While Klay Thompson led USA Basketball in scoring with 20 points during their 119-76 thrashing of Slovenia in the FIBA World Cup today, Derrick Rose showed that he was getting a little sick about all the talk about his poor shooting during the tournament in pool play. He had his best game of the tournament and scored in a variety of ways while also finding his teammates.
Rose presciently stated yesterday, “Tomorrow is going to be a different game,” and it was.
In the first half, after missing an early layup mid-way through the first quarter, he got an offensive rebound and put in the easy bucket. Then, in a vintage run, he took off near mid-court and swooped in for this right-handed layup, slashing past a few hopeless defenders in the process:
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He even pushed the issue later in the first half by going hard at a pair of Slovenians before elevating and dropping in a nice left-handed bank-shot from in close.
Rose even showed off some rhythm when the camera found him wiggling his hips to get loose on the sideline:
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Then, in a second half that saw the US run away with another lopsided win, Rose threw a few yo-yo dribbles at a defender before settling for a smooth pull-up jumper.
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Rose missed a pair of three-pointers, but he looked a lot more active on the offensive end, shooting 6-for-10 from the field for 12 points to go with five dimes and only two turnovers — something he struggled with earlier in the tournament. He was especially fine in those mini transitions that happen when defenders forget, ‘oh right, it’s Derrick Rose!’
Even James Harden agreed Rose looked brilliant at times, telling reporters after the game, “Derrick Rose looked amazing.”
(vines via @gifdsports; video via Emmet Ryan)
Will D-Rose play better moving forward?
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