Takeaways from Team USA’s Training Camp

Team USA is showcasing some of the biggest names heading to Paris for the upcoming Olympics. LeBron James, Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant, to name a few.

Everyone except Durant got a chance to show their talent against Team Canada last week in Las Vegas, when Team USA won 86-72.

Many will point to Team USA’s 17 turnovers and sometimes sloppy ball handling. But the showcase wasn’t meant to be played like Game 7 of the NBA Finals, and it takes time for a team full of literal number one or two options to gel, as Curry suggested.

“There’s a temptation to stall, there’s a temptation to think about every possession because everybody can make a play,” Curry said. “And that first unit, we struggled with that. And once we got settled, it seemed like everybody got a little more comfortable as we got deeper into the game and hopefully in the next four exhibition games that we have, we’ll (see more progress).”

The Americans put on a masterclass in defense, with nine steals and 11 blocked shots, while limiting their neighbors to the north to 33.7% shooting percentage.

Defense is often harder to figure out than offense, but it remains to be seen how Team USA can deal with Team France and players like Victor Wembanyama and Rudy Gobert. Team Canada doesn’t have a big man to test Team USA’s relatively small size.

Anthony Edwards has been a spark off the bench for Team USA and I expect him to continue to be so, given his confidence and determination to be a top player no matter who is playing next to him. He also has a great shot creation ability.

Jrue Holiday’s on-ball defense will pose a lot of problems for opponents, especially Shai Gilgeous-Alexander when they take on the Canadiens.

James and Curry dominate the game with their own talents, especially when they both come out in transition.

Kawhi Leonard withdrew due to inflammation in his right knee. Derrick White acted as his replacement.

“We just felt like we had to pivot, and not get into the details, in terms of what went into the decision, but we just felt like it was in our best interest, but also in the best interest of the Clippers and Kawhi, to go in a different direction,” said Grant Hill, Team USA’s executive director. “We tried. I think we all tried and we gave it a valiant effort, and unfortunately we have to move forward.

Considering the amount of shot creators and versatile defenders that Team USA possesses, they have to be considered the favorite by far.