U.S. defense starts with communication

BEIJING -- U.S. guard Chris Paul looked like a kid desperately trying to get a ball from a much taller brother playing keep-away.

He leaped, once, twice, three times before forcing Germany's Chris Kaman to turn the ball over during the Americans' victory Monday at the Beijing Olympic Basketball Gymnasium.

That was the runner-up for the 2008 NBA's most valuable player award, who stands 6 feet tall on a good day, straining and reaching until, finally, he could flick the ball away from Kaman and start the U.S. fastbreak.

The difference between selfish NBA stars going at half speed on defense to save energy for an 82-game season and the pressure defense the U.S. Olympic team is eagerly playing comes from what Paul and his compatriots are doing -- straining and reaching on every play.

The U.S is forcing 22.8 turnovers a game and scoring nearly 20 points off turnovers each game. The Americans are holding teams to 37 percent shooting overall and 27 percent from 3-point range. They are making other teams work. That's how they went 5-0 in pool play to reach today's quarterfinal game against Australia (3-2) at 8 a.m. EDT.

Against Spain, Greece and Germany in three games before the quarterfinals, the U.S. players turned defense into offense so quickly they almost took the fun out of the matchups.

"We keep the switch on all the time," U.S. guard Kobe Bryant said. "At the start of games, you'll see teams come out with a lot of energy. Then as the game goes on, we keep it turned on and we wind up wearing people down."

The Americans have been so successful because they talk.

"We're not afraid to get on someone if someone's not playing defense," U.S. guard Jason Kidd said. "When you look at all the other teams that have been together for so long, they can talk to each other."

U.S. coach Mike Krzyzewski wants to play defense the same whether he's coaching this team or his Duke team: Pressure the ball. Force mistakes or force the team to rush decisions. Challenge the passing lanes and help when someone in front of you is out of position.

Of course, that style also results in a colorful display of the U.S. edge in athleticism, length and speed.

"I don't think there's another team in this tournament that can play defense the way we can in terms of the style of defense," Bryant said. "Because we can get after it. Positions one through five can get after it."

Krzyzewski thought all the effort that went into selecting the right and best players and forging the team over the long haul began bearing fruit on the defensive end in Las Vegas last summer. Though the U.S. would have preferred to win a world title in 2006, Krzyzewski said it helped that it had to play a full tournament in 2007.

"Especially with LeBron [James] on the helpside," Krzyzewski said. "His voice helped last summer when he began talking more on the defensive end. He's continued to be our quarterback on defense."

U.S. assistant Nate McMillan, the Portland Trail Blazers' coach, said it took a lot of time to develop relationships to the point where everyone could speak plainly and bluntly. That didn't come easily for players used to being the big cheeses on their respective NBA teams.

"They're offensive-minded players; the things they need to do here usually they have someone on their NBA teams that does it for them," McMillan said. "We're asking them to commit on the defensive end of the floor. All of them can score, but will they play both ends?"

It helped that James, Carmelo Anthony and Dwyane Wade were teammates at the 2004 Athens Olympics and shared that misery, and that Paul and guard Deron Williams also are close buddies with that trio.

Anthony even pushed James, who thought he might break for 2007 and come back in 2008, to honor his commitment, reminding him that they signed on to win a gold.

Bryant and Wade thought it was so important to put in face time that Michael Redd and Bryant went to team training for the World Championships in Japan in 2006 though Redd couldn't play because he was getting married and Bryant couldn't play because he was recovering from knee surgery.

In 2007, Wade cheered for his teammates while recovering from shoulder and knee surgery during the FIBA Americas tournament in Las Vegas.

"We wanted them to open up and talk so we wanted them to have a bond and not be afraid," McMillan said.

Spain forward Pau Gasol, a Los Angeles Lakers teammate of Bryant, sees what a difference the defensive intensity and communication has made.

"I think it's not that they're a lot better individually," Gasol said. "As a team they're working better together. They're more intense that they were in past years. They're playing with a purpose. That's to win and show everyone they're superior."

The U.S. defense is sending a message, not the contracts, All-Star nods or Nike commercials.

"It tells people we're here to play," Bryant said. "I think something a lot of teams were hoping was that we'd get a little lethargic or a little complacent.

"But we're here to scrap. We're here to do the dirty work. We're going to do all the little things necessary to win this thing."