After running roughshod through the pool play phase of the 2024 Olympics to a stellar 3-0 record, Team USA men’s basketball has silenced any doubters critical of the program during its five inconsistent warm-up games. The club has won its three bouts by an average margin of 24 points, and looks to be every bit the class of the crop.
Team USA is fielding one of its most loaded lineups in years. The 12-man roster features All-NBA Boston Celtics power forward Jayson Tatum and his All-Defensive Team comrades Jrue Holiday and Derrick White, All-NBA Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James and center Anthony Davis, All-Star Phoenix Suns power forward Kevin Durant and shooting guard Devin Booker, All-NBA Golden State Warriors point guard Stephen Curry, All-NBA Minnesota Timberwolves shooting guard Anthony Edwards, All-NBA Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid, All-Star Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo, and All-NBA Indiana Pacers point guard Tyrese Haliburton.
Can the group nab its fifth straight gold medal at the Paris Olympics? Fans will find out when the knockout round tips off on Tuesday.
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Team USA head coach Steve Kerr is gearing up for the very specific task of defeating Team Brazil, its opponent in the quarterfinal round, according to Brian Windhorst of ESPN.
“They’re very physical. I think they’re the No. 1 offensive rebounding team in the tournament,” Kerr said. “They’ve got a lot of really good shooters, and they just play hard. They compete play after play, so we’ll have to be ready for their physicality and their shooting, and we need to be on edge and ready for them because they’re not going to back down.”
James, who has emerged as the club’s de facto leader, has already been studying game tape. The 20-time All-Star is averaging 14.3 points on 64 percent shooting from the floor, 7.3 assists and 6.7 rebounds a night.
“I’ve watched all the games,” LeBron James said. “They’re very dedicated to their offensive and defensive systems.”
Team USA will possess the No. 1 overall seed throughout the rest of the tournament. The Americans’ game against Brazil will tip off at 12:30 p.m. PT/3:30 p.m. ET on Tuesday. The victor will square off against the winner of the matchup between Team Australia, headlined by Chicago Bulls point guard Josh Giddey, and Team Serbia, led by three-time MVP Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic.
Brazil’s long-range acumen could make it a potentially challenging matchup for Team USA. The Brazilians nailed 18 3-point attempts to seal a victory of Team Japan and advance to the quarterfinal round. Longtime NBA journeyman forward Bruno Caboclo notched 33 points. Only one player for Team Brazil is on the current club, Warriors forward Gui Santos.
Team Canada, which features 10 current NBA players, and Germany, which won the 2023 FIBA World Cup, occupy the other side of the bracket. Both clubs are also 3-0.
According to Aris Barkas of Eurohoops, Kerr is aware that Team USA is far more familiar with most of the other clubs in the remaining bracket than it is with Brazil this year.
“Yeah, I mean we’ve seen almost everybody,” Kerr noted, before adding, “We haven’t seen Brazil though, and that’s our focus. The other teams, we saw Australia, Serbia, twice Germany, they’re all excellent teams, well-coached, but Brazil is our focus. So we’ve got to be ready. I know they made 18 threes yesterday, they’re the best offensive-rebounding team in the tournament.”
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