Team USA Basketball Finally Looks Like a Juggernaut Again

The U.S. has finally found its groove in Paris, steamrolling South Sudan to reach the Olympic quarterfinals as coach Steve Kerr continues to embrace his versatile roster.

Team USA's bench, which included Kevin Durant, racked up 66 points against South Sudan. / John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports

There they are. There’s the USA Basketball everyone expected. There’s the roster that was billed as more talented than the Dream Team, more polished than the Redeem Team, a star-studded American Avengers that was expected to erase the memory of a disappointing fourth place finish at last summer’s World Cup. 

That’s right: The U.S. is back. 

They made us nervous. The exhibition schedule was unblemished but hardly flawless. Team USA’s 5-0 record included a tough win over Australia and back-to-back nailbiters over Germany and South Sudan. They had the talent of an Oceans movie. And the chemistry of a Star Wars cast. 

Now? Team USA is humming. On Wednesday, USA Basketball improved to 2-0 with a 103-86 win over South Sudan, clinching a spot in the Olympic quarterfinals. Last week, the U.S. needed some late LeBron James heroics to stave off arguably the greatest upset in international basketball history. On Wednesday, they had no such issues. The U.S. led by 12 at the end of the first quarter, pushed the lead to 19 at the half before cruising to a second straight double-digit win. They shot the ball well (53%), defended better (holding South Sudan to 42%) and won the turnover battle (19-15). 

For the second straight game Kerr shook up his rotation, plugging Jayson Tatum (a DNP-CD in the Olympic opener) and Anthony Davis into the starting lineup, sending Jrue Holiday to the bench and leaving Joel Embiid out of the rotation. The result was 13 steals and a flurry of buckets in transition. 

“That’s how we’re going to do this,” said Kerr. “Whatever we need to do to win, that’s what we’re going to do … just win a damn gold medal. Every opponent is different. We’ve got options for everything, and we’re going to use those options.”

Tatum admitted feeling frustrated after Sunday’s benching. It has been a remarkable run for Tatum, who followed up a championship winning season by signing his name to a new $314 million contract extension and earning the cover of the newest installment of NBA2K (cover of Sports Illustrated, too). He didn’t have a breakout performance on Wednesday but contributed with four points, five rebounds and two assists. 

“It’s not about one individual,” said Tatum. “The competitor in you wants to play, but I’m not here to make it a story, make it about myself. We won. I was glad to get back out here and play. I was in good spirits, good attitude about it. It was a learning experience. You just move on.”

The U.S. doesn’t need Tatum to be Tatum. They don’t need anybody to be the NBA version of themselves. They shot 43% from three … with Stephen Curry going 0-for-6. They blocked seven shots … with Embiid sitting on the bench. There’s no need for anyone to try to dominate the game, said Kerr, when “we’ve got 12 guys who are all capable of dominating.”

The second unit is where the U.S. has found consistency. The “bench mob,” as Bam Adebayo calls them, has been USA Basketball’s best unit. Kevin Durant has not just embraced his role as sixth man, but thrived in it. On Wednesday, Adebayo had 18 points, seven rebounds and finished a team-high plus-22. Derrick White (ten points, three steals and a block) continues to validate USA Basketball’s decision to add him to the roster.  

“It’s a pretty potent group when you come off the bench with Bam, Kevin, Derrick White,” said Kerr. “The beauty of USA basketball is we have more great players than the other countries. We can lean on all those great players depending on matchups and how we want to play.”

Indeed. Suddenly, the U.S. looks like a juggernaut again. Puerto Rico, which absorbed a 41-point beating from Serbia on Wednesday, is the last tune-up before the knockout round, where the likes of Canada, France and Germany will be waiting. The games will get tougher. The stakes will be higher. 

The U.S., finally, looks ready for them. In the NBA, a consistent lineup is valuable. At the Olympics, Kerr has embraced versatility. Embiid will be back in the starting lineup against Puerto Rico, Kerr said. Holiday, too. Kerr and Co. are studying opponents and setting rotations accordingly. And the results have been a smashing success. 

“This [Olympics] goes so quickly,” said Kerr. “We only have four games left. So I think keeping everybody engaged, looking at some different combinations, and everything kind of matters to us. And now we have a tape to look at some of those different lineup combos, and we’ll go from there.”