McGraw: Team USA players leading the way in NBA
Two weeks into the NBA season, the Bulls have some issues they need to work out, mainly defense and rebounding.
There have been plenty of positive signs, though, and there may be another one once Derrick Rose recovers from his dual sprained ankles.
The Bulls mentioned many times last summer how they hoped participation with Team USA at the FIBA World Cup in Spain would help Rose shake off the rust. Rose has been sidelined, but USA Basketball is making an impact on the season.
The players who came back from Spain are dominating early. Golden State, behind Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, was the last undefeated team in the league until falling to Phoenix on Sunday night.
Sacramento, riding DeMarcus Cousins and Rudy Gay, have been the league's biggest surprise, off to a 5-2 start.
New Orleans' Anthony Davis, averaging 24.4 points, 12.8 rebounds and 4.4 blocks, might be the man to beat for MVP.
Overall, seven of the league's top 13 scorers through Saturday were members of Team USA, which went over to Spain seemingly without the league's biggest stars.
The scoring leaders include Houston's James Harden (25.4 ppg) and Toronto's DeMar DeRozan (22.5 ppg). Cleveland's Kyrie Irving isn't far off the pace at 20 points per game.
So, it appears the predictions were true. National-team duty got those guys in great shape and they hit the court running.
Will they wear down later in the season or suffer injuries from overuse? Only time will tell, but so far there is no reason to complain.
Denver's Kenneth Faried and Detroit's Andre Drummond are off to pedestrian starts, but their teams are struggling. Brooklyn's Mason Plumlee is barely worth mentioning, since his inclusion was more about Mike Krzyzewski flaunting his Duke power than helping the U.S. win gold.
Even some of the guys who got cut from the team are playing well. Utah's Gordon Hayward is putting up career numbers. Atlanta's Kyle Korver is shooting 60 percent from 3-point range.
So that leaves Rose, the only World Cup alum who has been sidelined by an injury. The last time we saw a healthy Rose, he ripped off 18 points in 15 minutes during the first half of the Oct. 31 game against Cleveland.
Pau Gasol, who played for Spain at the World Cup, also has fared well for the Bulls. He makes things easy for the offense, giving the team a dangerous post presence who can draw attention and create space for his teammates.
Clearly, though, the Bulls are not on the same page defensively. They struggled to cover Boston's spread-out, screen-and-roll offense during a 106-101 loss Saturday. A day earlier, Philadelphia's athletic, young squad piled up 115 points while losing to the Bulls by 3.
One reason the Bulls have given up so many offensive rebounds is they end up out of position defensively. Joakim Noah still is working his way back from summer knee surgery. He looked like his usual self during Saturday's comeback against Boston but left the floor for the final 2:03 after producing 6 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists in the fourth quarter.
Coach Tom Thibodeau cited Noah's minutes limit as the reason for the late substitution in favor of Gasol.
"Jo's got restrictions," Thibodeau said after the game. "We've got to challenge shots better. … Our ball pressure wasn't great. Our defensive position wasn't great. Our rebounding wasn't great.
"There's a lot we can correct."
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