U.S. 118 Uruguay 72 SAN JUAN – When Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid had worn out their unwelcome in the States, they fled to South America, where for a while longer they stole and shot their way to infamy and fortune.
There is another pair of brazen thieves on the loose in the Olympic Qualifying Tournament of the Americas and their names are Gary Payton and Jason Kidd. Payton and Kidd road roughshod over Uruguay as the U.S. opened play last night with a ridiculously easy 118-72 win.
For all the basketball purists who believe a team can’t succeed with two point guards in the backcourt, we offer up the latest version of the Dream Team. We offer Payton and Kidd, who by halftime had combined for 20 points, 13 assists, six steals and just two turnovers as the U.S. opened a 62-28 lead.
Payton finished with 20 points, tying Kevin Garnett for scoring honors, and had eight assists. Kidd had 14 assists and nine points.
“It’s like looking in the mirror,” Kidd said of playing alongside Payton.
Uruguay must have thought it was one of those mirrors in a house of horrors. It committed 25 turnovers.
This U.S. squad does not have the dominating center of past teams – although Shaquille O’Neal and Alonzo Mourning are expected to join the squad for the 2000 Olympics — but it doesn’t matter with a backcourt that should be outlawed. Uruguay often couldn’t get the ball past halfcourt as Payton and Kidd made like Butch and Sundance.
We are not trying to Kidd anyone here. Two players of such greatness, who are surrounded by the likes of Tim Duncan and Garnett, should be able to play together. But Payton and Kidd needed just one game to establish a notorious reputation because they both learned the game on the streets of Oakland, Calif.
Payton opened the scoring by knocking down a three from the corner and the U.S. immediately went to its strength – defense fueled by athleticism and aggressiveness. Allan Houston of the Knicks converted a steal into a layup and the game was essentially over.
The success of Payton and Kidd must leave Knick fans wondering: If two point guards could be so successful, could two shooting guards – namely Houston and Latrell Sprewell – work as a starting backcourt?
“It’s not too often you get two great point guards or two great shooting guards on a team,” said Houston. “When you do, you have to make it work. It can happen. You just have to find a way to make it happen.”
Payton has emerged as a scorer as much as a playmaker. Houston certainly can’t play the point – he starts at small forward on this team – and Sprewell has a scorer, not a playmaker’s mentality. But Kidd thinks the two could make it work.
“When I think of New York, with Allan and Latrell, I think of the same situation we had in Phoenix with Kevin Johnson, Steve Nash and myself,” said Kidd. “We made it work. The big thing is to do whatever it takes to win.” *Forward Vin Baker joined the U.S. team’s list of walking wounded when he twisted his left ankle in the second half. He’s expected to play today when the U.S. takes on Canada. Forward Tom Gugliotta, who suffered a broken nose in Wednesday’s practice when he was elbowed by Payton, played with a protective mask. Richard Hamilton, who suffered a sprained right ankle Wednesday, did not play.