3/10/2023 0 Comments Olympic basketball![]() ![]() showed huge improvement with it in exhibition matches against Argentina and Spain. Nigeria and Australia were able to capitalize on that. They aren’t that used to the physicality and offense that is ran. Another concern has been adapting against international play with not much experience. McGee is now the tallest on the team at 7’0. Team USA has been struggling with size compared to other teams. Johnson was previously on the USA select team and performed well in the exhibition matches. On July 16, the team announced that veteran big man JaVale McGee and 21-year-old forward Keldon Johnson will replace them. After spending 10 days in Las Vegas with the team, Cleveland Cavaliers forward Kevin Love decided to withdraw from the Olympics. Grant only spent a few days in protocols and was cleared. LaVine was not able to travel with the team but hopes to join the team later in the week. Arguably the second scoring option on Team USA, Beal now will not be able to play in Tokyo. Washington Wizards guard Bradley Beal, Chicago Bulls guard Zach LaVine and Detroit Pistons forward Jerami Grant all entered the health and safety protocols, and Beal has been ruled out. would have no chance to win a gold medal. He is the biggest X-factor on this team, if he was not on the roster the U.S. I expected to see the Nets playing in the Finals in July, and Durant recovering during the offseason since he has battled injuries the whole season. The player that shocked me the most was Brooklyn Nets forward Kevin Durant. Six-time All-Star guard Damian Lillard was upset he didn’t make the 2014 FIBA World Cup roster, but new Team USA head coach Gregg Popovich convinced him to join this 2021 team. ![]() Who would’ve thought that this star-studded team would be struggling? Well, in May I wrote about how this team was going to struggle, and everyone would be shocked. It took them 28 years to lose two exhibition games, but now they have lost two games in the same year. Why is that relevant to this year’s Tokyo Olympics? Team USA has finished its exhibition matches 2-2. In the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) World Cup that year the team finished in 7th place, by far the most disappointing outcome that USA basketball has ever had since NBA players were eligible to play. That is the only time they did not win the gold medal since 1992. The first loss came in 2004 when the team finished with a bronze medal that year. ![]() From 1992 to 2019, Team USA men’s basketball was 54-2 in exhibition play. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |