With 8:35 left in the first quarter, America’s Jason Kidd logged hiswait for it — third foul in the USA-Greece game. It was pathetic. Greece went right after Kidd after he logged two fouls in what seemed like two seconds. The third foul sent America’s floor general to the bench, basically for the rest of the night.
Though his numbers don’t completely show it, reserve guard Chris Paul had a splendid night. The Hornets star and MVP runner-up finished with four points and three assists in nearly 26 minutes, but he also played gritty defense. Paul helped mark Vasileios Spanoulis, Greece’s star guard, who finished the night just 4-for-13 from the field with two assists. And Greece lost.
But whether or not Kidd had foul trouble, there have been murmurs in basketball circles here that Paul is the guy America needs at the point. Paul can get to the basket quicker than Kidd, and Paul has a friendly rapport with LeBron James and Denver’s Carmelo Anthony, two offensive stars of Team USA.
It will be very interesting to see how much clock Paul gets against Spain on Saturday. Reserve Deron Williams has been pretty active himself, logging 24 minutes on Thursday.
But regardless of who mans the point, it is clearly an upgrade from the likes of Stephon Marbury, who was on the 2004 team.
Zai jian,
Benjamin Hochman
