USA’s head coach Steve Kerr said the team is focussed on their defense ahead of the knockout matches in the ongoing Paris Olympics. The Americans registered comprehensive wins against Serbia, South Africa and Puerto Rico in the group stages and they will look to keep up the good show in the quarterfinal clash against Brazil on Tuesday.
U.S. are chasing their fifth consecutive Olympic Gold medal and they have a potent team at their disposal. However, that is not how any sport works. A Basketball match is not won on paper but on the court and the USA will be determined to prove their mettle.
“We know what wins a FIBA game,” Team USA coach Steve Kerr said, referring to the international rules played at the Olympics.
“We are just completely focused on our defense … and then the beauty of our team and the talent, the depth of our talent is that from one game to the next, we’ve got lots of guys who have the ability to get rolling.”
The USA have come up with a collective effort in all of their three matches with Kevin Durant, Bam Adebayo and Anthony Edwards top-scoring in each game. Interestingly, the trio has come off the bench in all of these three games.
“That’s how we can overwhelm teams. It’s just everybody has to be ready for your moment whenever it is,” said Stephen Curry.
“I think that’s a challenge because you don’t know from quarter to quarter from game to game who it’s going to be, [but] it’s a fun way to play. If you’re bought into ‘Let’s just win the basketball game’ and after that, who cares what it looks like.”
Kerr, on the other hand, feels it is imperative for them to stay true to their identity to get the desired results against the top teams.
“It’s important to focus on keeping that identity now that you’re playing the best teams,” Kerr said.
If the U.S. goes past Brazil, they will play the winner of Serbia-Australia.
