Team USA defeated the Greek National Team in Athens, Greece, today wrapping up their round of international exhibition games with an 87-59 victory. The Americans finished with a 5-0 record in pre-World Championship competition this summer with wins over China (scrimmage), France, Lithuania, Spain and now Greece.
“We were pleased with having the combinations we had on the court,” said Team USA head coach Mike Krzyzewski. “We’re not a big team and they (Greece) hurt us inside and they probably would have hurt us inside more if they had their two other guys. That’s just something we’re going to have to overcome with our size and quickness.”
The rotations Coach K used in today’s game was much more like the battle plan the coaching staff has discussed previously. Unlike the last exhibition against Spain where a few starters played over 30 minutes. Today, only one starter played 20 minutes (Kevin Durant) and the most minutes played by anyone was 21 from Eric Gordon. The coaching staff may have been trying to rest their starting line-up but they seem set on quick 5-6 minute rotations between their players and if they follow through with that this is most likely what the minute totals will look like going forward.
Speaking of Gordon, Eric had an excellent game against Greece and likely would have secured his roster spot had Rajon Rondo not dropped out yesterday. The Los Angeles Clippers guard scored 18 points on six-of-11 shooting with four three’s. This was exactly the kind of performance that USA Basketball Chairman Jerry Colangelo and the Team USA coaches wanted to see from Gordon as a way to reassure their decision to keep him around. He has yet to have a bad day but he hasn’t stood out as well as he did today. Even a fraction of this offensive spark in Turkey will make him a worthwhile team member which is great considering his already stout defense.
“Well I’m just making open shots,” Gordon said after the game. “Our team was in great rhythm and I basically scored off transition baskets, just hitting threes and just hitting easy layups.”
Though Gordon’s performance was spectacular, he did not earn player of the game honors. That award went to Derrick Rose, who finished six-of-seven from the field for 13 points with a three, two rebounds and two steals. Rose started at point guard today (with Chauncey Billups at shooting guard) and will likely keep that role with Rondo gone. Rose can attack the basket with the best of them, which will be a huge asset for Team USA and his shot has looked pretty good this summer when shooting on an international sized court. Derrick has also had a surge of energy on the defensive end and his strong six-foot-three frame have made him a hassle to deal with for opposing point guards when Coach K decides to stick them with the full court press.
“We went out with a bang,” said Team USA’s new starting point guard. “We played well. At halftime, we just tried to come out play aggressive and not let them back in, like we did Spain. That’s something we’ve been working on and it’s coming along.”
“That was fun,” Derrick continued about winning the MVP. “All of that stuff is great. Guys were playing with me and stuff like that. It’s something that I can tell my kids about when I get older. I’m happy to be here.”
While both Gordon and Rose had nice games, I would have given the MVP award to Kevin Love for his performance today. After barely seeing more than five minutes of playing time prior to this game, Love stepped in due to foul trouble with Tyson Chandler and Lamar Odom (four and three fouls, respectively; three is the limit in FIBA play) and contributed with 10 points on four-of-eight shooting with 12 rebounds (six offensive) and three steals. Love may be on the squad for emergency purposes only but a game like today’s (where he dominated the game on the boards) may give the coaching staff reason to reconsider his role.
“We just came out and played team ball,” Love said of his team’s final warm-up game of the summer. “There were a couple spurts there where the runs really came back at us with their team. They had a good big man in there who had 17 in the first half. We definitely just wanted to slow down the pick and roll and come out there and keep playing our style of basketball.”
Other notable scorers for Team USA were Kevin Durant, who had 15 points, seven rebounds and three assists in just 20 minutes and Russell Westbrook, who put in eight points while continuing to attack relentlessly on both ends of the floor. For Greece, a six-foot-10 power forward/center by the name of Kostas Tsartsaris scored 24 points on nine-of-12 shooting and really took advantage of the Americans’ interior defense.
The World Championships begin this Saturday in Instanbul, Turkey, for Team USA. Expect a preview of the tournament for Team USA to be posted on Friday.
