Brian Windhorst, ESPN Senior WriterAug 3, 2024, 01:11 PM ET
- ESPN.com NBA creator since 2010
- Covered Cleveland Cavs for seven years
- Creator of two books
LILLE, France — For 3 years, Team USA has been planning, recruiting and refining to prevail on this upcoming week in Paris. And so they’ve aligned things in very excellent location to dispute their fifth consecutive gold medal.
The group of workers took its closing steps earlier than heading to the French capital on Saturday, finishing off Olympic pool play 3-0 with a 104-83 victory over Puerto Rico to clinch the top overall seed within the medal round. That can originate up Tuesday, when the U.S. will face Brazil within the quarterfinals at Bercy Arena at 3:30 ET.
Additionally in Team USA’s medal round bracket are Serbia and Australia; the winner of that sport will face either the U.S. or Brazil. Within the opposite bracket Canada faces France and Germany will play Greece.
“I bear we acquired performed what we wanted to live, a success all three video games and securing the top seed,” Team USA coach Steve Kerr said after his group of workers’s fetch Saturday. “We know we’ve got to play better. Piece of this tournament is it will get more troublesome as you chase.”
The traits the group of workers has been surroundings up for the past four weeks over any other time occupy been on impart in front of 27,000 fans at Stade Pierre Mauroy.
There is Kevin Durant, the devastating bench scorer.
Durant put up 11 strategies in yet one other impactful reserve performance. He has forty eight strategies total across the three video games in Lille and is now correct five strategies from surroundings the all-time American Olympic scoring characterize, which is on the moment held by women’s group of workers sizable Lisa Leslie.
And when it wasn’t Durant, it became as soon as his 2nd-unit cohort Anthony Edwards, who put in 15 strategies in his first 10 minutes on the ground and 26 for the sport on 11-of-15 shooting. His breakaway windmill dunk within the fourth quarter shall be one amongst the lasting recollections from the usa video games in Lille over the final week.
“I needed to dunk on any person, however I ain’t acquired a lane yet,” Edwards said. “So I am satisfied I acquired that one.”
There became as soon as LeBron James, the timeless playmaker.
James started the past two video games at level guard — Jrue Holiday sat out for precautionary causes with a minor ankle anxiety — and has performed his traditional desk-surroundings sport. James had eight assists against Puerto Rico, finishing pool play with 21 total in three video games. He also scored 10 strategies.
In fact one of his approved targets has been Edwards, who James arena up lots of cases on Saturday.
“KD and Bron man, they’re the most easy two other folks. I mean, group of workers gamers. They always desire to notice the particular person next to him shine,” Edwards said. “I told Bron, ‘Ought to you ain’t acquired no shot, I will safe one.'”
There became as soon as the 2nd unit, the haymaker.
The Americans occupy been down by as many as eight strategies within the 2nd quarter when the 2nd unit hit the ground Saturday. By the level they exited roughly eight minutes of sport time later, it has been circled to a five-level lead. For the third straight sport, their first-half of shift changed the path of the sport.
It became as soon as Anthony Davis, Derrick White and Bam Adebayo combining with Durant and Edwards on on on the present time and age and that group is correct backbreaking on the world stage. Their collective ball tension, rim protection and rebounding became as soon as correct too out of the ordinary for Puerto Rico to address. Nobody has handled it yet.
Team USA is reckoning on these bench performances to proceed by next week as it makes up the core of their sport conception. But there occupy been a few utterly different initiatives going on as successfully. Saturday became as soon as a day clearly arena up for Joel Embiid to make a selection up some momentum. After struggling within the opener against Serbia and then sitting against South Sudan, Embiid had a size abet and his teammates wanted to make sure he acquired some touches.
The top result became as soon as simply his easiest sport of the Olympics as he put in 15 strategies with two blocks. He enjoyed the interaction with the French crowd, which booed him any other time for picking to play for Team USA, which Embiid impressed.
“At the cease of the day, I bear lots of other folks suppose it’s abominate. I undercover agent it as luxuriate in and admire,” Embiid said.