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Group USA narrowly escaped a humiliating loss within the Olympic Basketball Match semifinal in opposition to Serbia courtesy of Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry, and LeBron James’ fourth-quarter heroics. The trio mixed for 21 factors within the closing 10 minutes, serving to their crew erase a 12-point deficit.
Given how closely the roster relied on the veterans, Eddie Gonzalez needs Group USA to take no probabilities within the closing in opposition to France. Durant has come off the bench in all 5 video games and has been distinctive as a sixth man. Nevertheless, Gonzalez, his shut pal and former co-host of The ETCs podcast, needs coach Steve Kerr to area the veteran ahead from the beginning within the gold medal match to keep away from a repeat of the semifinal. He posted on X,
“Don’t shoot me however… [Kevin Durant] ought to begin vs France [in the gold medal match].”
dont shoot me however…
kd ought to begin vs france
— Eddie Gonzalez (@bansky) August 8, 2024
Durant, who was anticipated to begin alongside Curry and James, missed all 5 exhibition video games because of a calf pressure. He had his first outing because the Suns’ season-ending loss to the Timberwolves in Group USA’s Olympic opener in opposition to Serbia.
He confirmed no indicators of rust and scored 23 factors on 8-of-9 taking pictures, together with 5-of-5 from past the arc in a cushty win for Group USA. Many anticipated Kerr to advertise him to the beginning lineup for his or her subsequent sport in opposition to South Sudan. Nevertheless, the veteran head coach revealed that Durant would come off the bench for the remainder of the event.
“If Kevin had been right here from day one, likelihood is he can be beginning. That was the plan coming in, however on condition that he missed all of our friendlies and got here in late, we had form of established you recognize a lineup that we appreciated… He was solely going to play you recognize specific amount of minutes in opposition to Serbia… my guess is Kevin might be enjoying increasingly minutes so he’ll hold coming off the bench for now…”
KD accepted his position because the sixth man and has been stellar. He has been averaging 13.8 factors on 58% taking pictures, three rebounds, two assists, and one steal in solely 20.5 minutes.
Group USA didn’t want him to function closely till the semifinal in opposition to Serbia. Down 12 heading into the fourth quarter, Kerr turned to Durant, and he didn’t disappoint.
He scored seven factors within the closing 10 minutes to assist the crew safe their place within the closing. As ecstatic as they have been concerning the win, Group USA would look to begin the gold medal sport in opposition to France significantly better than they did in opposition to Serbia.
Maybe Kerr ought to let the 5 who completed the semifinal begin the ultimate. The veteran head coach has kept away from beginning Durant. Nevertheless, as Gonzalez prompt, letting him play from tip-off may very well be the optimum technique, particularly in opposition to a French crew gunning for revenge.
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