https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HvqPFsLTl7o
Kevin Durant and Team USA are still gearing up for the Olympics, and on Tuesday night they did so with a showcase game in Durant’s new digs, Oracle Arena in Oakland, against the Chinese national team. The game was predictably lopsided, but Durant’s night wasn’t all cheers from the rafters.
Late in the game, which is to say hours past when the result was in doubt, Durant put on a clinic for a poor Chinese defender, crossing him out of his shoes before whipping a one-handed, cross-court pass to Kyle Lowry in the corner. A shooter like Lowry normally never has the kind of space in that area in the NBA, so Durant assumed the bucket was dropping — hence the early celebration, Steph Curry and Klay Thompson style.
It does say something about the lack of competitiveness on display that the two most memorably moments from the game were Durant’s premature celebration and DeMar DeRozan’s would-have-been-legendary 360-dunk attempt. That’s probably part of why the team’s head coach, Mike Krzyzewski, thought the team had “too much fun,” which is just classic Coach K.
But forget that. We want these stars to always attempt the spectacular, because even if it falls short, at least it spices up a 50-point blowout.
