Milwaukee Bucks: Khris Middleton misfires, Brook Lopez is crowd favorite in USA win over Canada

As USA Basketball continued their World Cup preparations with a win over Canada, Milwaukee Bucks All-Star Khris Middleton failed to score, and center Brook Lopez earned an army of new fans.

Following up on a historic defeat to Australia in Melbourne last time out, Team USA were back in action in the early hours of Monday morning as they matched up with Canada in Sydney.

Still looking far from their best, the Americans will continue to fuel hope for all of their rivals heading into the World Cup, but against a Canadian roster bereft of star power, Gregg Popovich’s team still had no real difficulty in cruising to an 84-68 victory.

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After two games in front of over 50,000 fans at Marvel Stadium in Melbourne, this time the U.S. were back in the more familiar environment of a typical basketball arena, with over 15,000 fans in attendance at Qudos Bank Arena.

Those fans were treated to a starting U.S. lineup of Kemba Walker, Donovan Mitchell, Jayson Tatum, Harrison Barnes, and Myles Turner, although it would become apparent later that there was really another American they most desperately wanted to see.

As has been the case throughout much of the Americans’ World Cup preparations, Walker, Mitchell and Turner were the pick of the starters, and while uncertainty may remain as to the identity of the other two starters for the tournament itself, it seems to safe to assume that trio have sealed their spots.

In particular, Turner was, again, a rebounding machine, adding 15 boards to his 10 points. The bulk of the American scoring came from a bench player, though, as Jaylen Brown poured in 19 points on 8-of-11 shooting to stake his own claim for a starting berth.

From a Bucks perspective, there was plenty of playing time for Khris Middleton, although it was largely a struggle for the All-Star wing. That has been the theme of Middleton’s play with USA Basketball so far, and having entered camp as a likely favorite to start, he may find himself closer to the back of the rotation when games get underway in China in just under a week.

On this occasion, Middleton showed some signs of improvement from his performances against Australia, most notably excelling on the boards to grab eight rebounds. The 28-year-old also dished out a couple of assists and was a +9 in terms of plus/minus, but endured something of a shooting nightmare.

Middleton failed to score in the game, finishing 0-of-8 from the field, and missing all varieties of shot before the game was done. Layups, three-pointers, and even jumpers from his favorite midrange spots wouldn’t fall, making for a frustrating day at the office for Middleton.

His fellow Buck, Brook Lopez undoubtedly enjoyed the Sydney experience considerably more, though.

Minutes remained limited for Lopez, with Popovich preferring Turner, Mason Plumlee and even center-less small ball lineups at different junctures throughout the game, but Brook clearly won over the hearts and minds of all of Australia.

In over six minutes of action, Lopez contributed two points, two rebounds, an assist, a steal and a block, while shooting 1-of-2 from the field. Those modest returns weren’t enough to prevent the crowd from chanting “We want Lopez” persistently through the game’s final minutes, though.

As the chants rained down, every appearance of Lopez, sitting on the bench, on the jumbotron was greeted by a raucous reception. Brook soaked up the adulation with frequent waves and broad smiles, and clearly enjoyed some fun with Coach Popovich.

Ultimately, Popovich granted the crowd their wish, re-inserting Lopez for the final moments of the game. Lopez was welcomed with a standing ovation and MVP chants, giving both he and his teammates plenty of reason to smile.

In the end, that light-hearted finish was very welcome for Team USA, considering their play hasn’t inspired too much cheer so far. Hopefully, talisman Brook can help to change that moving forward, and Middleton can play his part by getting some shots to fall too.