Team USA will square off against the number 26th ranked Dominican Republic Wednesday at the Madison Square Garden at 7 pm Eastern Time. The game will be televised on NBATV.

Team USA is coming off a victory against Brazil, led by their big man Anthony Davis, who put up 20 points, 8 rebounds, and 5 blocks. Davis’ output came against a bigger and lengthier Brazil team.

The game will be completely different against the Dominican Republic. The Dominicans will be without their big man and best player, Al Horford but will have Karl Towns available. Horford is still recovering from a torn pectoral muscle, but young sensation, 7-footer, Towns will be a force for the Dominicans. 

With Dominican Republic being significantly small as well, Team USA should matchup much better. However, with smaller lineups, Dominican Republic is likely to launch many three-pointers. Francisco Garcia is one of their best shooters, and their only current NBA player on the roster.

On the other hand, Team USA may have DeMarcus Cousins return to the lineup. He should see some minutes as should Andre Drummond, who received a DNP-CD on Saturday versus Brazil.

Derrick Rose has been sitting out the past two practices and will not play Wednesday due to knee soreness, meaning Damian Lillard, who only played a minute against Brazil, will see plenty of minutes against Dominican Republic as promised by Coach Mike Krzyzewski. This is a game where Team USA can get away with smaller lineups. 

Without Rose, Team USA will go to a starting lineup of Kyrie Irving, Stephen Curry, James Harden, Kenneth Faried, and Anthony Davis. Dominican Republic will go with Edgar Sosa, James Feldeine, Francisco Garcia, Eulis Baez, and Eloy Vargas.

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Vahan Shakhpazyan
Vahan Shakhpazyan loves the NBA with a passion and has been an avid follower for 18 years. He is a UCR graduate with a BA degree in Creative Writing. The man behind the Facebook page NBA updates.