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US players learning differences between Olympic hoops, NBA

TOKYO — The U.S. men’s basketball team was about to start playing its final warm-up for the Tokyo Olympics a few days ago in Las Vegas, and Spain’s Ricky Rubio found himself in a pregame conversation with American guard Zach LaVine.

Rubio has well over a decade of experience in the international game. LaVine has a few weeks.

“This is different,” LaVine told Rubio. Rubio nodded. LaVine wasn’t wrong.

The rims are 10 feet high and much of the court looks the same as what American NBA players are used to, but the nuances of the international game are much different. Quarters are 10 minutes long instead of 12, games move more quickly with fewer time-outs, the 3-point line is closer, the level of physicality is higher and much of what happens on defense under FIBA rules simply doesn’t fly in the NBA.

“I mean, it’s basketball, but it’s a little different,” Rubio said. “That being said, it’s not just the rules, it’s the role they have on the team as well. Maybe you have one or two shots in the first quarter when you usually have like five or six in the first five minutes of the game, and you have to be ready for that. There’s a lot of handchecks; it’s called different in NBA than in FIBA. There is a lot of physicality. I will say, it’s played different.”

And many of the teams in the Olympics have been together before and have a familiarity with the different rules.

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