While the Team USA 5×5 squad led by LeBron James has been dominant, the same cannot be said for their 3×3 team at the Paris Olympics. Jimmer Fredette and his crew had just recently lost to Poland. This means that their medal hopes are slowly dwindling. However, Kareem Maddox and Canyon Barry opted to be a little bit more positive in terms of their outlook before they faced off against Lithuania and Latvia.
Going down 0-2 to start the Paris Olympics is never ideal. Seeing the only player on Team USA go down with an injury in the last minutes against Poland may have been substantially a terrible experience for fans. All of these problems started piling up for the Stars and Stripes which resulted in the 19-17 loss. Kareem Maddox and Canyon Barry gave it their all to stay afloat. Despite the heartbreak, the former even noted how little worry Team USA has.
“I don't think we're concerned. We just know we have some adjustments to make,” Maddox declared according to ESPN.
Maddox and Barry combined for 12 points with six of them apiece. Meanwhile, the clearly injured and hobbling Fredette only managed to score three points for Team USA. A large reason for this loss was that their shots from beyond the arc were not falling. Their stroke from far out only saw the bottom of the net two out of 15 times which is more than horrid, considering that it is the Olympics.
Barry echoed the same sentiment as Maddox. He breathed in a bit of optimism and just wanted some schematic changes such that their outside strokes would fall.
“We're just not making shots. That's what it comes down to. We had a lot of good looks and they just didn't fall tonight,” he added.
Jimmer Fredette's performance at the Paris Olympics so far
To say that Fredette has been struggling in Paris is an understatement. He has been grimacing in pain and looks very uncomfortable moving laterally on some possessions where he has to defend. His production has also not been that stellar. The Team USA star still clearly wants to vindicate himself after they lost at the Tokyo Olympics. However, he knows that he has to have a heavier foot on the gas.
Fredette immediately needed to get treated after that loss to Poland. But, he did outline that the Stars and Stripes were not going to back down from any competitor when they got crushed by Serbia during their campaign opener.
“That's a really good team, obviously. We know that they're the best team in the world right now. We've had some battles against them in the past and they came out to play. But, it's a long tournament for us, so we're excited to get back on it tomorrow,” he declared.
Will he be back in action and will Team USA make a run for a medal?
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