Nets’ Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson score 17 in Team USA’s 109-81 win over Greece
Team USA played its second official game of the 2023 FIBA World Cup on Monday against Greece and won 109-81.
For Team USA, Austin Reaves had 15 points and six assists while Jalen Brunson had 13 points and two assists. Anthony Edwards had 13 points and Bobby Portis Jr. had 10 points.
For Greece, Georgios Papagiannis had 17 points and three rebounds while Nikos Rogkavopoulos had 14 points and four rebounds. Thomas Walkup had nine points and Ioannis Papapetrou had nine points.
In the first half, the Americans showed that this game was a continuation of what they have been doing for the entire showcase plus the games that have counted. The first quarter was tightly contested as both teams did not let up defensively, but in the second quarter, Team USA started pulling away as they began to string good offensive possessions together.
In the second half, Team USA continued to build on what allowed them to build separation in the first half. As the Americans have been doing throughout this FIBA play, they played smothering defense and showed off their talent on offense.
Here are the player grades for Brooklyn Nets wings Mikal Bridges and Cam Johnson:
Mikal Bridges: B+
Bridges did a good job of scoring the basketball in this one. While his long-range shooting was below what NBA watchers expect from him, he made up for that by maximizing his opportunities in the mid-range like Nets fans have become accustomed to. One great thing to see was the way that Bridges was passing the ball as he made some nice passes within the flow of the offense. Bridges’ primary defensive matchup was against Walkup and Bridges more than held his own against him defensively.
Cam Johnson: C
Johnson did not play much in this game until the contest got out of hand in the second half. Part of the reason is Johnson struggled shooting the ball overall despite making 2-of-4 shots from three-point land. As usual, Johnson did not play outside of what he’s capable and that’s why he fits well on this team where role players are vital to team success.
