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GETTING USED TO SOME RULE DIFFERENCES PART OF WCUP LEARNING PROCESS FOR USA BASKETBALL

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates (AP) —

There were 1.4 seconds left in the first half of USA Basketball’s first exhibition game of its pre-World Cup tour this summer, with the Americans taking the ball out on the far end of the floor. US coach Steve Kerr signalled for a quick inbounds pass and desperation heave.

If he was coaching such a game in San Francisco, or any other NBA city, Kerr probably would never call timeout in that situation.

Only this summer, he’s coaching under FIBA rules. And after getting a bit of an education on how timeouts don’t carry over into the second half under FIBA rules, Kerr realised he could have called one to set up a better play.

“All this stuff comes into play now,” said Kerr, coach of the Golden State Warriors. “That’s what these exhibition games are for — for players and coaches.”

The international game and the NBA game are basically the same: The rims are still 10 feet off the ground, teams still play 5-on-5 and fouls are still fouls.

But there are a slew of differences — some nuanced, some not so much — that will make the World Cup seem different from the game that the Americans are used to playing in the United States.

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