Team USA vs. Slovenia: Derrick Rose to come off bench

Derrick Rose will come off the bench once again in Team USA's final tuneup for the FIBA Basketball World Cup, but Rose still could start some games in the tournament, according to ESPN's Marc Stein.

Kyrie Irving will get the start against Goran Dragic and Slovenia on Tuesday, but Team USA head coach Mike Krzyzewski told Stein that Irving and Rose could trade off as starters throughout the World Cup:

"We'll see as thing goes on," Krzyzewski said after Monday's two-hour practice. "We might alternate 'em. Both of them are going to play significant minutes."

Rose started in Team USA's first exhibition of the summer before Irving took over when the Bulls point guard sat out a game to rest his sore body/knees/whatever. Both Irving and Rose have played pretty well throughout this summer tour, although the numbers say Irving has been better, at least offensively. Irving is averaging 9.7 points and 5.0 assists while shooting 64 percent in three games this summer. Rose is at 6.5 points per game and 3.0 assists per game in two contests.

Rose is the better defender, however, which could give him an edge over Irving in some matchups. Coach K also talked about the possibility of the two point guards playing together.

One final note: This will act as the game thread for Team USA vs. Slovenia. The game is at 1 p.m. CT and will be broadcast on ESPN2.