ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates – Stephen Curry scored 18 points in his first 11 minutes, one of those good streaks that gives stadiums goosebumps when those high-arc 3-pointers dot the net.
Then the buzzer rang and backup came for him, something coach Steve Kerr never imagined doing midway through the second quarter.
This is what Team USA should look like. Ruthless firepower and relentless deployment of talent.
With two weeks to go until the Paris Olympics, the Americans are perfect, but this potentially historic organization is starting to show its teeth. The team advanced to 3-0 on their warm-up excursion with an impressive 105-79 win over the medal contenders. Serbia on Wednesday at the Etihad Arena.
“Warriors enthusiasts hate me tonight,” Kerr joked. “They hate me every time I knock Out Steph. “
“I’m pretty sure I would start like I did tonight in the second quarter [at the Olympics] and not come out at that point,” Curry said.
Even by Team USA standards, this organization is surprisingly deep. The Americans have seven MVP awards represented in their starting lineup, including Kevin Durant, who remains nursing a calf injury, but they can be scarier when Kerr goes to their bench.
During that tour, Kerr used hockey-style substitutions, replacing five players at a time. When the public address announcer announces to the crowd that the line is turning and he says the names “Anthony Edwards, Anthony Davis, Bam Adebayo, Tyrese Haliburton and Devin Booker. ” At the same time as the “second” unit, he gives something to think about.
“Bam and AD combined are something, just a switch, but they can also protect the rim and free fall if we go through that coverage,” Kerr said. “The strength of the team is in depth, so if we can play in bursts of 4 or five minutes just going for intense defense, hitting bodies, rebounding and being physical, then it makes sense to play that way. “
This group, although it included Jayson Tatum and on Wednesday Derrick White had its first minutes, crushed the festival in the exhibitions. And it shows how difficult it can be to beat the Americans in Paris.
After Curry had that good run in the second quarter, for example, the American team finished the phase with a score of 19-5 with the “substitutes”. Then, the starters came back for the third quarter and went on an 11-0 run and that’s it.
When the second unit came out for the final time midway through the fourth quarter and the United States led by 26 points, the crowd gave a cheer when the starters returned. Then Curry, who finished with 24 points, hit two more 3-pointers just for fun.
Only then did LeBron James, who scored 11 points, begin to falter after some forced attacks. It’s that kind of night.
Adebayo scored 17 points and made 3 three-pointers as the United States made 16 three-pointers in total. Edwards, who has proven to be the United States’ consistent leading scorer, scored 16 points.
“I did the first one, so I kept shooting,” said Adebayo, who serenaded through James as an honorary “welcome brother” as they left the room. Adebayo made just 15 3-pointers last season for the Miami Heat.
Serbia is potentially the United States’ top contender for the gold medal. He has size, delight, and Nikola Jokic, who may be the most productive player in the world. And he may only get three chances to see the Americans perfect their game. plan, adding one next weekend to open Olympic play and another back for a medal.
It must be said that Serbia were playing the second night of a back-to-back attack and that two of their most productive players, Bogdan Bogdanovic and Nikola Milutinov, did not play. But this control was serious. Coach Svetislav Pesic won a technical foul for arguing in all 39 moments of the match and Jokic played all 44 moments of the first 3 moments.
For Joel Embiid, who is slowly starting to recover, as the number one defender and with a variety of defensive looks, the United States passed Jokic’s first check better than expected. He didn’t look much comfortable and had an unusual 6-of-19 shooting to finish with 16 problems and 11 rebounds.
Keeping the big rivals in this type of line is a dream for the United States and also includes the forged defensive effort of Davis, who continues to look like the team’s most productive defensive player. He had six blocks on Wednesday and 8 in the two games in the United Arab Emirates. this week.
Embiid missed several layups and hit just 2 of 8 shots with 8 rebounds, which looks like he still hasn’t been the same after a playoff break to allow his knee to recover.
The U. S. team will now travel to London for two more friendlies starting Saturday against South Sudan.
“We still have plenty of room for Array,” James said. But we have to continue and not waste opportunities. I felt like tonight we had done it. “