First, they are the host country, so they always get and deserve extra coverage. Second, the player Collins was talking about is Yi Jianlian. I heard the telecast and it was clear to me (an NBA fan) that he was talking about those few plays lighting a fire under Jianlian as a player in general. He's been a disappointment in the NBA. Talented but maybe not motivated or driven. Collins was saying that he needed to show more aggressiveness in the NBA and that dunk was a good sign for him.
Also, Collins was vamping pretty hard at that point with the US up 39 points. WTF else is the guy going to talk about?