Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim and Chicago Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau showing their praise for the Splash Brothers, with Thibodeau referring to the pair as elite.
Final score: 62-105 USA
Stephen Curry - 17 min, 8 points, 3/7 FGM/FGA, 2/4 3FGM/3FGA, 3 assists, 2 rebounds, 1 TO
Klay Thompson - 14 min, 11 points, 4/8 FGM/FGA, 2/4 3FGM/3FGA, 1 assist, 3 rebounds, 1 TO
The lack of steals is not reflective of Klay's defense, as he clearly is assigned to become the team's lockdown perimeter defender. He helped force Francisco Garcia into shooting 6/14 from the field.
Klay also created 3 of his buckets off the dribble: 1 off a pumpfake from the right corner, 1 off a fake screen from DeMarcus Cousins, and 1 off a screen from Boogie.
Players of the game: Kyrie Irving - 16 min, 12 points 5/5 FGM/FGA, 2/2 3FGM/3FGA, 5 assists, 4 rebounds
Dude can play D. He is perceived as a below average defender, but he ranked 11th in the league in offensive usage percentage among players who played at least 70 games, so he had to exert most of his energy on offense. Then again, this could just be the work of Thibs.
DeMar DeRozan - 23 min, 13 points, 6/9 FGM/FGA, 1/1 3FGM/3FGA, 6 assists, 5 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 TO
Not bad for someone (DeRozan) who didn't play at all in the exhibition game against Brazil yet still came out ready to impress.
Though only an exhibition game and the Dominican Republic ranks 26th in the world in FIBA Rankings, it's fun to compare last night's game to the exhibition game played by a more dominant USA team in 2012.