When the 2024 Paris Olympics begin next week, the U.S. men’s basketball team will find out that despite fielding some of the most talented players in the world, it’s possible for them to lose.
Coaches and players don’t need to look any further than the trophies won by the last six NBA MVPs, all of whom were born outside the United States.
That’s a legitimate reason to be anxious, a phrase often quoted by legendary coach Gregg Popovich: “proper fear.”
But the newest Team USA is primed to beat anyone it faces in Paris. With two exhibition matches coming up, including against South Sudan next Saturday in London (noon PDT), Steve Kerr’s squad is Great depth, defense, shooting abilityThe three most important elements to a successful Olympic Games.
“The identity of the team is its depth and the strength of the team is its depth,” Kerr told reporters in Abu Dhabi this week. Defeat Serbia 105-79“If you can play hard defense, get physical, rebound and be physical for four or five minutes, it makes sense to play that way.”
That’s why for Carr Changing lineups and rotations This tactic was used in the back-to-back match against Serbia, in which the team was missing two starters.
Stay on the path and money will be waiting for you.
When Carr was substituted, screams went up from the cheap seats (and on social media). Stephen Curry in the middle He made a brilliant run to the second column and annihilated the Serbian forces.
“Warriors fans hate me tonight,” Kerr said, only half-joking. “Every time I take Steph out, they hate me.”
Many observers have also suggested Kerr replace starting center Joel Embiid with Anthony Davis. The coach should resist that temptation; Embiid would limit the team’s greatest strength: depth.
Of course, Davis will be great paired with Jrue Holiday, LeBron James, Jayson Tatum and Curry — the US starters against Serbia — but he’ll be at his best with a second unit designed to pick up the pace.
With Tyrese Haliburton and Anthony Edwards doing most of the pace, it’s hard for Embiid to keep up with it. He’s slow compared to 95% of basketball, but he’s just not going to line up with the sprinters coming off the bench.
Kerr reportedly has narrowed his starting rotation to three pitchers. James Curry And then there’s Embiid. The positions for the other two are still to be determined, but the lineup and rotation that dominated Serbia makes the most sense.
Stay on the path and money will be waiting for you.
A backcourt of Curry and Holiday would provide great offensive and defensive balance, while a frontcourt of James, Tatum and Embiid would have enough length and strength to outmaneuver any pack until Kevin Durant gets healthy and can take over for Tatum.
This starting lineup, with either Tatum or Durant in it, is like the first three legs of a relay team: explosive, proven and smart enough to understand the nuances needed to be successful. It exudes an air of power.
The second unit has the makings of a great anchor leg, with Haliburton and Edwards, along with Devin Booker and Derrick White, running the perimeter and big men Bam Adebayo and Davis able to freeze opponents on either side of the floor.
Among them are the four teams best suited to test the U.S. team: Canada, France, Serbia and Greece.
“The combination of Bam and AD is really awesome,” Kerr told reporters in Abu Dhabi. “It’s just a switch, but they can protect the rim and then drop when they get in coverage.”
Stay on the path and money will be waiting for you.
There have been reports of egos running wild among players — it wasn’t as noticeable against Nikola Jokic’s Serbian team, but Kerr may be one of the players best at managing them — and don’t think for a second that the Warriors’ dynasty team wasn’t a threat.
The team’s veterans — Kerr, Curry and James — should have enough cool intelligence to calm the scoring threats, while young stars like Edwards, Booker and Haliburton shouldn’t be susceptible to “me-disease” because of their enormous value.
On questions of lineups, rotations and commitments, Kerr and the veteran members of Team USA hold sway. No one on the team wants to be in the position of explaining why the team left Paris without a gold medal.
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