Chicago Bulls: Zach LaVine, United States stunned in loss to Australia
In a game where the Chicago Bulls star shooting guard Zach LaVine didn’t play as big of a role for the United States in their pre-Olympic exhibition circuit, the result was still much of the same. LaVine and Team USA fell short in the second straight game on the night of July 12 in Las Vegas, this time at the hands of Australia.
While Australia is a higher-ranked team internationally than Nigeria, neither loss for the United States inspires any sort of confidence about a clean run to Olympic Gold in Tokyo, Japan, later this month. The initial roster for the United States looked capable of making a clean run to win the Gold Medal in Tokyo for the Summer Olympic Games.
But it would take a big turnaround at this point in time for the United States to get the momentum back to have a clean run to Gold in Tokyo.
In Team USA’s loss to Nigeria on July 10, LaVine was the one that missed the final free throws to put the nail in the coffin for this team. But the loss to Australia on July 12, which came by the final score of 91-83, was one that saw a smaller role for LaVine.
Chicago Bulls star SG Zach LaVine can’t help Team USA get over the hump vs. Australia
At least there were no injury issues this game for LaVine.
LaVine registered just five points, one rebound, one assist, one steal, no blocks, and no turnovers. And he shot just 1-of-4 from the field, 1-of-4 from beyond the arc, and 2-of-2 from the free-throw line. That all came in just over 13 minutes on the floor for the Bulls star.
LaVine actually saw the same number of minutes in this game as a member of the United States Select team and 21-year-old San Antonio Spurs small forward Keldon Johnson. That was an interesting move from head coach Gregg Popovich, but one that wasn’t that surprising considering the Spurs connection.
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The United States will need a stronger response coming out on July 13 in a key exhibition meeting with Argentina. The matchup with Argentina is set to tip-off at 5 p.m. CT on July 13 in Las Vegas. This is one that the United States needs to get momentum back on their side.