With depth like this, it’s no wonder the scores have been so lopsided.
Team USA advanced to a 2-0 FIBA World Cup record with a 109-81 shellacking of Greece on Monday.
The Americans now have a plus-55 margin of victory in Group C stage play after their 28-point win in the opener against New Zealand.
Group C’s other three teams – New Zealand, Greece and Jordan – each have a negative margin of victory so far through the first round.
And since the group stage FIBA play is decided by margin of victory and not win-loss record, it would take nothing short of a miracle – with just one game left – for Team USA not to advance to Round 2.
The Americans play Jordan (0-2) in the final Group C stage game early Wednesday morning.
In all likelihood, an undefeated Team USA will advance to Round 2 to compete against the second-best Group C team – likely Greece – as well as Group D’s two-best teams: Lithuania and Montenegro.
And it’s clear after five Showcase exhibition games and two World Cup Group stage games that Team USA’s best attribute is its depth.
More Top Picks Best Noise Canceling Headphones For Sensory Overload
The bench outscored the starters, 60-49, in Monday’s walloping of Greece. This came after the bench’s three-best players – Tyrese Haliburton, Austin Reaves and reigning NBA Rookie of the Year Paolo Banchero – nearly combined to outscore the starters as a trio in Game 1 against New Zealand.
On Monday, the second-unit trio combined for 32 points off the bench in a game Team USA blew open in the second quarter, when the lead first ballooned to double digits.
Reaves led all Team USA scorers with 15 points, six assists and two steals on four-of-seven shooting from the field. On a second consecutive poor shooting game for Anthony Edwards, who finished with 13 points on 4-of-11 shooting after a sloppy turnover-laden Game 1, Reaves stepped up off the bench to provide a spark in the first half.
Greece’s former NBA big man Georgios Papagiannis led all scorers with 17 points, and Thanasis Antetokounmp, brother of Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo, finished with two points that came on a dunk over Walker Kessler.
NEW YORK MINUTE
Knicks star Jalen Brunson turned in his second perfect shooting game of international play. Brunson shot a perfect five-of-five from the field for his 13 points against Greece on Monday. His counterpart, Tyrese Haliburton, finished with nine points, three assists and three blocks against Greece.
Brunson’s NBA teammate, Knicks forward Josh Hart, had his most impactful game of the summer, tallying 11 rebounds, six points and five assists against Greece. Five of his 11 rebounds came on the offensive glass.
As for the Nets representatives for Team USA, Mikal Bridges continues to log quality minutes for Steve Kerr’s group. Bridges finished with nine points and three assists on Monday. On one possession, he bullied a smaller Greece defender on a drive to the rim for an easy pull-up jump shot, called his defender too small with the universal gesture – a hand to the ground – for added impact, then forced a Greek airball on the other end of the floor.
Nets star Cam Johnson also bounced back from two subpar performances to score eight points on two-of-four shooting from downtown off the bench.
BLAST FROM THE PAST
Captaining a Jordan national basketball team is former Nets standout Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, who may be playing his way back into the NBA after two seasons away from the league.
As a super-athletic, defense-first forward, Hollis-Jefferson couldn’t stick in the NBA because of perimeter scoring limitations. However, FIBA basketball fans are likening the former Nets standout to the late great Kobe Bryant – not only because of his physical appearance with a matching haircut and body type, but also because Hollis-Jefferson has come up big as Team Jordan’s best player.
Hollis-Jefferson scored 39 points on 12-of-24 shooting from the field in Jordan’s 95-87 loss to New Zealand on Monday. He scored 24 points on 7-of-11 shooting in Jordan’s previous loss to Greece.