Crew USA gained its fifth and ultimate exhibition sport on Monday earlier than it’s scheduled to go to Paris for the beginning of the Summer time Olympics, but it surely wasn’t straightforward.
It performed Germany, a staff that defeated it in final yr’s FIBA World Cup and ended up profitable the gold medal there, and whereas it acquired off to begin on Monday, it needed to huff and puff to get an 92-88 victory.
Whereas many nonetheless count on Crew USA to win the gold in Paris in just a few weeks, former NBA participant and present ESPN analyst Tim Legler is anxious due to its composition in comparison with the make-up of different groups competing within the Olympics.
“Some of these other international teams … [they] look like more what actual basketball looks like rather than a collection of all-stars.” @LegsESPN says he would not be shocked if Crew USA misplaced a sport within the Olympics 😳 pic.twitter.com/f645pDAW4J
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) July 22, 2024
The remainder of the world has significantly caught up with the USA in relation to basketball through the years, and it has been challenged to a sure extent on the best way to its final a number of gold medals relationship again to 2000.
It didn’t medal on the World Cup final summer season, however then again, it didn’t have its greatest gamers available.
This time round, Crew USA has a roster that, no less than on paper, rivals its greatest iterations, together with even the 1992 Dream Crew that dominated the Olympics in Barcelona.
There’s a probability that the staff appears higher as soon as the true competitors begins by advantage of better focus, depth and energy, particularly since its gamers might not need to give max effort throughout seemingly meaningless exhibition contests.
Its first sport in group play will happen versus Serbia, which boasts three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic, on July 28.
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