When the FIBA World Cup’s group stage ended Thursday, eight of the 24 teams went home.
Four more went home Saturday, the first day of the knockout stage.
One of them was Mexico, which put up little resistance in a loss to Team USA. Chris Sheridan is in Barcelona and was not overly impressed. As the games get tougher, the rotation needs to get shorter.
Here’s a roundup of Saturday’s round of 16 games.
BARCELONA GAMES
Team USA 86, Mexico 63
In a rare mornng EST start for the Americans – probably to avoid the competitive viewership wave of college football – they were good but not great. Mexico took a page from Turkey’s defensive playbook and went to a zone, something it had done on just a handful of possessions in the group stage.
Team USA wasn’t nearly as flummoxed as it was against Turkey but did fall into some of the same bad habits – hoisting threes early in the shot clock, overdribbling, not moving the ball from side to side. Given their huge edge in athleticism over every team in this tournament, it is frustrating to watch the Americans play what can only be called dumb basketball against inferior competition.
Gustavo Ayon was not inferior. Mexico’s center had 25 points and eight rebounds, flashing an array of footwork and up-and-under moves that had Team USA’s big men flailing. Ayon is still looking for a team for next season and would prefer the NBA over Europe. If GMs were watching, Ayon won’t be looking much longer.
Slovenia 71, Dominican Republic 61
One day after Goran Dragic bitterly – and correctly – accused the Australians of tanking their final group game to avoid the Americans until the semifinals, the star guard of the Phoenix Suns team with his brother, Zoran, to lead Slovenia into the final eight over a game Dominican squad.
Zoran Dragic scored 18 points with four steals and Goran Dragic added 12 with six assists for Slovenia, which took control in the second quarter but saw its lead narrowed to two points twice in the final period. But the Dragic clan scored 10 of their team’s final 14 points to restore order.
Neither team shot well. Slovenia was 6-of-26 from the arc while the DR was 2-of-12. The Dominicans might have had a better chance if Francisco Garcia had not been limited to seven points. Garcia came in averaging better than 20 points per game.
Slovenia won’t beat Team USA on Tuesday. It will lose by 20-plus points, just like everyone else who has come up against the Americans thus far. But it will be interesting to see if Goran Dragic outplays Derrick Rose, who is getting a pass from most media members even though his play has ranged from ineffective to awful.
MADRID GAMES
Spain 89, Senegal 56
The hosts continue to look like the class of the tournament. After winning all their group games by an average of 25-plus points, the Spaniards put a similar beatdown on overmatched Senegal. Pau Gasol – who is the tournament MVP thus far – scored 17 points and Serge Ibaka, Jose Calderon and Felipe Reyes added 11 apiece.
I only watched a sliver of this game, but I was really impressed with Spain’s defensive rotations. Senegal is certainly not athletic as Team USA, but 
they’re not the YMCA on Tuesday nights, either. They could not get a clean look for the first five minutes of the third quarter.
Jumpin’ Gorgui Dieng was finally grounded by Spain’s massive front line. The active big man of the Minnesota Timberwolves had turned the group stage into a debutante’s ball, averaging 18.0 points and 11.4 rebounds. But he managed just six on 1-of-9 shooting Saturday.
France 69, Croatia 64
The was the craziest and best game of the day. Both teams had a single-digit quarter in the first half, which ended with France holding a 23-22 lead. The European champions expanded their lead to 12 points entering the fourth quarter, then held off a rally by Croatia led by Nets rookie Bojan Bogdanovic, who scored 14 of his 27 points in the final period.
France had a nine-point lead with less than two minutes to go but was clinging to a 66-64 edge when Bogdanovic missed a potential go-ahead three with 20 seconds left. Thomas Huertel, who scored eight of his 10 points in the fourth quarter, made two free throws and Nicolas Batum (14 points) added one to seal the win.
No team has been in more close games in this tournament than France. The question is can they keep it close Wednesday against Spain. In the semifinals of Eurobasket 2013, the French edged the Spaniards in overtime. But they had Tony Parker for that game and don’t this time around.
Staffer A.J. Mitnick went 3-of-4 with his knockout stage predictions. You can take a look at who he likes in Sunday’s games as well.
Sheridan was totally right to say that Rose stinks. He should be left on the bench for emergencies only.
Irving and Curry should get all the PG minutes.