Team USA’s quest for gold in the 2024 Olympics begins against Nikola Jokić and Serbia
The United States men's basketball team officially begins their road to gold in the 2024 Paris Olympics on Sunday. In their first match of the preliminary round, Team USA will take on Nikola Jokic and Serbia.
Who: United States vs Serbia
When: 8:15 a.m. PT, July 28
Where: Pierre Mauroy Stadium, Villeneuve-d’Ascq, France
Watch: NBC, Peacock
LeBron James, Anthony Davis and the rest of the Team USA will be tested immediately in their first game in Paris. Not only will they go up against the fourth-best basketball team in the world in Serbia, but one that's considered dangerous to compete with, especially in the Olympic setting where every game matters.
Team USA's goal is to be one of the top two teams in Group C by the time the preliminary round wraps up so that they can advance to the quarterfinals. Honestly, this shouldn't be a hard task for the Americans, who are grouped with Serbia, South Sudan and Puerto Rico. Each win will merit two points, while a loss is worth one point in the standings.
Fortunately for the United States, they got a feel of what it's like to compete against Serbia and South Sudan. They defeated both countries during the USA Basketball Showcase. But that shouldn't give the Americans assurance that they can do it again. In fact, AD perfectly described the type of mindset that Team USA should approach the tournament with:
Anthony Davis on 2020 Olympics: “We don’t take any team for granted. We don’t come in like, ‘Oh, we’re the Monstars. We’re going to crush everybody.’ Those days are long over. We have so much respect for every team we’re going to face, and we’re going to approach it that way.”
— Ryan Ward (@RyanWardLA) July 26, 2024
That said, Team USA should expect a more competitive Serbian team on Saturday. Unlike in their exhibition match 10 days ago, the Serbians won't be playing on the second night of a back-to-back, so they'll compete in this one with fresh legs. Remember, Serbia got off to a strong start in their last game before losing by 26 points. Thanks to Stephen Curry's 24 points on 6-9 three-point shooting, USA built a 14-point lead in the second quarter.
Although there's no guarantee that Curry will take over again, Team USA should still have the edge against Serbia. The key for the Americans is to contain the NBA's reigning MVP, Nikola Jokic, who was held to just 16 points in their last meeting. A lot of that had to do with Davis' six blocks and overall defense, which will play a huge role in this game and the United States' success in this tournament.
In addition to Davis and Curry, this one will also focus on the battle between Joel Embiid and Jokic, two of the best big men in the NBA.
This time, though, Jokic will have to rely on the likes of Bogdan Bogdanovic, Nikola Jovic, Aleksa Avramovic and the rest of his teammates to pull off a massive upset. It's not outside the realm of possibility, but it will be an uphill battle for the Joker.
The Americans still have a lot of questions to answer. Will Kevin Durant, who didn't play a game during the USA showcase, make his first appearance against Serbia? And if so, will that affect the chemistry that Team USA has built over the past two weeks?
How about the starting lineups and rotations? Can Steve Kerr find the perfect blend after he has shuffled through the roster throughout the exhibition games? More importantly, does this team have more to offer down the clutch besides giving the ball to James and letting him take over?
Let's see if we get some answers on Sunday as LeBron, AD and the rest of Team USA begin their quest for gold.
You can follow Nicole on Twitter at @nicoleganglani.
