The game between Team USA and Brazil on Tuesday was more of a warm-up for games that will be more competitive and important. The Americans led for the last 38 minutes and 40 seconds, which kept everyone healthy and sharp and gave center Joel Embiid a chance to get his confidence back with a great first half.
That Team USA would win 122–87 was never in question. They were efficient and sharp, except for a slow stretch in the second quarter. While the other three quarterfinal games were exciting and even had a surprise, Team USA has won all of its games by an average of 24.75 points, so there has been no drama in this Olympic Tournament.
With 12 of the best players in the world, Team USA is still trying to get it all right. The gold medal is what drives them, and they said they’d be ready for Thursday’s semi-final, which they won’t take lightly even though it’s against Serbia, a team they beat easily by 26 points in Group C.
James, a forward, said, “Every game is its own test.” “What happens Thursday night is what matters. What happened before doesn’t matter.” We need to set a time to film tomorrow and Thursday during the day, and then we need to be ready to go when we get there.
Devin Booker impresses for Team USA
Devin Booker scored 18 points for Team USA, including five three-pointers. Five other players also scored 10 or more points. Seven of the 12 players have scored at least 9.5 points in the first four games, which makes it hard to prepare for Team USA because it is so versatile.
“Depth is what makes our team strong.” James said. “Any night, anyone could get the scoring going, but ‘Book’ had it from the beginning to the end.” We need to keep helping each other out on offense, get the ball to a lot of people, and be in a great flow.
Team USA only had to worry about James’ health. Georginho de Paula of Brazil hit him above the eye while he was chasing a rebound in the third quarter. He was on the floor for a while before going to the bench. After getting some help, he went to the locker room and then came back to the bench to join his friends.
He said, “I’m fine.” “Someone hit me in the eye with an elbow by accident.”
Lisa Leslie, who is in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, lost the record for most points scored by Team USA in the Olympics to Kevin Durant. It shows how long Durant has been playing and how good he is at scoring. The crowd at Bercy Arena cheered when the news came out.
He said, “Records are meant to be broken, so someone will come along and do it again.” “All we care about is winning this gold.”
James said, “He was born to play baseball, and he’s amazing.” I’m proud of him, happy for him, and wish him the best. He still has a long way to go.
This group only has two more games together, starting with Thursday’s game against Serbia. Both teams have been trying to get better. They are getting better, and coach Steve Kerr’s job is easier because the team is helpful to each other and can do many things.
“Our team’s beauty and strength is that any one of these guys could be there,” Kerr said. “There’s no real challenge with balance other than getting the team to remember that.” “When they go back to the NBA, they will all have to carry their teams on their own.” We know that they can carry our team on any given day, but we don’t know who will do it. That’s what makes the team strong. People will get angry if we don’t move the ball and play the right way. “That’s how we feel.”