The USA Basketball Men’s National Team may not being scaring away the competition as in years past, but this incarnation of Team USA — led by national team head coach Gregg Popovich (San Antonio Spurs) and assistant coach Steve Kerr (Golden State Warriors) — has proceeded undefeated to a quarterfinals matchup against France.
For those willing to wake up by the 7:00 a.m. ET to catch the opening tip steaming live from China, the game features some key NBA matchups.
Team USA center Myles Turner (Indiana Pacers) is expected to battle France’s Rudy Gobert (Utah Jazz) on the glass. Defense has been the Americans’ strength, perhaps the sole reason they have not picked up a loss thus far in the World Cup. The U.S. is out-rebounding France 47-31 and will need to maintain that effort to paste team with offense as its strength.
Individually, here’s how the centers compare in key areas of the box score:
FIBA quarterfinals center battle
Myles Turner (USA)
8.4 — points
8.0 — rebounds
1.4 — blocks
Rudy Gobert (France)
11.0 — points
8.4 — rebounds
2.2 — blocks
To get the win, Turner will have to equal or best his averages and his teammates will need to help out.
Another key matchup is at the guard position — Donovan Mitchell (Utah Jazz) against Evan Fournier (France). Here’s how they compare in key areas of the box score:
FIBA quarterfinals guard battle
Donovan Mitchell (USA)
10.2 — points
4.4 — assists
4.0 — rebounds
1.0 — steals
Evan Fournier (France)
20.8 — points
3.6 — assists
4.0 — rebounds
1.2 — steals
Fournier is taking a lot of shots and making a lot of shots, which has kept France at the top of its group. With scoring being the prime shortcoming of the Americans at the FIBA World Cup — especially from three-point range — Team USA’s defense must be of the lock-down variety at every position, all game.
If France stays status quo on offense and Team USA doesn’t shut them down and fails to step up their scoring, the Americans will pick up their first loss of the tournament.
Brew a strong shot of espresso and tune in on Wednesday, Sept. 11, at 7:00 a.m. ET on ESPN+.
