But I still have faith.
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Team USA will play Team Argentina in the quarterfinals, and the victor of that matchup will play the victor of the Team Spain vs. Team France game in the semifinals.
Golden State Warriors shooting guard Klay Thompson leads Team USA past France 100-97 to remain the only undefeated team in Group A of the 2016 Rio Olympics Men’s Basketball tournament.
The Americans were expected to easily clinch their third straight gold medal and though they survived group play unscathed to stretch their worldwide play winning streak to 73 games, there could be some cause for concern. The Americans, however, were beaten on board by 35-29, and had only 11 second-chance points. “They’re big, they’re talented, they’re tough”.
USA Basketball’s Rio roster is unquestionably stronger than the one stocked with fill-ins that dominated the 2014 FIBA World Cup in Spain, but opposition continuity is proving to be a stubborn and unsafe equalizer a mere two years later down here in South America. But their defense has been suspect, and let’s be honest. “I don’t care if I shoot 10 percent the rest of the tournament, if we win the gold medal that’s all that really matters”.
SB Nation’s Tom Ziller concurs with that. The Americans were the only unbeaten team as well as the highest-scoring and best-rebounding team at the event.
At least, that was the case prior to group play.
While the United States has made headlines in Rio with several gold medal victories by names like Michael Phelps, Simone Biles, and Katie Ledecky, the middle of the week cast doubt on the expectations of the Men’s Basketball team. “We’ve got to figure out how we can be better”. If the Americans were going to adjust to the worldwide style, it would have happened by now. “But we want to compete and can’t be scared”. Since then, an even-ing out of the talent worldwide vs. the U.S. has happened, and is continuing today.
While winning the gold medal is obviously the top priority for Team USA, there’s an added benefit for the players who are participating: the opportunity to play with – and learn from – some of the best players in the word. Every time the Americans built a big lead, the fifth-ranked French chipped away.
Okay, end of my thoughts. They went from a 16-point lead, 78-62, thanks to some hot shooting from Klay Thompson, to being held scoreless for nearly two-and-a-half minutes to close the game.
Coach Mike Krzyzewski said after the Serbia game that the newly assembled squad of National Basketball Association players was still learning how to handle global teams that use constant ball movement to work deep into a possession for good shots.
Spain (Group B 2nd seed) vs. France (Group A 3rd seed), 1:30 p.m. ET – Both European countries border each other geographically.
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It was just one of those days for Klay. “We can’t say we didn’t play defense, just they are unbelievable on offense”. Expect Manu and the gang to roll out their “real game plan” and hopefully it’s a bit more competitive than the scrimmage last July. Serbia faces Croatia tomorrow at 6:15 p.m. However, he realized that if he was going to make it back and be better than ever, there was only one person who could lift him.
