Russia v. US

This 89-68 victory was the least impressive of the US's exhibition victories so far. Russia was tall, tough, experienced and able to minimize the Americans' fast break points while outrebounding them 12-4.

Some sights -

1. There's no doubt David Blatt, Russia's head coach but born and raised in the US, has officially gone over to the dark side, sartorially speaking. If his open-collar, flaming-font red Russian shirt tucked into tight designer jeans doesn't scream "Euro Trash," it's only because the outfit's far too hoarse.

2. It is both amazing to note and indicative of the US's obscene stable of talent that Kobe Bryant, one of the greatest scorers in NBA history and at 29 still in his prime, was only the US's 6th leading scorer at the game's onset. Admittedly, part of the reason for this relative paucity of points is Kobe's single-minded dedication to defense for this team. His 12 points in the third quarter, however, showed how important Kobe's offense still is for his team. The 8 point deficit they faced with 3 minutes was the closest they had been late in an exhibition game so far. Kobe's timely drives and perimeter shooting, as well as a couple of 3s from Redd, helped expand the US's lead to a more comfy 18 going into the fourth quarter.


3. It just occured to me with 4 minutes in the first quarter as Dwayne Wade speedily slithered to the basket for a deuce that Wade's new bald pate makes him look like a bigger, less surly version of Nick Van Exel.