Team USA men’s basketball is looking towards the knockout stages after winning their final group game against Puerto Rico. The culmination of LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, and other superstars has proven to be too much for the teams so far. Nevertheless, Canada superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has the solution to beat them at the Paris Olympics 2024.
The All-NBA 1st teamer sat down with NBC’s Mike Tirico to talk about the resurgence of Canadian Basketball over the past few years. When asked how they would tackle Team USA if they met in the Olympic gold medal game, he spoke about playing the game without mistakes.
They play to their strengths. They’re obviously very talented, and very deep. You almost have to make no mistakes and play a perfect game when you play against them as the rest of the world expected. As far as Canada, we’ll be ready for whoever we see.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander via NBC
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has played against all of the stars on Team USA throughout his NBA career. He knows he and his Canadian teammates will need a perfect game to beat them. With all the weapons at their disposal, Team USA can pick and choose who and how they want to play. It was evident, as the likes of NBA Champion Jayson Tatum and former league MVP Joel Embiid could afford to not step foot on the floor even for a second.
“[Team USA] play to their strengths. They’re obviously very talented, & very deep. You almost have to make no mistakes & play a perfect game when you play against them… As far as Canada, we’ll be ready for whoever we see.”
— Shai Gilgeous-Alexander 👀pic.twitter.com/JAEyrf1vb1
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) August 4, 2024
Canada also has the next-best lineup if it goes by NBA superstars on a team. Even they will need to have everything working perfectly for them to try for a win. They did win against Team USA at the FIBA World Cup last year in the 3rd place game. But that loss is what triggered the development of this super team.
LeBron James and Team USA’s wins so far support Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s logic
This super team is not just a culmination of the best American superstars the NBA has to give. It was built with much thought as to how they would attack teams. For instance, Kawhi Leonard, originally part of Team USA, left the squad when he realized his knee would be in the way. It was not as if he was injured.
Rather, his knee was still recovering and would have taken a turn for the worse, considering the pace at which Team USA wanted to play. That pace was on display against South Sudan in the second group game and kept Embiid on the sidelines in casual attire. When the knockout stages start at the Paris Olympics 2024, the game plans will change, needing specific workloads from some players.
That is why Shai Gileous-Alexander knows that they have their work cut out. They do want to win a gold medal. However, with LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, and others wearing the stars and stripes, it will require the perfect game and a lot of mistakes from a team full of NBA Champions for that to happen.
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