From the opening tip-off, it was clear that Team USA wanted Joel Embiid to play a big part of Tuesday’s quarterfinal dominant win vs. Brazil. The Philadelphia 76ers star center responded with a huge first quarter to give the US a lead that they would never relinquish in the win. It was possibly the best defense that Team USA played in Paris during these Olympic games and the stifling defense allowed the Americans to get out and run the floor and open the game up early. Devin Booker led Team USA in scoring with 18 points and breakout Olympics star Anthony Edwards added 17 off the bench. Kevin Durant continued to etch his name in the USA Basketball history books by becoming the all-time leading scorer, male or female, in Team USA basketball history. With Durant scoring 11 points, he passed up women’s basketball legend Lisa Leslie for the honor. Next up for Team USA will be Nikola Jokic and his Serbian National Team who had an impressive comeback victory to defeat Australia in other quarterfinal action.
Brazil was led by Bruno Caboclo (who is having an impressive Olympic showing for Brazil) with 30 points and 6 rebounds. The Brazilians finish their Olympic run with a 1-3 record.
Key takeaways from the win
Here are some key observations from the Team USA game vs. Brazil:
Both the starters AND the bench were effective for Team USA vs Brazil – One of the bigger storylines in Paris has been that Team USA’s second five has simply outplayed the first five in most of the games. Led by the two ‘Ants’ Anthony Edwards and Anthony Davis, Team USA has gotten most of the separation after Coach Steve Kerr begins to put his bench in. The bench crew which mainly consists of: Edwards, Davis, Durant, Bam Adebayo, and Jayson Tatum, has provided a punch that no other country can usually match. During Team USA’s run in the showcase games and the first 3 games in the Olympics, it almost felt like LeBron James, Steph Curry, Embiid, Jrue Holiday, and Devin Booker (the usual starters) were content with letting the younger players get their shine and they would play a supporting role. The starters during Tuesday’s game vs Brazil immediately shed that notion and came out with an energy that they haven’t previously displayed which set the tone for the game.
Embiid finds his rhythm
Joel Embiid gets going early – It has been a good Summer for Joel Embiid so far. His 76ers squad just landed possibly the missing piece for a championship in Paul George, young star Tyrese Maxey signed an extension that will keep him with the team for the foreseeable future, and he’s playing with arguably the most stacked Team USA of all time, including the ’92 Dream Team. However, his play in Paris has been….well….underwhelming. Embiid’s advantage over other bigs and players in the NBA is: he can take bigs/centers from the other teams to the perimeter to take advantage of his shooting and movement or he can back other smaller bigs/centers down on the block where he becomes un-guardable with his array of post moves and strength. Some basketball watchers and fans point out that he gets ‘bailed’ out by referees too much during the course of a game. It appears as though the FIBA referees and coaches did not get the memo. Embiid hasn’t been effective or a force like he usually is during these Olympic games. In fact, Embiid is getting more attention for what team he DIDN’T play for. Embiid was eligible to play for the France, the host country, but instead decided to play for Team USA, presumably after LeBron put in a ‘Avengers Assemble’ like phone call. The crowd has let him know of the decision during the time in Paris. He is booed mercilessly every time he touches the ball and it seemed to be effecting him due to his spotty play. Today vs. Brazil was a complete different case. He started with a long three pointer and kept it rolling for the entirety of the first half and finished with 14 points for the half and the game. With the game at hand, Coach Kerr decided to let Anthony Davis and Bam Adebayo man the middle for most of the second half.
LeBron's all-around impact
Is LeBron ok? – While the starters have been ‘good’, LeBron has definitely shown that he’s still one of the top players in the World with his play at the Olympics. LeBron has given Team USA the full spectrum of his talents. Whenever the team needs a tough bucket, he provides it for them (see: the South Sudan showcase game), if the team needs a rebound or to move the ball for an open shot, LeBron’s the guy. Today vs Brazil, LeBron’s stat line once again displayed this. James had 12 points, 9 assists, and 3 rebounds along with his defensive presence. The only negative that came out of this game was that LeBron James caught an elbow to the face and was down for a few minutes. He then exited the game and didn’t return to the action after leaving. While he appeared in good spirits for the rest of the game on the bench, his health is worth monitoring going into Thursday’s game vs. Serbia.
Up Next: Semifinal Round vs Serbia, Thursday, August 8th at 3 P.M. EST
