08/31/2010 - 20:54
Ty, Americans Survive First Test
by Devon Jeffreys

After cruising through their first two games of the FIBA World Championships by more than 20 points, Tyson Chandler and Team USA received a reminder not to get complacent.

On Monday evening, Brazil provided the scare, handing the Americans their first halftime deficit. But Team USA endured and overcame for a 70-68 win. USA Basketball is now 3-0, one of only five teams in the 24-team field still holding a perfect ledger.

Team USA went with a small lineup against Brazil, but Ty was called upon in a time of need to defend the rim as the U.S. struggled to control the Brazilian centers in the paint. Matt Dollinger pointed out in his SI.com live blog of the game that Team USA needed TC’s presence to deter Brazil.

But the U.S. had its share of struggles. Before inserting Tyson Chandler in the third quarter, Brazil repeatedly got to the rim with ease, signaling defensive breakdowns. The U.S. also tried to score too much on isolation plays, rather than make the extra passes they did in their first two games.

In five minutes of action, Tyson pulled down a rebound. Over the first three games of the Worlds, No. 15 has three boards and four points, but his presence has been felt in the post. In a 99-77 victory over Slovenia, TC recorded a mammoth block, nearly bending back the arm of Gasper Vidmar with a reach behind his back to stuff the big Slovenian center.

As a whole, the Team USA defense has shown up when called upon. The team has twice held an opponent to single-digit points in a quarter and on Monday they limited Brazil to just 22 second half points to secure a victory despite a scuffling offense.

"When you're offense isn't going very well, to still play great defense shows that you have character. I said (to the team) that I thought they had the character to win because it was not easy to win tonight. They had to do it doing tough things," USA Basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski said.

Though he hasn’t been called upon to spread his offensive wings much early in the tournament, TC showed in the opening game of pool play against Croatia that he can still jam when the opportunity presents itself.

Ty scored all four of his points on dunks and showed his trademark emotion with a scream after one of his slams. As he explained to FanHouse’s Chris Tomasson, it’s just his way of bringing energy.

"I want to bring as much energy as possible," said Chandler. "I want to send a message to a lot of the younger guys that even though (the game was lopsided) we want to go hard until the end and represent our country. The games will get tougher and we want to send a message.

"It was just me being emotional. It was my emotions coming out. It wasn't intended to be disrespectful to anybody. It was more of my emotions. I take pride in wearing this jersey. Every second I'm out there, I'm going to give everything I've got."

TC also stuffed two shots in the tournament opening 106-78 win.

NEXT UP
TC and Team USA are back in action today as they take on Iran in Game 4 of 5 in pool play.

Tip-off is scheduled from the Abdi Ipekci Arena in Istanbul for 11 a.m. CST and the game can be seen on ESPN.

RELATED STORIES
Additional Quotes: USA 106, Croatia 78 (USA Basketball, August 28, 2010)
http://www.usabasketball.com/mens/national/10_mwc_game_1_quotes.html
No Slovenian squabble at World Championships (NBA FanHouse, August 29, 2010)
http://nba.fanhouse.com/2010/08/28/team-usa-notebook-no-slovenian-squabb...
USA-Brazil Live Blog (SI.com, August 30, 2010)
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/basketball/nba/08/30/us.brazil.blo...
USA Pulls Out Narrow 70-68 Win Over Brazil (USA Basketball, August 30, 2010)
http://www.usabasketball.com/mens/national/10_mwc_game_3.html