The United States is shooting for what many pundits stateside believe is a sure gold medal in the men’s basketball tournament at the Paris Olympics.
And the superstar-filled team’s confidence is on an upward arc. When asked at Friday’s press conference which team he looked most forward to playing at the Olympics, 3-point king Stephen Curry said: “Whoever’s in the gold medal game.”
Kevin Durant, sitting next him in the media availability, despite not being healthy enough to work out with the group until Day 1 in Paris, chuckled and said, “Great answer.”
The response was excellent, but going into Sunday’s Group C opener against Serbia, the Americans must find great answers for some of their weaknesses.
The first is the mileage on some of their legs. Age is nothing but a number, but that figure is high when it comes to the United States. There are seven 30-somethings on a squad of 12.
LeBron James throws the average toward the sky at 39 and sharpshooter Curry checks in at 36. But Durant is also 35, Jrue Holiday 34, Anthony Davis 31, and Derrick White and Joel Embiidare both 30 and seen as veterans.
“We’re all different as we get older,” Durant said. “But the thing about greatness is that you adjust and find ways to continue to be effective, and that’s what LeBron has done at that age.
“He’s not running and jumping the same way as he was when he was 25, 26 years old, but he’s still jumping pretty high and running pretty fast. Of course, we’re older players and we’ve got [mileage] on our body, but we figure out ways to be effective, just as Joel has as he’s gone through injuries and gone through his trials throughout the league.
“You get up every day, trying to figure out ways to affect the game and your teammates.”
Curry chimed in: “You’re going to rely on your younger teammates, too. [It’s a] five-man team.”
The U.S. team has other areas of concern besides players who might be slowing down when it comes to chasing around younger, quicker dead-eye shooters. Points allowed in the paint, for instance, was a troubling aspect in a 98–92 warm-up game victory over Australia in mid-July. The Aussies plundered the area down low for 68 points in the loss.
Scoring from the center position outside the paint is also an issue in international play for the United States. Davis is a quality midrange shooter from the area near the key and so is Embiidare, but both must find consistency and timing to be productive in those areas. That was a problem at times in the warm-up games.
The chemistry experiment is another challenge the Americans need to overcome, having not played together much on the international stage. They turned the ball over 15 times during an exhibition matchup with Canada earlier this month and coughed it up 18 more times in the win over the Aussies.
The mixture of stars hasn’t meshed well, and opponents—and their coaches—know that very well.
There’s so much on the line for the United States as it gets ready to open the tournament—and much of that is on the 3-point line.
The National Basketball Association 3-pointer is 23 feet 9 inches. It’s just 22’ 1.75” in international hoops. That requires a subtle adjustment.
“You talk about muscle memory, I know where I’m at in relation to the line on NBA courts and you have a certain relation to that and familiarity,” Curry said.
“It has been a little different—just when you’re toeing up on the line, you might shoot a couple a little long just because you’re not used to it. But I think we’re passed that, having played five games now, practices and just getting used to the dimensions on the court.”
There are also weaknesses that might hurt the Americans on the defensive end. Stopping a team from scoring is a team effort that requires trust, continuity and rotating on time to collectively thwart opponents. Those ingredients are often overlooked.
The United States surrendered 100 points in a one-point victory over South Sudan in a 40-minute tune-up game this month. South Sudan, which lost a chance for the upset on the final play of the game, did it in part by sticking 14 shots from beyond the arc.
South Sudan’s not necessarily a great 3-point-shooting team, and other opponents might be able to light it up from beyond the arc and force U.S. coach Steve Kerr to adjust his lineup.
The United States, though, has it advantages. James—who bailed the Americans out of trouble more than once in the tune-up games—has been a force, there are few who can match up against Davis, Anthony Edwards is an X factor and the talent level from top to bottom is elite.
Edwards, said he thinks of himself as the No. 1 guy and Holiday, White and Jayson Tatum are coming of a recent NBA championship run with the Boston Celtics.
Still, the United States will have to dig deep to claim gold.
