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Team USA (Official Thread)

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USA Basketball picks Grant Hill to replace Jerry Colangelo as managing director

Grant Hill helped the U.S. win Olympic gold in 1996. He would have been on the team again in 2000 if not for injury. And he was among the college kids who famously beat the first "Dream Team" in a scrimmage before the 1992 Olympics.

Now USA Basketball is bringing him back.

Hill will become the men's national team managing director after the Tokyo Olympics, USA Basketball said Saturday. He'll replace the retiring Jerry Colangelo, in a move where one Basketball Hall of Famer takes over for another in the critical role of assembling teams that will compete for gold.

"It's just an incredible opportunity, also an incredible challenge," Hill said Saturday. "I had the good fortune of participating in international play -- the Pan American Games, of course the Olympic team -- and I have been a fan of Team USA going back to the 1984 Olympic team when I first started to fall in love with basketball. The more I thought about it, the more intrigued, excited and the more willing I was to roll up my sleeves and move forward with this awesome responsibility."

Entire article: https://www.espn.com/olympics/story...ill-replace-jerry-colangelo-managing-director
 
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Returning gold medalist Kevin Durant, first-time Olympians highlight USA Basketball roster

USA Basketball finalized its star-laden roster for the Tokyo Olympics on Wednesday, getting pledges from Chicago Bulls guard Zach LaVine and Detroit Pistons forward Jerami Grant, while Brooklyn Nets star James Harden had to withdraw because of a hamstring injury, USA Basketball managing director Jerry Colangelo told ESPN.

The team will be highlighted by Kevin Durant, who will go for his third gold medal. He and former Golden State Warriors teammate Draymond Green are the only returning members of the 2016 team that won gold at the Rio Olympics. But the roster is stacked with All-Stars playing in their first Olympics, including Damian Lillard, Bradley Beal, Bam Adebayo and Jayson Tatum. Kevin Love, who was on the 2012 gold-medal-winning squad in London, is also on the team.

Three players on the roster -- Milwaukee Bucks stars Khris Middleton and Jrue Holiday and Phoenix's Devin Booker -- are still active in the postseason and could play as late as July 22, the latest date for an NBA Finals Game 7.

Team USA's first game in Japan is scheduled for July 25 against France. But all three have committed to traveling quickly to Japan by private plane, Colangelo said.

Entire article: https://www.espn.com/olympics/baske...rst-olympians-highlight-usa-basketball-roster

DraftKings has the USA as the favorite to win the GOLD:

Odds to win men’s basketball gold medal at Tokyo 2021 Olympics

Team Odds
USA -305
Serbia +800
Spain +800
France +1700
Australia +2500
Greece +2500
Lithuania +2500
Argentina +3000
Croatia +5000
Slovenia +5000
Turkey +5000
Venezuela +5000
Canada +10000
Italy +10000
Brazil +15000
Czech Republic +15000
Germany +15000
Poland +15000
Russian OC +15000
Dominican Republic +40000
Puerto Rico +40000
Nigeria +50000
Tunisia +50000
Angola +100000
Iran +100000
Mexico +100000
Senegal +100000
Uruguay +100000
China +200000
Japan +250000
Philippines +250000
South Korea +250000

Entire article: https://dknation.draftkings.com/202...team-usa-serbia-spain-france-australia-greece
 
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USA men’s basketball: Schedule, roster and everything you need to know as Celtics’ Jayson Tatum eyes gold in Tokyo Olympics

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USA Basketball’s path starts in Las Vegas, where training camp opens Tuesday then lasts till July 18. The team will play in five exhibition games against other international teams throughout their stay.

The Olympics open July 23 in Tokyo, where the path to gold has been finalized after some late qualifiers have been added to the 12-team fold. The U.S. is a part of Group A, where Celtics fans will see a little more local ties.

Here’s a look at the exhibition schedule, which consists of five games against Nigeria, Spain, Argentina and Australia (twice). All games are listed in Eastern Time.

Saturday, July 10 at 8 p.m.: USA vs. Nigeria

Monday, July 12 at 8 p.m.: USA vs. Australia

Tuesday, July 13 at 6 p.m.: USA vs. Argentina

Friday, July 16 at 3:30 p.m.: USA vs. Australia

Sunday, July 18 at 9 p.m.: USA vs. Spain

Once the U.S. is finished tuning up for the Olympics, it’ll be a plane ride over to Japan. The 12 teams are broken up into three groups of four, where they’ll play round-robin ahead of the quarterfinals. The eight teams which make it to the next round are the first- and second-place teams, along with the two-best third-place teams.

