LES BLEUS takes on THE RED, WHITE, AND BLUE
A battle of styles for Olympic glory (Reposted)
By the end of this week, the Americans will still remain as Kings of the Jungle.
Both teams will be coming off victories, one nail-biter from France and Nicolas Batum’s tournament saving block, and one lopsided victory that displayed Kevin Durant’s dominance against the Boomers. All chips are in, the playing field is even, it really comes down to execution and who wants it more.
In their first meeting, France came back in the fourth quarter from being down as much as ten, eventually winning the game by seven points, 83–76. They outscored the Americans 25–11 in the third quarter behind Evan Fournier’s total scoring output of 28. Although, one eye-opening stat to look forward to in this upcoming matchup is the bench points. In their first encounter, the US outscored France, 33 to 17, and France was still able to garner the W. This may change drastically because both coaches will likely shorten their rotations and play their starters as much as they can.
The key players to watch out for are France’s big three in Fournier, Gobert, and De Colo. Fournier will be the primary option on offense with De Colo to back him up in playmaking. The Stiefel Tower will obviously be the biggest advantage for the French since the Americans lack a legit big man that can be on par with Gobert; I don’t expect to see any Javale McGee minutes anytime soon. But, I don’t really find this that big of an advantage with today’s spacing, pace, and three-point shooting. Moving on, the Americans arguably have the best player in the world in Kevin Durant, and the only person who can truly stop that man is himself by having an off night. I also believe Jrue Holiday will be the next key component in the Americans winning. If his defense can disrupt the rhythm of Fournier and De Colo, similar to how he locked up Chris Paul in the recently concluded NBA Finals, this will be a walk in the park for Team USA. You will always have to have some sort of scoring and perimeter shooting if you even want a chance of competing in the first place.
If France wants any shot at winning, they have to guard the three-ball immaculately because as the Americans displayed in their showdown with the boomers, once they get hot, it’s just a matter of how many they will win. Gobert’s drop coverage might not be the best idea when you have Damian Lillard, Devin Booker, Zach Lavine, and Jayson Tatum snaking that pick and roll and scoring from all sorts of angles. If France decides to switch, they are playing right in the hands of the Americans. France really just has to keep it close in order to compete.
When it comes down to crunch time, when everyone plans to switch and give the ball to their best player, Kevin Durant will answer that call. Though Rudy Gobert is a defensive presence, similar to what happened in the Clippers series, Gobert was ironically a liability in the last few minutes because of his inability to switch on to smaller defenders. And with the offensive firepower the Americans possess, topped with their versatility to go small, the French line of defense just wouldn’t be enough. It’s also good to note that the Americans did a really solid job in their previous matchup, denying and disrupting the ball movement the Australians are known for. They’re definitely coming into this game more confident in their defense.
In the end, Team USA will come out victorious, but it will be close. They had the first meaning in the books but they just let it slip right through their fingers. This time around, I believe they will learn from their mistakes and make the necessary adjustments to vindicate once more who the undisputed kings of basketball are.
