BOSTON -- With only one current NBA player on the Czech Republic roster (Tomas Satoransky of the Chicago Bulls), it was no surprise to see Team USA roll over them by the final count of 88-67 with Donovan Mitchell’s 16 points.
Building off that win against Turkey’s National Team on Tuesday won’t be nearly as easy.
Like Team USA, the Turkish squad had no problem in their first game of pool play in defeating Japan 86-67, a near-identical score to Team USA’s win over the Czech Republic.
And like Team USA, their victory came about due to a balanced attack that featured 10 different players scoring with Milwaukee Bucks forward Ersan Ilyasova leading the way with a double-double of 19 points and 10 rebounds.
Besides Illyasova, Turkey’s roster includes current NBA players Cedi Osman (Cleveland) and Furkan Korkmaz (Philadelphia) as well former Celtics big man Semih Erden.
Drafted by Boston with the 60th overall pick in the 2008 NBA draft, the 33-year-old Erden spent two seasons in the NBA - one with Boston and another with Cleveland - while appearing in a total of 69 games before returning to play overseas.
He isn’t the only Celtics connection on the Turkish team.
Guards Bugrahan Tuncer and Dogus Balby played last season for Andolu Efes which was led by ex-Celtic Shane Larkin. And Balby, one of Turkey’s better perimeter defenders, was also a teammate of former Celtic Avery Bradley at Texas in addition to attending Brewster Academy in New Hampshire, the same prep school whose alumni include Utah Jazz guard and Team USA member Donovan Mitchell.
Boston Celtics
Despite Team USA having a roster full of NBA talent, the players and coaching staff are well aware that there are some advantages that most if not all of the teams competing in the World Cup have over them.
“A lot of these teams have been together for a long time,” Gregg Popovich, head coach of Team USA and the San Antonio Spurs, told reporters. “They’ve played together in many situations, and this is the first time these guys have played together. So, when we see that we’re trusting each other, whether it’s as Donovan said making an extra pass at the offensive end or playing the defense that we played tonight, it’s encouraging.”
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