July 10, 2024; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; USA guard Anthony Edwards (5) watches the fourth quarter play against Canada during the USA Basketball Showcase at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Candice Ward-USA TODAY Sports 101-100.
That’s the lasting impression left by Team USA’s preparation for the Paris Olympics.
Embarrassing…but in a good way.
Without a doubt, the unnecessary tension of a One-point victory against South Sudan That will provide motivation for the 2024 version of the U.S. men’s basketball team. And therein lies Team USA’s biggest problem.
No, it’s not the need for an incentive, but rather the need to be the best in America.
In a word: Team USA has too many alphas.
Devin Booker, Derrick White, Tyrese Haliburton, Jayson Tatum and Bam Adebayo are all basketball players who deserve to be rewarded. But they are not energetic, complementary players who understand their roles. You know, the kind of guys who complete a gold medal-winning team.
Give me B-Team stars with heart. Give me Jaylen Brown, De’Aaron Fox, Tyrese Maxey, Desmond Bane and Chet Holmgren, and you could give every other country a 20-point lead. It wouldn’t matter.
Unfortunately, there will be no promotion on the eve of the Paris premiere.
As the dozen or so least dreamy people fill the resort’s refrigerators with France’s finest champagne, here’s my take on what needs to be changed to bring home the gold with just one shower – a sparkling shower:
International teams have a fluid attack
April 7, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Celtics guard Jrue Holiday (4) plays against the Portland Trail Blazers during the first half at TD Garden. Credit: Eric Canha-USA TODAY Sports There is a solution to this: Send in the dogs. Attack defensively. Let Jrue Holiday, Anthony Edwards, Booker and White run wild on the overmatched Euro League point guards. Nothing disrupts three-point shooting like a point guard who can’t get the ball up in time. Brown would have been a big help. Fox and Maxey, too. But right now, someone has to convince Booker, who is completely useless in exhibitions, that this is his key to getting on the court. Five frantic minutes at a time.
The game is a sprint, not a marathon.
American stars learned long ago: Save your energy for the end. As long as LeBron James abides by that principle, everyone else can throw it out the window. Team USA has the best athletes in the world; it’s time they started showing it. Pick up the pace. Play like Fox, the one-man counterattacker in Sacramento. Haliburton was once Fox’s teammate. Want to play? Do your best to emulate him.
Problem: We left the microwaves at home.
November 15, 2023; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker (1) reacts against the Minnesota Timberwolves in the second half at Footprint Center. Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports Notice the commonality between three of the four most off-the-ball Americans in exhibitions: Booker is a career 36 percent 3-point shooter; Haliburton shot 36 percent from three last season; and Tatum… well, we’re still waiting for him to make his first significant shot from beyond the arc.
All initiators, not finishers.
Team USA needs players who can make catch-and-shoots. Human microwaves. (It would also help if Stephen Curry could make a shot.) Where are Maxey and Bane? Even Kevin Durant needs to understand the No. 1 rule of being a role player: Make the most of your first three trips down the court. Take your first shot and stay on the court. Then take the full court again. And when you’re told to sit down, simply say, “Yes, sir.”
Three is too many.
Team USA has chosen to play big this year. Good for them. Because while foreign countries are good at developing big men, they tend to be soft and perimeter-oriented. In other words, they are the polar opposites of the tournament’s two best low-post big men: Joel Embiid and Anthony Davis. Unfortunately, each has been stifled at times by the presence of a backup big man in Adebayo, who hopefully is only playing because Durant isn’t.
The question is: Will Durant be willing to stand in the corner and shoot three-pointers, like Holmgren would? Even on one leg, he could still be an asset.
They chose the wrong coach.
July 10, 2024; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; United States head coach Steve Kerr speaks to a player on the bench in the fourth quarter against Canada during the USA Basketball Showcase at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Candice Ward-USA TODAY Sports Like his mentor, Gregg Popovich, Kerr’s on-the-go offense takes months (sometimes years) to learn. A few practices and exhibition games lead to, well, 101-100. The savant Kerr would be wise to take a page from the playbook of Michael Malone, whose Nuggets offense knows two things: get the ball to the big man and spot up. Maybe there’s hope for White after all.
Eleven countries now believe they can shock the world.
Sorry guys, but when LeBron is starting to get serious For 20 minutes instead of three, the game is over and you’re playing for second place. The best player in the world could score 50 points a game if it meant his youngest son, Bryce, was also allowed to join the Lakers this fall. The only guy on Earth who could stop LeBron is Kerr. Let’s hope he hasn’t read Dean Smith’s Bible.
