Team USA‘s Olympic campaign in men’s basketball is off to a tough start with two stars battling sickness ahead of their opening game in Paris.
The star-studded cast of NBA players representing the United States have been missing their two main big men for several practices as they gear up to face Serbia on Sunday.
Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid missed practice on Saturday and LA Lakers big Anthony Davis had been absent from training over the past few days, both due to sickness. However, coach Steve Kerr remains hopeful that his entire roster will be available come tip-off.
‘I’m confident we’ll have everybody ready [Sunday],’ Kerr said.
The Golden State Warriors coach’s statement implies that Kevin Durant will also be available despite nursing a calf injury early into camp. The two-time NBA champion took part in his third consecutive practice after missing all five of Team USA’s exhibitions.
Two of USA men’s basketball’s stars have been battling sickness before their opening game
Centers Joel Embiid and Anthony Davis have dealing with illness in Paris in the last week
‘Hopefully [he’ll play],’ Kerr said. ‘He came through the scrimmage two days ago pretty well, and we’ll have another practice today and we’ll just keep taking it day by day.’
Durant is the all-time leading scorer for Team USA at the Olympics. Despite foreshadowing his availability, Kerr did not commit to starting starting him right away. However, his fellow Americans made it clear that they are eager to have him on the floor.
‘Instant impact,’ LeBron James said of Durant on Saturday. ‘He looked extremely well the other day in practice. Obviously, his wind and his rhythm is going to continue to come, but if we’re able to get him back and make a huge impact to our club.’
Meanwhile, two-time champion Jrue Holiday added: ‘That’s Kevin Durant. What are we even talking about?’
Coach Steve Kerr remains positive that his entire roster will be available on Sunday
Phoenix Suns star Kevin Durant missed all their exhibition games with a calf injury
The Americans will face Nikola Jokic and Serbia in their opening game at the Olympics
LeBron James and Davis argued that their preparation will help them past the Nuggets big man
Team USA will hope to contain a familiar and common foe in Nikola Jokic as he spearheads Serbia in the games. LeBron and Co. are heading into the game with some momentum after beating Serbia, 105-79, in an exhibition on July 17 by holding The Joker to 6-of-19 shooting.
The Serbians, however, won their final tune-up match against Giannis Antetokounmpo and Greece by a convincing 20-point gap. Bogdan Bogdanovic had 19 points while Jokic had a near-triple-double with 16 points, eight boards, and six dishes.
‘Jokic, with what he’s able to do, obviously we know what he does at NBA, but maybe a little bit higher usage in the international game,’ said Davis ‘It’s going to be fun.’
‘This is not like the NBA, where it’s a marathon,’ James said added. ‘This is a sprint. This is Michael Johnson/Usain Bolt-type game. The real thing starts tomorrow … so we need to be ready to go, which we will be.’