The United States are in Group A alongside France, Iran and the Czech Republic, which made history by qualifying for its first-ever Olympics. The French will be a tough team, led by Utah’s Rudy Gobert and Evan Fournier, who hits free agency but most recently played for the Celtics.

Here’s a look at the three-game round robin schedule, once again listed in Eastern Time.

Sunday, July 25 at 8 a.m.: USA vs. France

Wednesday, July 28 at 12:40 a.m.: USA vs. Iran

Saturday, July 31 at 8 a.m.: USA vs. Czech Republic

Entire article: https://www.masslive.com/celtics/20...jayson-tatum-eyes-gold-in-tokyo-olympics.html
 
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Not a good start:

Shocking: USA falls to Nigeria 90-87 in pre-Olympic basketball opener

If there was any expectation of invincibility for the Americans heading into the Tokyo Olympics, it’s already gone — after Nigeria beat the U.S. 90-87 on Saturday night, an international shocker pulled off by a roster primarily filled by little-known NBA players that found a way to beat a group of All-NBA, All-Star and max-contract performers.

Entire article: https://fox8.com/japan-2020/shocking-usa-falls-to-nigeria-90-87-in-pre-olympic-basketball-opener/
 
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OHSportsFan said:
Beat Argentina tonight.

I think they’ll be okay but if they want to drive down their future bet prices, fine by me.
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Just sayin': Needless to say, the gap between what the USA had in 1992 between the "Dream Team" and the rest of world in men's basketball is significantly narrowing. This team is a lot better than the 1-2 exhibition record would indicate though. In addition, when they

1) get a little more use playing together,
2) begin playing the starting 5 (i.e. best players) more,
and
3) get the 3 guys (Booker, Holiday, and Middleton) still playing in the NBA finals;

that will help improve the team too.
 
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Report: JaVale McGee, Keldon Johnson to Join Team USA Olympic Roster

Nuggets center JaVale McGee and Spurs forward Keldon Johnson will replace Wizards guard Bradley Beal and Cavaliers forward Kevin Love on the 12-person Team USA roster, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.
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Pistons forward Jerami Grant was also placed in the health and safety protocols on Thursday, though it's unclear if he will be able to take part in the Olympics.
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Group play for Team USA in Tokyo will begin on July 26 against France. The Americans will play in Group A alongside France, Iran and the Czech Republic as they seek their fourth straight gold medal.

Entire article: https://www.si.com/nba/2021/07/16/javale-mcgee-keldon-johnson-team-usa-replacement
 
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OHSportsFan said:
Ok, now I’m wondering wtf they’re doing. Just add Ayton and Trae Young and go win gold.
Click to expand...

The game passed Pop by a few years ago. His Spurs attempt the fewest three point shots per game and he's sticking with "his guys" here.

He's 10-5 as head coach of Team USA. Not bad if you're the Spurs, but underachieving big time when you're Team USA.

His first loss ended a 78-game winning streak and he's added four more.
 
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25 of the top-40 players in the NBA would be eligible to play for Team USA this summer, but somehow we only end up with just 7 of those guys actually playing. That's crazy. Makes it seem like 2/3 of the NBA stars are injured.
 
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U.S. men's basketball team builds momentum with win over Spain in final game before Tokyo Olympics

Team USA built some needed momentum for the Olympics with a quality win over current world champion Spain, 83-76, on Sunday night in its final exhibition game before heading to Tokyo.
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The Americans open Olympic pool play Sunday against France in Saitama, outside Tokyo. Depending on when the Finals end and travel schedules, they could play that game with just nine players.

"We've been preparing for France for two years," Popovich said. "I think about it every day."

Entire article: https://www.espn.com/olympics/story...-momentum-win-spain-final-game-tokyo-olympics
 
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Zach LaVine not on U.S. Olympic men's basketball team flight to Tokyo after entering protocols

Team USA guard Zach LaVine was put into health and safety protocols on Monday and didn't travel with the rest of the team on its flight to Tokyo for the Olympics.

USA Basketball said in a statement that it hoped LaVine would be able to join the team in Japan later this week.

He is the third player to be affected in the past week, as Bradley Beal had to leave the team because of the protocols and Jerami Grant was in contact tracing quarantine for four days.

The situation is a potential blow to the team, which will now travel with just eight players. LaVine had started the past two exhibition games in place of Beal and had looked strong through the Olympic run-up. He averaged 10.3 points in the four exhibition games, third on the team behind Damian Lillard and Kevin Durant, and had several impressive transition dunks.

Entire article: https://www.espn.com/olympics/story...sketball-team-flight-tokyo-entering-protocols
 
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