Greg Popovich got into a heated interview with the reporter, Jason Tatum’s move to the bench and other takeaways from USA Basketball’s loss to Australia

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A look at some takeaways for Team USA after the Americans dropped their second consecutive exhibition game 91-83 to Australia on Monday night in Las Vegas.

Greg Popovich was not happy with a reporter’s questioning line after the defeat

It’s the show’s only season but USA head coach Greg Popovich wasn’t impressed with a reporter’s questioning line Monday night. Damian Lillard asked about watching the former Olympic teams of the United States dominate most other countries in years past, a far cry from the team’s current display in the opening two shows.

“It’s not the first time I’ve seen Team USA get tested,” Lillard said. “Maybe I haven’t beaten him twice in a row, but I’ve seen it before. These other teams and these other countries keep improving. These players are getting better and more confident and they also want to beat us so badly. It’s definitely noticeable when you’re on the field.”

However, Popovich decided that he would not leave the question unchallenged. After Lillard finished his response, he decided to make a statement.

“Also, let me answer that question,” Popovic declared. “You asked the same kind of question last time, and you assume things aren’t true.”

The reporter interrupted Popovich at this point, which led to a sharp exchange between the spouses.

“Are you going to let me finish my statement or not?” Popovic repeated several times back and forth before the reporter acquiesced. “So you will be quiet now while I speak. And then I will listen to you.”

“When you make statements about the past, you just blow up these other teams… No. 1 you don’t give any respect to other teams. I spoke to you last time about the same thing. We’ve had very close matches against four or five countries in all of these tournaments. So, Good teams don’t get blown up. There are some matches that might happen in a tournament, world championships and Olympics when someone gets blown up but in general, no one blows anyone up for good teams. So, when you make a statement like that it’s like you’re assuming that This is what is happening and it is not true.”

Apparently Popovich didn’t want the blast story to take hold by trying to convince the reporter of the assignment after Team USA’s second consecutive defeat. It’s rare to see such a heated exchange after an exhibition competition, but it was a sign of Popovic’s desire to defend his players from not living up to early expectations.

Jason Tatum tries to play the role of the bench

Jason Tatum is one of the best players on the NBA team. However, Greg Popovich was looking for a slightly different defensive appearance on Monday night following an ugly attempt against Nigeria on Saturday.

He chose to send top talents Jason Tatum and Pam Adebayo to the bench with Draymond Green and Jeramy Grant included in the starting lineup, likely in an effort to bring in more versatile defensive edge at the start. Tatum’s offensive chances will be more numerous with Unit Two in theory with Damien Lillard, Bradley Beal and Kevin Durant all at the start.

Popovich’s plan worked well early on as the US jumped to a nine-point lead in the first half but that momentum couldn’t have lasted more than 40 minutes.

“I thought we got better tonight,” Popovich said. “After a short time together, there’s a lot of stuff to cover, but the first half and the second half were two different beasts.

“In the first half we defended the way we wanted to defend. … We rebounded better. We moved the ball better at the end of the attack and had more speed. In the second half, we got tired.”

Tatum was one of several players to suffer defeat, with only 4 of 12 going off the field to score eight points. He added four passes and three rebounds in his 25 minutes on the reserve. Whether or not Popovich holds Tatum off the bench will be an interesting story to watch as the Olympics approach.

Patti Mills deserves a look from Boston this summer

With some of the best talent in the NBA fit for Team USA, it was an Australian goalkeeper who ended up being the best player on the ground in a rough time Monday night. Spurs finished guard Patty Mills with 22 points and four assists for the team in 30 minutes, helping Australia pull out 11-1 during the final four minutes of the competition to claim a surprise win in the 16 underdog point.

The 6-foot-tall goalkeeper is set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer after spending his entire career with Tottenham. His combination of speed and passing vision resulted in easy buckets against the Americans with the game on the line as he capitalized on the United States’ lack of consistency.

That kind of variety should make Mills an attractive target for Boston and many other contenders around the league this summer. Spurs may be going in a smaller direction with their roster, which could force Mills to find a new home. He’s played several seasons under new Celtics coach Aim Odoka and that could do well for the Celtics if they run him with the mid-level exception.

Brad Stevens is clearly in need of a little extra depth this summer after dumping the effort of Kimba Walker and Mills on Monday night was a reminder that he could make an impact against some of the best talent in the world.

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