team USA already up by 29, you are forgiven. By then, the separation between the two squads was already clear, and short of a DeAndre Jordan alley-oop or a DeMar DeRozan slam, there are neither highlights nor fireworks to be found here. There's little reason to stick around at all; the conclusion is inevitable, the journey stale.

Something stirred late in the third quarter, however.

With the game comfortably in hand, Coach K benched his starters. In most instances, this is a sign of mercy. Here, it was the start of a culling. Kyle Lowry, DeMar DeRozan, Paul George, Jimmy Butler and DeAndre Jordan completely shut down China's offense, spurring a 16-0 run that culminated in Durant and Kyrie Irving checking back in and trading five straight 3-pointers. It was volcanic: An explosion of molten basketball fury that finally caught our attention.

That was also half of Team USA's output from deep on the night. Indeed, Irving and Durant combined to go 9-for-13 on 3s, while the rest of the squad was a putrid 1-for-14. Still, the United States won by nearly 60 points, which should terrify this team's remaining opponents. On an off night, Team USA practically gave itself the night off.

To beat an opponent by 100 points, then, Team USA won't need to throw sportsmanship out the window. A full-court press isn't necessary. Neither is attacking in transition deep into the game. All this team needs to do is respect the spirit of competition: Play hard for 40 minutes, and let the chips fall where they may.

A 100-point win would start on defense. We've already seen Team USA hold an opponent (Venezuela, which faces the United States in its next game on Monday) to 45 points for an entire game in exhibition play. Some of that might have been an abysmally slow pace in a game where Venezuela did everything in its power to muddy up the flow, but this Team USA defense is godly.

Both point guards are ball-hawks who come up with steals on what seems like every other possession. The wings and forwards, meanwhile, switch seamlessly, breaking an opponent's will as they helplessly flail against a wall of whirling limbs and length that stretches for days. Somehow break past that wall, and you have to deal with Cousins and Jordan eating up real estate at the rim — and under FIBA rules, they don't have to worry about defensive three seconds.

So, yeah. Good luck with all that. Ratchet up the intensity just a bit from a performance like that throttling of Venezuela, have a few shots that went in bounce out instead, and this team could absolutely limit the competition to 40 points or fewer. Hell, on a particularly bad shooting night for the opponent, 35 or fewer is in play.

From there, scoring 140 points is easily within reach. On at least one night in this tournament, Team USA is going to catch fire behind the arc. Should it happen at the same time that the defense is locked in, why couldn't they win by 100? Had the United States made the same percentage of 3s on Saturday as they did in that 2012 record-setting game against Nigeria, the margin of victory would have exploded to 78 points — with nothing else changing.

Add a dozen more attempts from deep at that same success rate, force a few more turnovers, have a few more shots take a friendly bounce; suddenly, you have the makings of a 100-point win.

The only thing that can stop such an astounding victory is Team USA. Coach K respects his competitors, and he has a tendency to call off the starters when a game gets out of hand. But this 2016 squad might work against him. The aforementioned tenacity of the reserve unit wears opponents down, and almost every conceivable lineup features elite 3-point shooting. So long as this team breathes, it will build a lead.

Besides, I'm not sure a team that uses "rock, paper, scissors" to decide who gets to take a technical free throw is exactly worried about disrespecting the opposition, you know?

If ever there were a time to win a game by a bill, this is it. The field is weak. Team USA, although boring, is a flawless basketball roster. Should the stars align — and should the superstars so desire — this team could make basketball history, leaving an indelible mark on the record books.

A 100-point win? That has a nice ring to it.

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