After completing the Group Phase on Saturday, Team USA captain LeBron James spoke up about how the team will prepare for the battles ahead. With the knockout round set to commence this month, James also singled out Team France for a review of their latest performance.
“I wasn’t very impressed with their last game. I didn’t think they were ready for the physicality of Germany. Other than that, they were playing some good ball.”
James was feeling good after the 104-83 win over Puerto Rico, which marked the USA’s fourth straight since the opening ceremony. For James, 39, this summer has been a showcase of his unprecedented longevity. LeBron was voted as the best player on the team by his peers and he carried Team USA in the exhibition games and Group stages.
Still, the toughest challenges are yet to come for the USA. With Rudy Gobert, Nicolas Batum, and big-man sensation Victor Wembanyama, Team France poses arguably the biggest threat to pull off an upset and win the gold.
But after their loss to Germany this week, it became clear that France has some serious flaws. After Victor shot his team out of the game against Germany, head coach Vincent Collet publicly called him out and condemned the playstyle.
Of course, Victor is still just learning where the boundaries are, and over time he will develop an understanding of the balance between scoring and sharing the ball at the Olympic level. Unlike his situation with the Spurs, Wembanyama has more than enough capable scorers on the French national team and he’ll have to start deferring more to them if they want any chance of beating the USA.
As LeBron mentioned, France just couldn’t handle the size and physicality of the Germans, who had bigs like Mo Wagner, Daniel Theis, and Jo Voigtmann down low to challenge the frontcourt. Germany won the game 85-71 and gave a blueprint for how to challenge this European juggernaut by playing with aggressive physicality all night long.
Against Team USA, France will need an answer to bigs such as Joel Embiid and Anthony Davis under the rim but they’ll also have to neutralize more versatile scorers like Bam Adebayo and Kevin Durant.
At just 20 years old, Victor Wembanyama is putting a lot of pressure on himself to lead the way and deliver a win for his country and his family but it will clearly be a learning process with him. The skills are there for Victor to be one of the best Olympic athletes ever but he will need to work more within the flow of the game instead of trying to force shots.
At 39 years old, LeBron James has already learned this lesson and he is setting the example for his Hall of Fame teammates. Everyone has sacrificed their egos and they have bought into the singular goal of winning gold for the USA.
Against teams like France, Canada, and Germany, it will take everything to win and overcome NBA stars like Victor Wembanyama, Rudy Gobert, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and Franz Wagner. Fortunately, LeBron James doesn’t seem to be worried about the competition and he firmly believes that this tournament is his to lose.
Thank you for being a valued reader of Fadeaway World. If you liked this article, please consider following us on Google News. We appreciate your support.
