Paul George Criticizes Team USA After Near-Loss to Serbia

Team USA was all too close to dropping its first game in a decade, and Paul George was critical of his squad’s approach after the narrow win over Serbia.

Team USA narrowly beat Serbia yesterday, 94-91, and came way too close for comfort to losing its first game since falling to Greece in the 2006 World Championships. The three-point victory, its closest since a 70-68 win over Brazil in 2010, was a far cry from the dominance shown during the 2014 World Championships.

Team USA walked over everybody in that competition, winning by at least 21 points in every game it played on its way to an easy trophy. But now, win back-to-back scary games against Serbia and Australia, people are starting to wonder if an upset is possible in Rio.

Paul George was quick to criticize his team’s play after the Serbia game, per Sam Amick of USA Today.

"“As good as we are, we can’t continue to keep playing like this,” George said. “We’re still scoring 100 points taking one-on-five shots, but we’re too good for that. The toughest part is that each and every one of us is confident with the ball in our hands that we can make those shots. It just comes down to a trust factor, not letting one guy have that feeling that he has to do it alone.”"

He isn’t wrong.

In their last two games, Team USA’s offense has been less than crisp while the defense has not been up to par. They are getting by on individual talent, but playing with a better strategy would lead to similar results that we saw in London, where they had a 32-point average margin of victory on the way to gold.

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There are some structural issues.

As good as Kyrie Irving is, the team does miss the master offense-running ability of Chris Paul and LeBron James. That isn’t even a dig against Irving — whose style can finally be free from criticism after what we saw in the NBA Finals.

It’s just that he — as well as Kevin Durant, Paul George, Carmelo Anthony, and Klay Thompson — are all generally finishers more than set-up guys. Each are expected and most proficient at putting the ball in the hole rather than concentrating on the subtler skills of directing teammates around the court and creating for others.

But even if it isn’t their forte, they can all still do it — and very well in the cases of KD and Irving. That should become a larger focus, with ball movement and patience rising on the priority list on offense. And on D, there just needs to be more communication and cohesion with less gambling for steals and ball-watching.

Team USA should still cruise to the gold. This is still only group play.

Next: Paul George Calls Australian Team 'Dirty'

But the style issue is a real one — and it is good to hear Paul George speak up candidly. He has been touting his role as the leader of the Pacers. And now he is showing he can do the same for his whole country.