Team USA cruised to a quarterfinals victory over Brazil, but their semifinal matchup against Nikola Jokic and Serbia should be much tougher. LeBron James and Kevin Durant continue to lead the way, but Serbia will be extra motivated to finally get a win this summer over Team USA as the Americans have defeated them twice already, including the opening group play contest.
Of course the biggest priority for Team USA is somehow limiting Jokic, arguably the best player in the world. He is averaging nearly a triple-double in these Olympics with 19.3 points, 11.8 rebounds and 7.5 assists, but thankfully they are well equipped to do so with Anthony Davis, Joel Embiid and Bam Adebayo giving Team USA multiple options. Davis said the focus is to limit Jokic’s passing as they don’t want him to get his teammates in a rhythm.
Chief among those teammates is Bogdan Bogdanovic, who is more than capable of getting scorching hot and taking over a game. He is shooting 48% from 3-point range in these Olympics and Team USA must lock in to ensure he doesn’t get going early.
Offensively, the focus for Team USA continues to be on ball and player movement. LeBron is leading the way on that front, averaging nearly eight assists per game so far, but the Americans as a whole have been best when moving the ball and average 28.5 assists as a team.
But arguably Team USA’s biggest advantage over the rest of the field has been their reserves. Durant and Anthony Edwards are the two leading scorers on this team and those two paired with Davis and Adebayo have simply crushed the opposition. And they will be looking to continue with that as Serbia is nowhere near as deep.
It is difficult to beat a team three consecutive times in a short span, but Team USA is well-equipped to handle everything Serbia can throw at them. Their biggest struggles have come when not taking care of the ball so if they can continue to limit their turnovers and get out in transition by locking in defensively, Team USA should be able to down Jokic and Serbia.
Team USA (4-0) vs. Serbia (3-1)
12:00 p.m. PT, August 8, 2024
Bercy Arena, Paris, France
TV: NBC, Peacock TV
Projected Team USA Starting Lineup:
PG: Stephen Curry
SG: Devin Booker
SF: Jrue Holiday
PF: LeBron James
C: Joel Embiid
Key Reserves: Anthony Davis, Bam Adebayo, Kevin Durant, Anthony Edwards, Jayson Tatum, Derrick White
Projected Serbia Starting Lineup:
PG: Aleksa Avramovic
SG: Bogdan Bogdanovic
SF: Ongjen Dobric
PF: Filip Petrusev
C: Nikola Jokic
Key Reserves: Vasilije Micic, Nikola Jovic, Nikola Milutinov, Marko Guduric
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