STEVE Kerr insisted there was a need for the young USA team to recognize the level of competition in the Fiba Basketball World Cup.
Lithuania dealt the Americans a stunning loss ahead of the quarterfinal bout with Italy.
READ: Lithuania dents Team USA's perfect record ahead of Final Eight
“I liked what happened (in the game) because this (World Cup) happens so quickly. This bringing together of a team, we practice for a few weeks, and you play for a gold medal — happens quickly," Kerr said.
"And it's different. Fiba’s different from the NBA and that’s a big focus for our team," he added.
"We talk about it every day but these guys have to feel how good these teams are. Lithuania’s a brilliant basketball team. They move, they shoot it, they cut hard, they’re really well-coached,” Kerr stressed.
"(Lithuania) just punched us in the mouth right away. They made every shot, they executed, so I don’t think it’s a case of us not being ready but a case of them playing a perfect first quarter. We understand how hard we’re gonna have to play to accomplish our goal," he added.
Kerr thinks the defeat might just have been a good thing for Team USA.
"(The loss) was good for us. I hate losing and I probably won’t sleep much tonight. But for us to get better, we needed to feel this. We needed to respond the way we did. And next game, we have to start the way we did in the second half. We can’t ease into the game at all,” Kerr explained.
"I'm hoping that this is a lesson and we get better from this," he said.
The Americans will only have a full day's rest before their quarterfinal battle with Italy on Tuesday, 8:40 p.m. at the Mall of Asia Arena.
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