Tuesday 13 July 2021
Crisis at the Olympic favorite threatens
Australians waddle US basketball players hard
When it comes to basketball at the Olympic Games, there is really no getting around the US selection. But now the successor to the Dream Team also loses his second preparation game. Apparently, the next disappointment threatens after the disastrous World Cup in 2019.
In preparation for the Olympic Games, the US basketball players lost two test games in a row for the first time. After the 87:90 against Nigeria there was an 83:91 against Australia. The German group B in Tokyo turns out to be more and more a hammer group, in addition to Nigeria and Australia, the team of the German Basketball Association in Japan also meets Italy.
Since NBA professionals – the famous Dream Team – first played for the US national team in 1992, the bankruptcy in Las Vegas was only the fourth defeat in 58 test games, six of seven Olympic gold medals have since gone to the Americans. “We’re still working on becoming a team,” said NBA star Damian Lillard of the Portland Trail Blazers after the encounter in which he was Team USA’s best thrower with 22 points. Kevin Durant of the Brooklyn Nets got 17 points, Bradley Beal of the Washington Wizards got 12.
Coach Gregg Popovich looked pissed off at the post-game press conference and had a verbal argument with a journalist, but insisted that he was satisfied with his team. “We were better today, I was happy with what I saw,” said the 72-year-old, who coaches the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA. “We got tired in the second half.”
At halftime, the USA had led 46:37 against the Australians for the outstanding Patty Mills from the Spurs, who ended up with 22 points, Joe Ingles from the Utah Jazz (17 points) and Matisse Thybulle (12) from the Philadelphia 76ers . “We’ll look at that and learn from it,” said Popovich. Before the start of the Olympics against France, the USA will test against Argentina, again against Australia and finally against world champion Spain.
Even if, despite the historically unique defeats, nobody seriously doubts that the USA will be one of the favorites in Tokyo – the results against Nigeria and Australia, which is traded as a gold candidate, show that the former lead of the US basketball players over the rest of the world is clear has shrunk. At the 2019 World Cup, Coach Popovich’s team surprisingly failed in the quarter-finals to France, then also lost in the placement games against Serbia and ended the tournament as poorly as never before after beating Poland only in seventh place.
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