LAS VEGAS — He is a shooting guard capable of scoring points in bunches, and the United States sorely missed him when he couldn't play last summer.
That describes Kobe Bryant — and also his backup.
Michael Redd also was unavailable for the world championships, and he's spent the first two games of the FIBA Americas tournament showing why his teammates are so glad to have him now.
"He's one of the few guys that I've seen in coaching in over 30 years where guys are just so happy that he is shooting the ball," U.S. coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "Everybody on our team, we have great scorers on our team, they're all happy when he shoots the ball."
Redd replaced Bryant early in the first quarter and hit a flurry of 3-pointers to turn the game into a rout, and the United States beat the U.S. Virgin Islands 123-59 on Thursday night.
"He's ready to come in at any time," Krzyzewski said of Redd, who couldn't play in the worlds because he was getting married. "Most shooters need time to find their rhythm. He's ready right away and he knows he's subbing for Kobe. Obviously he's a key guy for us, and that's something we did not have last year."
Redd and Carmelo Anthony each scored 22 points for the Americans (2-0), who put together a dominant stretch immediately after Bryant went to the bench with his second foul less than 4 minutes into the game on his 29th birthday.
Mike Miller and Amare Stoudemire added 13 points apiece for the Americans, who shot 15-of-30 from 3-point range and had all 12 players score.
"We have so many weapons, we have so many threats, and it just makes our job that much easier," Bryant said. "You just have to come in and plug in the holes when you're called upon, step in and do your job."
The Americans were off Friday before closing pool play with games today against Canada and Sunday against Brazil.
Kevin Sheppard scored 11 points for the Virgin Islands, whose best player can't play for them. Tim Duncan started playing internationally for the United States in 1996, and once that happened the St. Croix native became ineligible to play for his home team.