But a team like France has a familiarity this USA team can never attain.
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The 100-97 win over France wasn’t the score that Team USA wanted but it was still a welcome outcome as they clinched basketball’s top seed in Group A in the Rio Olympics.
France held an early lead in the first quarter before Team USA started to pull away.
That aura of invincibility vanishes with each and every tight game survived by this current group of All-Stars led by superstars Kevin Durant, Carmelo Anthony and Kyrie Irving. They start five National Basketball Association players and Patty Mills led all Olympic scorers in 2012. However, the results since the game against Australia have been less than stellar as the US continues to struggle to close out opponents. They should continue to improve their performance and expect strong competitions from their opponents if they are serious about winning the gold. Guard duo Nando de Colo and Thomas Heurtel combined for 36 points, with Heurtel finishing two rebounds and an assist shy of a triple-double.
France played without Spurs star Tony Parker, who sustained a toe injury on Friday and watched from the bench.
Coach Mike Krzyzewski cited Thompson’s play as a sign that his squad was warming up offensively, calling it “a huge plus”. “This is new to a lot of guys, so when a lot of guys go through that they may take it differently than other guys who have done it before”. But our team was great.
Durant: We played a little better on the offensive end, but for the most part, we’ve still got to do a better job on covering each other on the defensive end. That’s symptomatic of a bigger problem-Krzyzewski doesn’t seem to have his rotation worked out yet, and seems uncertain about whom he can trust on both ends of the floor.
Klay Thompson led the USA team to its 50th straight tournament win.
Paul George said that the USA was “easy to guard” and that “w$3 e just gotta start getting some movement”. Their opponents in this tournament don’t much fear them, which makes sense, because the Americans haven’t given them much to fear.
Matthew Dellavedova and Patty Mills have Australia’s offense humming.
“It’s going to be hard, because they’re really, really good. We had a chance”.
With players like LeBron James, Stephen Curry and Russell Westbrook choosing to forgo this year’s Games, it’s clear that Team USA is inferior to the teams that won gold in 2008 and 2012. Despite their critics, Team USA completed the preliminary rounds with a 5-0 record. And now more than ever, the ability to play together late will be key to moving forward to the medal matches. “It’s better to get the win”. It was down just 85-81 in the fourth quarter, and even after the U.S. extended the lead to 93-83, France made it 100-94 with 31 seconds left. But no, they’re not invincible. Throughout the tournament, Thompson has struggled to shoot with the same success that he has had in Golden State. “This is the best tournament it’s been for a while. They’re still unbeaten, so we can’t say that they’re struggling”. They’re still the favorite.
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Team USA hasn’t looked sharp.
