Team USA's Path To Gold is Clear

The Americans have a straightforward path to winning it all again.

Jul 28, 2024; Villeneuve-d'Ascq, France; Team USA during the national anthems before a game against Serbia during the Paris 2024 Olympic Summer Games at Stade Pierre-Mauroy. Mandatory Credit: John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports / John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports

PHOENIX -- Team USA is going into the knockout stage of Olympic play as the big-time favorite to take Gold in Pairs - the status as favorites has much to do with the Phoenix Suns duo of stars in Kevin Durant and Devin Booker.

It may not come as easy as anticipated due to stronger competition across the board, however.

The U.S. is set to play Brazil in the quarterfinals on Tuesday - and it should be a victory due to the noticeable talent gap from top to bottom.

Brazil is possibly the weakest team left in the pool, with only one current player on their roster on an NBA team, but head coach Steve Kerr has made sure to not take the upcoming matchup lightly.

"They're very physical. I think they're the No. 1 offensive rebounding team in the tournament," Kerr said Sunday via ESPN's Brian Windhorst.

"They've got a lot of really good shooters, and they just play hard. They compete play after play, so we'll have to be ready for their physicality and their shooting, and we need to be on edge and ready for them because they're not going to back down."

If the U.S. is to win the matchup with Brazil, they would then play the winner of Serbia/Australia.

Serbia is obviously the home of the best player in the NBA in Nikola Jokic - along with some other solid professionals such as Bogdan Bogdanovic. Despite this, the U.S. feels clearly in control over them in a potential matchup.

While Serbia may have stronger top-end talent compared to Australia, the Aussies have nine current NBA players on the roster and employ a scrappy playstyle that could make life fairly difficult on team USA.

If they were to win the semifinal match, they would almost certainly be pinned against one of Germany, Canada, or France for the Gold medal.

All three potential matchups appear to be the toughest test for team USA - who are obviously seeking a fifth straight Gold after only attaining Bronze in the 2004 Athens Olympics.

France has underwhelmed thus far but also have the dynamic duo of Rudy Gobert and Victor Wembanyama along with quality supporting talent such as Bilal Coulibaly.

Canada has widely been seen as the squad with the best chance to unseat the U.S. - with a dynamic backcourt featuring Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jamal Murray, and Andrew Nembhard - along with a wing rotation featuring quality NBA role players such as Luguentz Dort.

Germany truly could end up being the biggest threat depending on what unfolds over the next several days - Dennis Schroeder and Franz Wagner seem to step up on the world stage, as evidenced by Germany's first-place finish in the FIBA World Cup last summer.

It will be extremely intriguing to watch how things unfold from Tuesday to Sunday - the U.S. should ultimately reign supreme yet again, but the uptick in competition from around the world could make for some very fun basketball.