ISTANBUL -- It has been a while since the U.S. National Team felt the rush of playing a meaningful game. After escaping with a win over Brazil on Monday, they played two non-competitive contests against Iran and Tunisia, followed by three days off.
The time between pool play at the 2010 FIBA World Championship and their round-of-16 matchup with Angola (Monday, 11 a.m. ET, ESPN2) allowed them to get some much-needed time on the practice floor. But now, they're ready to get back to action.
"We're highly anxious to play," Danny Granger said Sunday. "The last two games weren't exactly two really good teams, and we didn't play too particularly well. So we're definitely anxious to get back to meaningful games."
Sunday's practice in Istanbul was shorter than the full-contact session they went through on Saturday, but the team did get some work done. And at this point in the tournament, head coach Mike Krzyzewski says that he doesn't want to make things too complicated.
"We might add a certain set, because we want to go to a certain guy to highlight him," Krzyzewski said. "You don't want to add too much now, like over-coach them. You want to prepare them, but not over-coach them."
But with no margin for error in the single-elimination format of the knockout rounds, it's now time to go full throttle.
"The last two games, especially, you can't blow it all out against those teams," Krzyzewski said. "You've got to pace yourself a little bit. But now, when you're one and done, you don't hold anything back."
So starting with Monday's game against Angola, the U.S. will press more defensively, making quicker substitutions to stay fresh and aggressive.
"We'll kind of show how we're going to play every game the way we play the first one," Krzyzewski said.
Angola has been the best team in Africa for a long time, but they've never had much success at the Olympics or World Championships. Here's a profile of Monday's matchup.
2004 Olympics - USA 89, Angola 53
2008 Olympics - USA 97, Angola 76
• Lost to Serbia, 94-44
• Defeated Jordan, 79-65
• Lost to Argentina, 91-70
• Defeated Germany, 92-88
• Lost to Australia, 76-55
The win over Germany was for fourth place in the group and what got Angola to the knockout rounds. Germany led the game by 10 with less than four minutes to go, but Angola scored 14 points in the final 3:19 of regulation to send it to overtime. They took control early in the extra period and held on for a four-point win.
92.5 points scored per 100 possessions (21st of 24 teams in pool play)
Offensively, Angola is a contrast to the European offenses that flourish on ball movement. The African champions are very much a one-on-one team. They'll run pick-and-rolls, but mostly to free themselves up for a quick shot or drive to the basket. They recorded assists on just 41 percent of their field goals in pool play, the third lowest ratio of the 24 teams in the tournament.
Krzyzewski: "I think they'll attack on offense. That's their nature. That's what they do. They've been a very good attacking team."
Angola plays both man and zone, and they will utilize a 2-2-1 press at times.
Krzyzewski: "Their big guys play off big guys to clog the lane. They have done zone, but their man-to-man, if they clog up, is like a zone. So I would expect more of a sloughing defense, whether it be in man or zone. We have to come down and not overpenetrate against that, but rather make passes and get movement."
From a statistical point of view, Angola was the worst team to qualify for the elimination rounds. They were outscored by 19.1 points per 100 possessions in pool play.
The U.S. should attack the glass. Angola was the second worst defensive rebounding team in pool play, securing just 62 percent of available defensive boards.
Angola was above average in two key statistics defensively. They ranked sixth by forcing 20.8 turnovers per 100 possessions. And they ranked seventh by allowing their opponents to attempt just 24.5 free throws per 100 possessions.
Olimpio Cipriano -- The wing was Angola's leading scorer in pool play, averaging 14.8 points in four games. He dropped 30, hitting four of his six attempts from 3-point range, in the big win over Germany. Andre Iguodala will likely get the assignment of containing him.
Joaquim Gomes -- The big man averaged 11.6 points in pool play and had a double-double against Germany. He's a center who can step out and shoot from the perimeter, a contrast from most big men in this tournament who like to roll to the basket.
Carlos Morais -- The combo guard doesn't shoot particularly well, but he can get to the rim.
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