Will Russell Westbrook Avoid Team USA Cut?

His strong play of late may force Coach K to keep him on the squad, reports the NY Times: “After practice Friday, Team USA guard Russell Westbrook and said all the right things. He said he was not worried about being the final cut on Team USA, that he had not spoken with Coach Mike Krzyzewski about it and that he was going to continue to play hard. His body language, though, told a different story. He looked away, slumped his shoulders and generally squirmed in his seat. After bailing out a sluggish American team with a Red Bull-like shot from the bench against Lithuania, Westbrook is going to make it a lot more difficult for Krzyzewski to cut him. He scored 12 points on 4-of-5 shooting, dished two assists and generally ratcheted up the tempo to a level in which the Lithuanians could not keep up … After winning the Player of the Game award, Westbrook reiterated that he had been trying to keep the cut off his mind. Team USA has 13 players and must trim the roster to 12 within 48 hours of its opener Saturday in Istanbul against Croatia. ‘I try to guard every night and try not to pay attention to what’s going on with the cut and who is getting cut and how many minutes they’re playing,’ Westbrook said.”