USA Basketball: Vanilla the Flavor of the Day for Rose and Crew

I’m not sure if Greece features a Ben and Jerry’s ice cream parlor, but if they did, Team USA and Team Greece would have been in the mood for some vanilla ice cream.

In a game starring two of the world’s top teams, both Mike Krzyzewski and Greece coach Jonas Lazlauskeas played things very close to the vest. This game was treated exactly for what it is, an exhibition game.

Don’t be fooled by the results, as the USA ran out to an early lead, and eventually dismantled Greece 87-59. Both teams ran few offensive sets and several key players sat out for Greece. In a street ball game, which this essentially was, Team USA will dominate every time.

But there were some things to take away from this game, including the versatility shown by team leaders Derrick Rose and Kevin Durant.

Rose was efficient and effective in his time, tallying 13 points on 6-7 shooting. What’s more impressive is the shooting stroke Rose displayed, connecting on a three point attempt and a baseline jumper. If Rose continues to shoot the ball this well, in addition to his athleticism and ability to finish in traffic, look for more impact performances.

The variety, in which Kevin Durant impacted this game, was equally impressive.

Durant continued to score, chipping in 15 points, but his rebounding and playmaking were on display as well. Durant also showed off an improving post up game. On a team with glaring holes, Durant will need to shoulder a heavy load.

For the first time, Eric Gordon received extended playing time and added 18 points, including 4 threes. Kevin Love also provided a spark off the bench with 12 rebounds.

But not all is well in the land void of “Reedemness”.

Rudy Gay continued to struggle, forcing shots, and turning the ball over. The combination of Lamar Odom and Tyson Chandler were bullied by 2nd string Greek center, Costas Tsartsaris, to the tune of 17 1st half points, and 24 combined overall. And someone really should tell Andre Iguodala to refrain from ever shooting a three point shot again.

Don’t expect a similar result the next time these two teams meet. Greece will have their own star players back and motivated European teams do not give up easy lay-ups as Greece did today. This game had a very similar feeling to the 2008 pool play game between the “Redeem Team” and Spain. The USA had their way with Spain. The 2nd time around, Spain came a possession away from gold.

If today’s game was vanilla ice cream, expect a possible second matchup to be a banana float with a can full of whipped cream, two ginormous scoops of rainbow flavored ice cream, and cherries the size of FIBA striped basketballs.

I am definitely looking forward to that.