After its week-long training camp in Las Vegas, the US Men’s National Team takes its next step toward the FIBA World Cup in Spain later this month with an intrasquad scrimmage Friday night (9 p.m., ESPN).
Here are a few things to watch when the 20 players on the current roster face off against one another:
1. The big man battle
The biggest topic of discussion in camp has been how exactly National Team director Jerry Colangelo and head coach Mike Krzyzewski will determine which big men will be on the team when it leaves for Spain in a few weeks.
Anthony Davis is a lock to make the roster, and arguably is the team’s second best player behind Kevin Durant. But it’s not at all clear who will back him up after the departures of Kevin Love, Blake Griffin and LaMarcus Aldridge in the days leading up to camp.
The biggest surprise of the entire camp has been the Nets’ Mason Plumlee. He was promoted to take part in the national team camp after originally being brought to Vegas as part of the Select Team (a group of young players used as practice players) and now is being given a legitimate chance to make the final roster for the World Cup.
Plumlee and Davis are on one team for Friday night’s scrimmage, while Andre Drummond and DeMarcus Cousins are on the other. Their battle should make for interesting viewing.
2. Kyrie Irving vs. John Wall
Derrick Rose and Stephen Curry are seen as virtual locks to make the final roster, barring injury, likely meaning only one of Kyrie Irving, John Wall and Damian Lillard will also be part of the final 12.
For now, it seems Irving and Wall – who will face off against one another in Friday’s scrimmage – will be the two duking it out for that spot. Irving is the better shooter and scorer, but Wall is the much better defender and passer, and it would seem those would be more important skills for this team to have in a backup point guard.
Irving, however, impressed in camp back in 2012, and played for US coach Mike Krzyzewski at Duke – two things that could tip the scales in his favor.
3. Rose in game action
It’s been basically two lost seasons for Rose, who after missing the entire 2012-13 season after tearing up his knee missed virtually all of last season after tearing his meniscus. Reports out of camp this week, however, have the Bulls star looking like his old self again, aggressively attacking the basket and wreaking havoc on opposing defenders.
If Rose is able to return to something like his pre-injury form this coming season, the Bulls are the overwhelming favorites to advance out of the Eastern Conference for the first time since Michael Jordan was on the team. That’s obviously a big “if” after the way the past two seasons went for Rose, but it will be fascinating to see what he looks like in a competitive environment for the first time in too long.