USA and France battle for gold medal in men’s


TOKYO – Men’s basketball tournament Tokyo Olympics It concludes Saturday morning with the gold medal match between the USA and France (on NBC; follow our live stream) and the third place match between Australia and Slovenia later in the day (7 a.m. East in the USA).

The Americans, who won three consecutive gold medals in the event that dates back to 2008, lost their tournament to France, raising questions about the team’s preparation for these Games. It didn’t help that he had multiple wobbly shows, including two defeats in a series of warm-up games before he left for Tokyo.

But they’ve improved with every game since then. The question is, have they improved enough to secure the championship in such a short time?

despite them lost at startupAmericans are still preferred over winning their 16th gold medal in men’s basketball.

Much of the recent boost in their self-confidence was due to the game of Kevin Durant, who was the country’s top goal scorer in Olympic games during the tournament. seemed dominant He leads the team with 19 points per game, after scoring just 10 points in the team’s last two games in the loss to France. Off the bench, Jayson Tatum added 14.4 points per game, while Jrue Holliday scored 12.

For all Americans’ goal-scoring prowess, it will be the team defenses that can make the difference. France, like essentially every other team the United States has faced, has sought to use size and power to bully smaller squads of Americans. Getting rebounds on both sides of the ball will be crucial.

The French team, whose best results in men’s basketball were silver medalists in 1948 and 2000, narrowly narrowed down to the championship game by beating Slovenia 90-89 and Klemen Prepelic needed a last-second block from Nicolas Batum in the layup lap. .

Seven-metre center Rudy Gobert has been a vital presence in the corridor for France. He finished his game against Slovenia with 9 points, 16 rebounds and 4 blocks and the French will definitely try to establish their presence in the championship game early and often.

Evan Fournier, who signed with the Knicks this week, scored 28 points against the USA in the teams’ first game. The American players then lauded the French team’s offensive execution as a result of years of continuity in the program. In a way, the game pits well-trained French against gifted Americans.



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