If Team USA Basketball’s exhibition loss to Nigeria on Saturday was a caution flag, then Monday’s exhibition loss to Australia is a red flag and officially marks the time to be concerned for the US.
The US lost its second straight exhibition game, this time falling 91-83 to Australia. Jayson Tatum put in a basket with 4:33 left to give the US an 82-80 lead, and that was the team’s last field goal of the game. Australia took over thereafter and won.
Australia has numerous NBA players on its roster, including Patty Mills, Joe Ingles, and Matisse Thybulle, who all led the team in scoring.
The US has now lost four of its last five games going back to the 2019 World Cup. They have lost consecutive exhibition games for the first time since pros began playing for the national team in 1992.
Team USA has only been together for a week, which likely isn’t helping their play. But they don’t have much time to improve before the Olympics in Tokyo begin. They need to get it together fast, otherwise matching the 2004 bronze medal finish might be the new expectation.
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