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USA | 119 | Final | 86 | Australia |  |
STARTERS
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Chris Paul, G 3-7 FG | 1-4 3PT | 0-2 FT | 1 REB | 3 AST | 7 PTS Paul wasn't quite as masterful offensively in this one as he was against Argentina, but he did give the Aussie guards fits on the defensive end, coming away with a team-high five steals. With guys like LeBron and KD running the floor, that's 10 more free points. |
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Kobe Bryant, G 6-14 FG | 6-10 3PT | 2-2 FT | 1 REB | 3 AST | 20 PTS "How can you give Kobe a B- when he shot 60 percent from three?!" some of you are undoubtedly wondering. And you're right — he did explode late. But that first half was the worst I've ever seen him play, hands down. That has to factor in somewhere. |
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Kevin Durant, F 5-13 FG | 4-9 3PT | 0-0 FT | 5 REB | 1 AST | 14 PTS Durant came back down to earth after his stratospheric performance on Monday. He never really looked comfortable and wasn't able to fully engage offensively. He took way too many tough jump shots and got pushed around on defense. KD can do better. |
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LeBron James, F 3-7 FG | 1-3 3PT | 4-7 FT | 14 REB | 12 AST | 11 PTS LeBron dominated the game without scoring, finishing with a Rondo-esque line of 11-14-12. It was Team USA's first ever triple-double since they started keeping assists as a stat in the 1970s, and that should really say it all. LeBron is just so, so good. |
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Tyson Chandler, C 3-4 FG | 0-0 3PT | 0-0 FT | 2 REB | 0 AST | 6 PTS Chandler (again) watched much of this game from the bench — a phenomenon that I've given up trying to understand. He was solid when he was on the floor, providing some semblance of a post presence. But I doubt he'll ever see more than 10 minutes a game. |
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BENCH
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Carmelo Anthony, F 6-12 FG | 2-7 3PT | 3-4 FT | 4 REB | 0 AST | 17 PTS A decent outing from Melo. He took a few more threes than I would have preferred, but that seems to be a team-wide problem. He scored well when he got himself better looks inside and even visibly exerted himself on a few defensive possessions. Not bad at all. |
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Deron Williams, G 4-10 FG | 3-7 3PT | 7-7 FT | 3 REB | 2 AST | 18 PTS A similar story for the other New York-based star. Deron did take a lot of threes, but he made enough and did a great job of drawing fouls and getting to the stripe. I would prefer a little more defensive effort, but that may be unrealistic. This was good enough. |
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Russell Westbrook, G 1-3 FG | 0-1 3PT | 4-6 FT | 0 REB | 1 AST | 6 PTS Russell wasn't really involved offensively beyond getting to the line a few times. However, he did amp up the defensive pressure, picking up the Aussie guards full-court in the second half, which seemed to give them some problems. |
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Kevin Love, F 4-8 FG | 0-2 3PT | 2-4 FT | 11 REB | 1 AST | 10 PTS 10 points and 11 boards in 10 minutes — how's that for efficiency? Love has been among Team USA's best players of late, despite getting fairly limited opportunities. He's averaging 29.3 points and 16.9 rebounds per 40 minutes in London. He deserves minutes. |
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Andre Iguodala, F 1-1 FG | 1-1 3PT | 0-0 FT | 1 REB | 0 AST | 3 PTS Coming off his best game of the summer, Iguodala was mostly invisible in this one. He didn't get a ton of time to begin with, but he also didn't make much of an impact when he got his chances. Just a ho-hum outing. Not great, not terrible, just there. |
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James Harden, G 3-4 FG | 1-2 3PT | 0-0 FT | 0 REB | 1 AST | 7 PTS Normally I don't grade players that play fewer than five minutes, but Harden certainly made the most of his four. He unleashed two vicious dunks, including a sick lob from CP3, before splashing a late three-ball. I nominate the Bearded One for garbage time MVP. |
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Not Graded: Anthony Davis
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