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Three keys to winning gold for U.S. men's Olympic basketball team
Coming off a thrilling 95-91 victory over Serbia in the semifinal round on Thursday, Team USA men's basketball team is one win away from securing its fifth straight Olympic gold medal. Its final hurdle is France, led by 2024 NBA Rookie of the Year Victor Wembanyama of the San Antonio Spurs.
Ranked from least to most important, here are three keys for Team USA to secure the gold medal Saturday (3:30 p.m. ET):
3. Clog the paint
France is shooting 33.3% from three as a team from distance, with four of its top five scorers, each shooting below 35%. However, it compensates with elite rim pressure, primarily from Guerschon Yabusele and Isaia Cordinier, who are the second (12.8 PPG on 55% from the field) and third (10.6 PPG on 54.3% from the field) leading scorers for the Frenchmen, respectively.
Yabusele and Cordinier rim pressure: pic.twitter.com/MDzMmp4xvA
— Justin Kim (@justinkimdc) August 9, 2024
To counter this rim pressure, Team USA head coach Steve Kerr should deploy a dual-big lineup featuring any two of Bam Adebayo, Joel Embiid and Anthony Davis when Yabusele and Cordinier are sharing the court. This approach would clog the paint, preventing easy driving opportunities and forcing France to rely on its poor shooting from a distance.
2. Involve Wembanyama defensively
It might seem counterintuitive, but engaging France's best defensive player in offensive sets could be key for the United States to neutralize Wembanyama's impact. With Rudy Gobert expected to have a minimal role ( nine minutes in the past two games), the 2023 No. 1 overall pick is France's primary rim protector.
Team USA arguably has the greatest perimeter threats and slashers at its disposal. If the Americans can draw Wembanyama out to the perimeter and involve his man in pick-and-roll or pick-and-pop sets, this will take away Wembanyama's biggest strength in altering shots at the rim and free up the paint for more cutting opportunities and easier baskets.
Several teams involving Wemby far out on the perimeter: pic.twitter.com/4wSrJ9LWJ2
— Justin Kim (@justinkimdc) August 9, 2024
1. Lock in from the jump
France must play a perfect game to beat the United States, and even that may not be enough given the Americans' talent edge.
"I'm really humbled to have been a part of this game," Kerr said after the win over the Serbs, per Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com. "It's one of the greatest basketball games I've ever been a part of. They were perfect. They played a perfect game."
Team USA's biggest challenge is playing with an acceptable level of effort, especially early. So, to avoid another close call like their game against Serbia, the Americans must remain poised, especially with France enjoying homecourt advantage.
But, if the United States follows the keys above, it will likely avoid the colossal disappointment of a silver medal and come home with gold.
More must-reads:
- Three takeaways from France's win over Germany in men's basketball semifinal
- Double-big lineup leads France's first-half comeback in semifinal
- The 'NBA Defensive Player of the Year' quiz
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