The USA Men’s Basketball team has so far proven that their days of dominance are far from over. They have defeated all of their opponents in Paris in the range of 17-26 points in the group stage of the Olympics. Therefore, the squad will enter the Quarter-Finals in a terrific spirit ahead of their matchup against Brazil, arguably the weakest opponent left in the tournament. That is exactly why Skip Bayless expects Team USA to pull off a win by 30+ points.
Advertisement
On his X, the former UNDISPUTED host argued that Brazil’s only reliable offensive option has been Bruno Caboclo. If the USA defense stalls him, a huge win will be easily in their pockets. Bayless highlighted Caboclo’s short-lived NBA career to illustrate his argument.
The forward played just 105 games for four different teams despite spending seven years in the league. This is definitely an underwhelming career for someone who was once dubbed the “Michael Jordan of Brazil” and drew comparisons with Kevin Durant.
But the 28-year-old has become much better after shifting his attention to the European basketball scene. The forward had a massive 33-point, 17-rebound performance in Brazil’s only group-stage win against Japan. But apart from that, he was quiet in the losses against Germany and France.
Additionally, Brazil is starved of shot-creators outside of Caboclo. Hence, Bayless pointed out that if coach Kerr manages to lock him down, then Brazil will stand no chance of winning. Bayless wrote,
“Brazil is a one-star team. 6-9 Bruno Caboclo, once hailed as “The Michael Jordan of Brazil,” bounced around the NBA and had some moments. He scored 33 vs Japan. We will send 4 or 5 all-NBA defenders after him, hold him to 15. We will win by at least 33.”
The former FS1 analyst’s prediction has solid foundation. At the same time, it may not be that easy for Team USA because Brazil is loaded with some terrific three-point shooters. They knocked down 10 threes against a tight German perimeter defense and also nailed 17 triples against Japan.
Vitor Benite has been on a tear off the bench, converting 9 out of 16 triples during the group stage. Meanwhile, former Los Angeles Lakers guard Marcelo Huertas has done a great job as the Floor General, dishing 5 assists per game in the three games so far. But all this may not be enough against Team USA.
The stacked American squad looks in fantastic rhythm currently and they just have too much firepower on all fronts compared to Brazil. If their first unit falters then the second unit brings the momentum straightaway. It will not be surprising if Bayless’ prediction of a 33-point blowout win comes to fruition.
