The USA Men's Olympic basketball team got off on the right foot last night, stomping the Dominican Republic to the tune of 113-59. There was never any serious doubt to the game's outcome, but it was still pretty impressive to watch the team showcase what is going to make it extremely formidable throughout the Olympic tournament.
Kevin Durant led all scorers with 24 points on 9-11 shooting, including 5-6 from the 3-point line. The team overall shot 56.8% from the floor, which is actually kind of low given that the team attempted an unnecessary 33 shots from 3-point range.
Among the highlights:
- Durant looks like he's shooting free throws when he attempts 3-pointers from the closer FIBA stripe.
- LeBron James actually pulls off a behind-the-back pass on an out-of-bounds play.
- Andre Iguodala is going to get open looks all tournament long.
- Given how loaded the team is at the forward and guard positions, Kobe Bryant is arguably the worst scoring guard on the team.
- Russell Westbrook looks ready to embrace his defense-first role. Seriously, the idea of Russ teaming up with Iggy to work a 2-man full court press makes me dizzy with excitement.
- The funniest moment of the game occurred at the very end, when Anthony Davis (college player of the year, national champ, and replacement for Blake Griffin) drilled a 3-pointer with the clock running out in the game, and then proceeded with some good-natured taunting at his former Kentucky coach John Calipari, who is the current head coach of the Dominican Republic.
After the jump, courtesy Daily Thunder, all of Durant's points during the game.
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