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Hey, look! We won an international basketball game, and in the fashion that 12 of the best players in the world should against a country that didn't invent the game.
112-69.
Carmelo Anthony had 17, Michael Redd 17, and Kobe Bryant 14 (with 5 assists). I watched most of the 1st half and was impressed with how well they were playing together. One shouldn't be surprised by that, but considering the recent past of international play you have to expect the worst. As many of you have pointed out, the one player that's the most valuable is Jason Kidd:
Kobe’s contributions show up in the box score, but those of the game's second-most impressive player do not. Jason Kidd attempted no shots, dished four assists, grabbed three rebounds, and probably didn’t even hold the ball for more than 90 seconds combined, but he completely controlled the game’s tempo with a number of full court outlet passes off of both makes and misses. Without having looked at game tape, Kidd never seemed to hold the ball for more than one second; he had every move planned out well in advance of the defense. He’d be the perfect point guard for this team even if Nash were American, because no one can control tempo like him without dribbling. On a team with so many talented scorers, his skills cannot be talked about enough.Best (or worst) of all, Bill Walton was in rare form last night.
Bill Walton can be a polarizing figure in the booth, but only the biggest Dead hater would give him poor marks for his work on Wednesday. Some of the highlights: opening the game with a detailed explanation of the origins of Venezuela’s name; not knowing what a fade haircut is (“so you go in and ask for a fade?”); comparing LeBron’s best dunk to Angel Falls, the largest waterfall in the world (and in Venezuela); telling us not to underestimate the importance of Scot Pollard in Boston; and, my personal favorite, praising Hugo Chavez for educating poor Venezuelans. Can you imagine Mark Jackson talking about how Hugo Chavez doesn’t govern “the right way”?USA vs US Virgin Islands (sans Tim Duncan) tonight.
Now This Was a Superior Machine (Plissken at the Buzzer)
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