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This time, the three-pointers were falling much more easily -- Team USA shot 50% from long-range against squishy, stand-around Virgin Island defense. Tell me Tim Duncan isn't watching those highlights and hollering at his islanders through the TV screen.

There was a lot to like for the team from the States. The US had 30 assists, and kept the Virgin Islands to just five. Fourteen steals compared to two. Just four turnovers for Team USA, compared to 19 for their opponent. Playing harder and smarter. Well done.

Remember yesterday I pointed out that the team only posted up four times all game against Venezuela, according to the game logging of Synergy Sports? Well against the Virgin Islands, Synergy credits Team USA with posting up ... once. As in one time. All game. Against a much smaller team. It was Tyson Chandler on a broken play, and at least his jumphook went in.

UPDATE: Upon review, there were also three or four Dwight Howard possessions that could be considered post-ups -- including the first play of the game.

Sure, Amare Stoudemire caught it with his back to the basket a couple of times, but it was way out by the three-point line, and he used guard moves from there.

Look, this Team USA is good. They're heavy favorites. Probably there is no point at all in nitpicking the roster. There's no one on this team who doesn't deserve to be here.

But they're very jump-shooty for a team of NBA All-Stars aren't they? Last night they shot thirty three-pointers in a forty-minute game. (They took 72 total shots.)

TrueHoop reader Sadaqat emailed me to say that he suspects the shorter international line could make things harder for Team USA:

I'll bet you 400 million dollars that this wouldn't even be a competition (as if it is right now) if the court also had an NBA regulation three point line painted as well as the baby international three-point line. Shooting is all visuals and memory. I remember in college in Canada, with FIBA rules, I could knock down international threes like nobody's business but only as long as the line was there. The moment I started shooting on the side baskets without lines, my percentage declined. It's why players have trouble shooting right inside the NBA line during games. The brain and the eye don't like ambiguity.

(Sadaqat also makes this important point: "Mike Miller could be mistaken for an Argentine player with his hairstyle matching those of everyone on the team. Why doesn't Herbal Essences reach out to the brother? That's advertising gold right there without doing any real work.)

When you're shooting long balls that much, especially with ten games in 12 days, you can guarantee that there will be shooting droughts. There will be spells when the team goes 1 for 10 from downtown. And the competition will get better. Brazil is on the radar, but here's a convincing case the Argentina is not to be counted out either.

What are they going to do then? Bring in more shooters, I guess, and hope they're hotter. Or just give the ball to Kobe Bryant. Not the worst options.

Remember how Detroit used to use Adrian Dantley, though? Or Corliss Williamson? A bench player who isn't even really an integral part of what the team normally does on offense, but just comes in, mows people down for a little while in the lane, draws lots of fouls, gets lots of ugly buckets, and keeps those scoring droughts at bay?

Wouldn't it be great for Team USA to have a 12th man horse they could ride for one of those short international quarters every now and again? Whoever you could get out of Shaquille O'Neal, Eddy Curry, Zach Randolph, Carlos Boozer, even Al Jefferson could no doubt be cheerleader-in-chief for much of the tournament, but give you a ten-point quarter whenever you needed one.

I know it doesn't fit the overall approach this team is after, but it's not a bad insurance policy.

Wait, what's that you say? Amare Stoudemire could be that guy? Maybe he could be. But we don't know that. That's certainly not how they play him in Phoenix, where his most efficient scoring nights are the result of team play, not individual creativity.