MEXICO CITY

The hope for Canada is that the grueling grind they have already had experience with wears down some opponents in Round 2.

Each team will play four days in a row, something Canada did in Round 1, but many of the other survivors did not.

No other team is as deep as Canada, which has been spreading minutes around liberally knowing that edge should come in increasingly handy as the proceedings advance.

“Four games in four days, we feel like we have an advantage because we’ve done it already,” head coach Jay Triano said Saturday after a practice that was light on physical demands due to the games ahead.

“Our minutes have been very managed. I think that’s because of the talent we have in our country. I can afford to put anybody out there,” he said.

“They’ve all played significant minutes in significant games. I hope that bodes well for us, as some teams have maybe had to overplay some of their better players to get into this position.”

Indeed, most of the other teams have played their stars a ton of minutes, while Triano has given every player at least 14 minutes off a game (Andrew Wiggins leads the team at just shy of 26 a night).

The next two opponents (Panama and Uruguay) shouldn’t tax Canada’s top players too much, leaving them fresh for a huge tilt against the hosts on Tuesday night.

Still, Triano isn’t expecting any of them to be easy affairs.

“Every game means something now, because there could be tie-breakers involved,” he said.

“Everybody’s in the mix. One loss can throw you into a scramble where you’re now tied with three teams and the point spreads come in. That’s one of the things we think was good about coming out of the round (the way) we did, with two 20-point victories — if we get into a tie-breaker situation, we’re in a good spot. We’ve played the international game well that way.”

Centre Kelly Olynyk would like to see Canada continue to improve.

“I think we just built on every game, that’s the main thing. We got better every single game, whether it’s defensively, offensively, execution-wise. We all played together and guys are starting to step up and make shots and make plays and I think we’re all getting confidence not only individually, but as a team.”

Canada should have some confidence, seeing as the team leads the tournament in a number of categories.

Canada is crushing all comers on the boards,averaging 53 per game to 40.8.

Canada is also making 22.5 free throws to 13 and 5.3 blocks to 2.5.

Triano wants his young, athletic squad to run as much as possible and the team’ 29.3-to-14.5 fast break points per game edge indicate that is working.

On the negative side, Triano has been harping on the fact the team has been committing far too many turnovers and needs to shore things up.

Canada is committing 13.3 turnovers per game and allowing 13.5 points off of those miscues, while only forcing 8.5 themselves for 8.8 points.

Ideally, they will use their length, instincts and athleticism to greater effect in Round 2 and beyond.

“I think when we’re good defensively, we’re really good. It allows us to run in transition,” Triano said.

“That’s been the focus for us all summer, how well we guard at the defensive end and whether we’re all engaged during the actions. We’ve always said transition is the big thing for us. If we eliminate transition and guard screen-rolls real well, it’s going to lead to good things offensively.”