Also yet to be determined – the status of Jimmy Butler and the rest of Team USA.
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Winning in style is no longer the target.
Durant was the Most Valuable Player of the 2010 FIBA Basketball World Cup when the Americans won the title and a gold medal victor two years later at the London Games.
“When we get on the court we can’t just watch them and be scared”. Yet he’s continued to start, showing Coach Mike Krzyzewski’s faith in him. The U.S. will face the fourth-place finisher from Group B which won’t be decided until the preliminary round is complete on August 15.
“You’ve seen the past three games, against Serbia, against Australia and we thought we had a chance too”, said Frenchman Boris Diaw.
Give the Americans that much. Though they could theoretically make it through with a win, it’s highly unlikely. Sometimes players are lucky enough to not find Moore in front of them, but it’s those times when they run into Griner.
The USA has to be happy that they escaped group play with a 5-0 record and a No. 1 seed, they’ve never needed it more. They’re still the favorite.
They have not lost a game in the Olympics since Athens, or internationally for a decade. Then on Sunday, the U.S. prevailed by that same margin, edging France 100-97.
The French entered Sunday’s play as the second-rated defensive team in the tournament. Team USA big man DeMarcus Cousins and Klay Thompson scored the first three points of the game, off a dunk and a free throw.
Durant: 17 points on 6-of-6 shooting, six rebounds and four assists.
It’s probably unreasonable to expect them function like a true team after essentially a month together.
“He’s fine. He’s resting”, said French coach Vincent Collet, who also de Colo out in the final minutes after he banged his leg.
Win that one and in the semifinals the United States of America will face the victor of France vs. Spain – the two most talented teams in Rio on paper (outside the USA), but teams who have not played consistently through the group stage. The Americans’ last two contests were more a case of being unable to pull away comfortably, even after they seemingly were in control. “There’s talent around this world and they’re showcasing it”. “No matter the opponent, we just got to stick to how we’re playing”. He was drafted by the New Jersey Nets in 1984, but played in Italy, where he routinely scored 50 in a game. George spoke of squandering “that moment when we looked like we were gonna steamroll ’em”.
The US will not know their quarter-final opponent until after the final Group B matches are completed on Monday (today, Singapore time) but are well aware that they need to raise their game considerably.
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“This isn’t a tournament that we’re going to just dominate”, team USA’s Paul George said in a piece over at ESPN. “While you are approaching that winning you are asked a bunch of other things. Just a succinct comment in that regard”. It’s time to stop banging our heads against the wall in efforts to try and figure out if Kyrie Irving or Kyle Lowry should be starting, or if Draymond Green should be giving more opportunities to create.
