On Saturday, after the Group Phase finished, LeBron James, captain of Team USA shared how he felt about the team’s readiness for the knock out stage. Additionally, he talked about France’s recent performance in a candid way.
“Their last game didn’t particularly impress me. I thought they weren’t prepared for Germany’s physicality. Their play was otherwise good,” said James. LeBron made these comments after his side had beaten Puerto Rico 104-83.
This marked their fourth win on the row since the tournament began. For James at 39 this summer has displayed his extraordinary longevity; voted by his peers as the best player in the unit and leading all through exhibition games and group stages for Team USA.
However, this USA still has very tough battles to fight. Notably, players like Rudy Gobert as well as Nicolas Batum and emerging star Victor Wembanyama make them a formidable opponent for any team including them (France). However in their own loss recently to Germany, that skill did not manifest itself.
Wembanyama struggled against Germany to such an extent that Vincent Collet came out publicly to criticize him on style of play: “Victor hasn’t yet mastered how to balance scoring with being a distributor of balls at Olympic level,” said Collet.
Unlike with San Antonio Spurs where he only had one teammate capable of scoring France now features several such players who can score regularly alongside him.
France Overpowered by Germany
The Germans were simply too physical for France to handle which explains why it was inevitable that they could not excel with such oppositions because Mo Wagner Daniel Theis Jo Voigtmann etc are dominating inside positions.
The French defeat highlighted their weaknesses following an 85-71 German victory over them.Just couldn’t handle size and physicality from Germans,” said LeBron.“Germany gave us a blueprint on how we can beat this European power”.
France will need answers against men like Joel Embiid or Anthony Davis if they are to conquer Team USA. Moreover, their challenge calls for stopping threats from versatile shooters such as Bam Adebayo and Kevin Durant. Wembanyama is under pressing responsibility as a 20-year-old leader of the team.
Nonetheless, he has to stop taking forced shots and learn how to play within the team flow. LeBron James is already a master of this at only 39 years old. He serves as an example to his Hall of Fame colleagues who have put aside their personal interests in order to achieve one thing; winning Olympic gold for America.
If Team USA is going to face off against teams like France, Canada, or Germany, it will need everything they’ve got. NBA stars like Wembanyama Rudy Gobert Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Franz Wagner will be obstacles for them too. Luckily, LeBron is not worried about that. No doubt in his mind that this tournament is his to lose.
