"We need to change the start!" The U.S. has a sweat-and-sweat victory over Germany. U.S. media "2nd consecutive close race. AD instead of starting Embiid" Why?
Jul 23, 2024
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The U.S. Dream Team won the warm-up match against Germany 92-88 in London on the 23rd (Korea time).
LeBron James stood out. He had 20 points and six rebounds. In particular, a series of under-the-goal breakthroughs with strong power in the clutch situation were strong.
He dominated the match with an unstoppable under-the-goal breakthrough with a strong probability.
The U.S. won all five warm-up matches against Canada, Australia, Serbia, South Sudan and Germany. He proved to be the best candidate for the gold medal in men's basketball at the Paris Olympics.
However, the performance was quite unstable. The U.S., which had a 10-point lead in the first half, showed difficulty in defense outside the third quarter. Germany's Franz Wagner, as well as Dennis Schröder, attacked the U.S. loophole. He took a shower of 3-pointers with organized play and led the game by taking the lead at one point in the second half. However, the U.S. won a thrilling come-from-behind victory with LeBron James in the fourth quarter clutch situation.
The U.S., which won the match against South Sudan after a close game, played a close game again this time. After the warm-up match, the U.S. enters Paris, France, and faces Serbia, South Sudan and Puerto Rico in the group stage.
U.S. local media expressed unease.
ESPN and CBS Sports said, `The U.S. won the game with LeBron James' overwhelming performance. However, following the match against South Sudan, it was still a close game. He said that his organizational and performance have not risen yet.
In particular, CBS Sports insisted on reorganizing the starting lineup.
The media reported that the starting lineup, led by `Stephen Curry, LeBron James, Joel Embiid and Zru Halladay, has several fatal weaknesses. He said that he is exposing weaknesses in the outer defense and that the offense and defense are out of balance.
In fact, the U.S. failed to secure an early clear advantage against South Sudan and Germany. The second unit, led by Anthony Davis, Bam Adebayo and Jason Tatum, dominated the second quarter to lead the game.
Of course, there are also parts where the opponent also benefits from the rest of the best five. However, it is also true that the U.S. starting lineup lacks 2% of activity and transition games.
Coach Steve Kerr said, "We can't leave out Curry and LeBron. However, due to lack of activity, Zru Halladay, who has the best defense in the league, is putting in. However, it exposes weaknesses in Embiid and the outside 2-2 defense. In the match against South Sudan, Embiid was the target of Embiid matchup hunting, and in the match against Germany, Embiid showed a better performance, but there was still a lack of outside defense.
This medium should be included in the start for `Stephen Curry, LeBron James. It has symbolic meaning as well as performance. Without Curry and LeBron, it could be a real U.S. locker room issue.
sfryu@sportschosun.com
