Team USA vows strong start in Olympic opener against Serbia

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Lille, France — It’s rare when Team USA finds itself in any situation that fits the definition of an Olympic losing streak, but such is the case when the Paris Games begin.

Three years ago, at the delayed 2020 Games in Tokyo, the Americans lost the opener in Group Play to France. Therefore, in their quest to find motivation, if they choose to embrace it, there’s the matter of ending their opener skid at one.

The slogan for Sunday’s tip against Serbia: Get a jump on these Olympics right from the jump.

The excuses for that seven-point loss to the French? The USA squad, because of the pandemic, didn’t have its finest players. Khris Middleton and Jrue Holiday were fresh off an overnight flight to Tokyo because of the Bucks’ championship parade. And the Americans were ambushed.

None of that is in play for Serbia and Nikola Jokic.

“We don’t have much time,” said LeBron James, sounding an early alarm. “This is not like the NBA where it’s a marathon. It’s a sprint. We have to be able to go right from the start.”

Losing any game in group play isn’t the kiss of death, and when that happened in the past, Team USA was able to recover. Losing to Serbia is unlikely, although there are some issues that impact any major upset:

• Jokic, of course.

• Kevin Durant’s status still isn’t completely clear.

• Joel Embiid, the first line of defense against Jokic, didn’t distinguish himself much in the warm-up games, including one against Jokic.

• And the international teams are simply improved and also motivated to make history against the Americans.

“Teams are more comfortable playing against us,” Kerr said. “We know every game’s going to be difficult.”

Durant hasn’t missed a practice since the showcase exhibition games ended and his calf injury, deemed minor, seems less of a concern than his lack of preparation.

But Kerr, regarding the adjustment for players who essentially go from zero to 100, said: “It’s a challenge for anybody. But having coached him before, once he steps back on the court, he’s Kevin Durant.”

Just as well, Kerr hasn’t settled on a starting five, although Embiid, LeBron, Stephen Curry, Holiday and Devin Booker seem likely.

“We’re confident that if we play with force, it’ll translate at both ends,” Kerr said. “There’s a level of confidence we can reach that can be demoralizing for teams.”

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Shaun Powell has covered the NBA for more than 25 years. You can e-mail him here, find his archive here and follow him on X.

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