After a blowout win against Dominican Republic, Team USA will be back in action against Puerto Rico at 7 pm Eastern Time on ESPN2.
Puerto Rico features former NBA players, Ronaldo Balkman and Carlos Arroyo as well as Minnesota Timberwolves point guard, J.J. Barea.
Similarly to Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico plays somewhat small and fires up plenty of threes. They do favor a fast paced game, making Puerto Rico another good matchup for Team USA as they play small and fast as well.
The key would be to stop guards J.J. Barea, Andrés Rodríguez, and Carlos Arroyo from penetrating and finding shooters. Barea is very quick and nifty, while Andrés Rodríguez loves moving the ball around and finding teammates.
USA will likely have Derrick Rose back for this game which could benefit them on the defensive end as he could match the quickness of Barea. Kyle Korver has yet to play in these exhibition games, so he is expected to receive some time on the floor today.
USA will have to continue with their smothering defense and try to clog the paint. This is a game where their defensive rotations will have to be crisp. Offensively, they could get DeMarcus Cousins involved in the paint since the Puerto Ricans will be undersized.
The only 7-footers that Puerto Rico possesses are Ricky Sánchez, a former second-round pick of the Portland Trail Blazers who never joined the NBA, and Daniel Santiago. Sánchez, however, is labeled as a power forward because of his ability to shoot the ball from outside. As for Santiago, he is their 38-year old veteran and may not see much play time.
Puerto Rico’s world rank is 17, and they could give Team USA some trouble if USA does not come out with enough focus.
Despite Rose's return, Team USA will go with the same starting lineup of Kyrie Irving, Stephen Curry, James Harden, Kenneth Faried, and Anthony Davis.