There is no doubt that Team USA is one of the strongest teams in the fray for the basketball gold at the upcoming Paris Olympics. Even though, the team has several NBA stars like LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant and the like, experts feel that it won’t be a cakewalk, since other teams also boast of NBA stars in their line-ups.
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Appearing in an episode of UNDISPUTED, Skip Bayless isn’t completely sold on the idea that Team USA can dominate against other teams. The media veteran talked about the doubts that he has in mind regarding the upcoming campaign, even though Team USA has clinched three consecutive victories in the three exhibition games that they have played so far.
However, Bayless doesn’t have as much confidence in the team moving forward as the rest of the country. One of the biggest reasons for his skepticism is the fact that the world has caught up to the American standard of playing the game.
He noted that the top two picks in this year’s NBA Draft were French players. Throughout the entire first-round pick, the dominance of foreign players was also evident. Bayless also said that the other teams who’ll participate have been playing together for a long time while Team USA is a last-minute assembly. He said,
“These other squads have literally grown up together… They love each other, they play hard for their countries, they ain’t quitting… They ain’t afraid of no Americans.”
.@RealSkipBayless is not sold on Team USA wiping out the Summer Olympics international pool: pic.twitter.com/nuagYBiS5o
— UNDISPUTED (@undisputed) July 17, 2024
Another major issue that Bayless pointed out was the fact that the games that are played in the NBA are different from the ones in FIBA tournaments and this could keep the door open for some mistakes that could cost them dearly. He said,
“This basketball is way different than “our” basketball. It’s a weird form. It’s like a hybrid form.”
Bayless said that shorter courts, three-point lines, and duration of games will give an advantage to the other teams who are more used to playing in this format. He made it clear that though they had the best chance of going all the way, that did not mean they won’t face some serious challenges.
Interestingly, Celtic’s legend Paul Pierce also shares Bayless’ doubts and has his own set of worries regarding Team USA’s Olympic campaign.
Pierce details the things he’s most worried about
Even though they have won three games against Canada, Australia, and Serbia, the first two games weren’t an easy win. The win against Australia came their way at the last minute, as at one point it looked like Team USA was about to take their first loss in the campaign. Pierce’s concern with the team is on a similar lines as he detailed in an episode of UNDISPUTED.
Pierce said, “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.”
Hopefully, Steve Kerr and the team would have taken note of these issues and ironed them out before their first game against Serbia on July 28.
