Yesterday afternoon the USA men’s basketball team took on Brazil in the quarter final. After Brazil got out to an early lead in the first quarter, the US hit the gas and didn’t look back. They were led by Devin Booker who led the team in scoring what was by far his best game of the Olympics.
Booker, who has been a consistent starter, had been struggling up to this point, many of his minutes being taken by other shooting guards Derrick White and Anthony Edwards. This time he got off to a red-hot start, with nine points and two three-pointers in the first quarter alone. He finished the contest with 19 points on 5/7 from three and three assists.
He was not the only one who performed well, LeBron James continued his dominance and nearly had a double-double in the process. James had 12 points, nine assists, and three rebounds in just 17 minutes. Other notable scoring performances include Edwards with 17, Joel Embiid with 14, and Anthony Davis with 13.
Team USA’s head coach Steve Kerr has moved his rotation around a lot throughout the tournament. Kerr has been focused on creating ideal matchups based on their opponent, this has created all different kinds of starting lineups.
The rotation has all-star-level players like Jayson Tatum, Tyrese Haliburton, and Joel Embiid not seeing the floor at all at times. Yesterday it consisted of Jrue Holiday, Devin Booker, Steph Curry, LeBron James, and Joel Embiid.
Now that the US has seemingly figured it out, Kerr will likely stick with this rotation and keep Embiid in the starting five. Embiid seems to be hitting his stride at the perfect time. The USA will play Serbia on Thursday. They are led by Embiid’s on-court NBA rival, Nikola Jokic.
