Coupled with the basketball team surviving tense games against Australia and Serbia, there was the feeling that the team lacked the cohesion necessary to hold off all the global competitors gunning for them. “We’ve got guys experienced, Boris (Diaw) and Tony, myself and De Colo have been with this team for 8-10 years, too”. There are reasons for the closer scores, some owing to the competition, some to holes in the USA team.
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France’s defeat to Australia now seems like a long time ago. “I think they’re above NBA rings”, Jordan told ESPN of the gold medal USA Basketball is chasing here in Rio entering Wednesday night’s quarterfinal game against Argentina. Kevin Durant added 17 points.
Like so many other teams, China came in to their final Group B contest looking for a first-ever win over the USA, having lost all previous six Olympic encounters where they were outscored by an average of 34.7 points. Serbia also beat Senegal, 95-88, to join Spain, Canada and the U.S.in the next round.
“This isn’t a tournament that we’re going to just dominate”, George said, according to The Associated Press.
“We’ve just got to worry about us and focus on playing U.S. basketball, playing the right way”, Jordan said.
“You can’t panic against this team”, France forward Nicolas Batum said.
Ultimately, there are two scenarios at play here. They will play tomorrow at 3:45 p.m. The Americans smothered France from three (5-of-19), which ultimately played into their opponent’s hands. This group is learning on the fly, and they’re not giving themselves high marks. Again, the Soviets couldn’t score off the inbounds play, and the Americans believed they won.
No teams can match the Americans’ talent, and they don’t pretend that can. (It was basically lingchi along the baseline for stretches, and this was all without Parker.) France would enter the half down nine, having shot 65 percent on attempts inside the 3-point line but just 2-of-8 from behind it, while the USA rolled to 55 points on the same 56-percent shooting mark overall (assisting on every single field goal they hit in the half), the difference made up by a passive 19-6 free-throw attempt disparity.
These French have been playing big games for years, winning bronze in the 2014 Basketball World Cup, and after falling short of qualifying for the Olympics when they lost in the semifinals of last summer’s EuroBasket they were hosting, winning a tournament in July to secure their spot. “Teams are just loading up and watching us play one-on-one”.
“We all know what it takes to win in the playoffs”, Durant told reporters after the win over France. “So that may be sometimes”.
Kyrie Irving of the USA shoots over Rudy Gobert of France on August 14. Yes, the Americans can get beat. It was team USA’s 22nd straight victory at the Games, and the collection of National Basketball Association players remains the overwhelming favorite to take home the gold medal.
Krzyzewski knew things would get tougher once the opponents did.
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Like it or not, this band of NBA alpha males that comprises the Olympic men’s basketball is not going to waltz through the Games as if it’s a December matchup with the Sixers. Every time the Americans built a big lead, the fifth-ranked French chipped away.
