Team USA may have another win under their belt, but yet again, it was far from a dominant showing. With the final score standing at 98-92, LeBron James and the squad won by just six points, something that has worried many within the NBA community. Admitting to being one of them, Paul Pierce talked about this in his recent appearance on Undisputed. He highlighted what was still holding Team USA back.
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Pierce first put his worries into perspective and said there will be better teams to beat once the Olympics truly begin.
“There’s going to be better competition, there’s going to be better-coached teams. Think about this, the spread for Australia was 24 points… With the US, when you look at the players top to bottom, I feel like they should dominate each and every game. But, it’s obvious they are lacking some defensive chemistry, some on-court offensive chemistry as well.”
The NBA veteran then emphasized the different problems Team USA had against Australia, using them as proof that this side needs more time to practice together.
“Giving up 69 points in the paint should never happen with the athleticism US got,… When you out there, you get 18 turnover when my ball -handlers are [Stephen] Curry, Bron [LeBron James], Ant-Man [Anthony Edwards], [Tyrese] Haliburton, you know? But that’s just telling me they need more practice time.”
.@PaulPierce34 has slight concerns for Team USA after struggling with Australia:
"Giving up 69 points in the paint should never happen." pic.twitter.com/i4VW8kkUns
— UNDISPUTED (@undisputed) July 16, 2024
Pierce is completely on the money with his points as this team is beyond stacked. However, these are all superstars coming from different teams, and having play styles. The more they practice each other, the better they will get.
At the moment, this is a massive hole in Team USA that leaves them vulnerable to upsets from other teams. However, while this one can still be plugged in due time, there is another that wouldn’t benefit much from just waiting.
Should Anthony Davis start ahead of Joel Embiid?
Joel is in his prime at the moment, but he hasn’t healed completely from his knee injury yet. He looks a little slow and under-prepared. On the other hand, his backup Anthony Davis has looked fresh and ready throughout Team USA’s games at the moment. In fact, it raises questions over whether he deserves a starting role ahead of Embiid or not. And if you were to ask Skip Bayless, it appears that his answer would be a resounding ‘yes’. He said on Undisputed,
“I’m watching Anthony Davis in these games. And there are times I don’t even recognize him because he is playing so hard for Team USA”
Bayless even called Embiid a “borderline liability right now”, while speaking on just how much his fitness has affected his play. And while he may be exaggerating a bit, Skip may not be wrong.
Unable to draw nearly as many fouls, and instead picking up too many too quickly, the Philadelphia 76ers superstar currently looks like a shadow of himself. And on defense, it doesn’t seem to have the ability to make the impact he usually does either.
Of course, this is hardly his fault, considering that this only comes as part and parcel of recovering from knee injuries. And in the long run, he will probably be just fine. However, for now, perhaps Anthony Davis just deserves the starting spot more than his compatriot.
