Although it wasn’t the prettiest win, Team USA started out its slate of Olympic exhibition matches with a win over its neighbors to the north. The Americans beat Team Canada 86-72, taking command of the game in the second half. As they continue with their slate of exhibition games before group play begins later this month, the team will have to make some major decisions about its rotation.
The Americans started Stephen Curry, Jrue Holiday, Devin Booker, LeBron James and Joel Embiid. Kevin Durant's spot was vacated by a calf issue that sidelined the Phoenix Suns superstar. His teammate took his place but it almost certainly won’t be a permanent lineup tweak.
According to Tim Bontemps of ESPN, three of the starting spots “seem destined to be filled” by Curry, James and Embiid. Team USA head coach Steve Kerr said that the team will mix up its starting five to see what works.
“You can't go wrong picking a starting lineup with this group,” Kerr said, via ESPN. “I'm going to do something different in the next two games. We will look at a few different combinations before we settle on anything. We wanted to establish Joel early in the game knowing Canada didn't have any size. We wanted to play Bam and Anthony Davis with the second group. We wanted to experience what that looked like.”
Team USA preparing to experiment with lineups ahead of Olympics
As the Americans prepare for their next exhibition games in Abu Dhabi and London against its Olympic group foes, they will get the chance to play in new rotations and lineups that will increase familiarity throughout the 12-man roster. Still, keeping the same handful of players in the starting group would be beneficial. It makes the most sense for Curry, James and Embiid to be locked in as three of the starters.
The former two have seniority among the elites of the basketball world that can’t be beaten, even if this is the first Olympic games for Curry, who has still suited up for the red, white and blue at the World Cup. Embiid is arguably the best active player in the sport and the biggest player in size the Americans have.
Even though Embiid didn’t have a great game in his Team USA debut, fouling out in 12 minutes, he's going to be the toughest to push around and has the scoring talent to attract attention away from everyone else on the floor.
Durant being locked into a starting role also makes a lot of sense, too. His vast experience representing Team USA makes him an obvious pick, as does his all-time-legend pedigree, combination of size and mobility and ability to score from the wing.
If Curry, James, Durant and Embiid are indeed penciled into starting spots, who should take the last spot? It's a good problem to have that so many players could be good, sensible picks.
Who should be 5th starter for Team USA?
Losing Kawhi Leonard deprives the roster of a great defender, scorer and perimeter shooter on the wing, so it may not be as beneficial to start another wing like Jayson Tatum alongside James and Durant. The added size would certainly be nice to have, as would Tatum's ability to drive, pass and defend, but it might be better to have Tatum, Bam Adebayo and Anthony Davis come off the bench together to retain adequate size.
Jrue Holiday, Derrick White and Tatum spent last season winning it all with the Boston Celtics, giving them familiarity that much of the team lacks. But will that chemistry translate to a team with so many different players and games with different rules than the NBA? It's bound to help in some way but perhaps not enough to automatically match up all their minutes. Especially because they have played in games more recently than any of their Team USA teammates, they might be fatigued to the point where pairing them with fresher legs makes more sense.
Holiday and White both bring incredible defense and hustle that make them good fits next to Curry in the backcourt. The former may have the upper hand after being an initial selection, whereas White is joining on the fly. Keeping Holiday in the lineup for his defense and playmaking makes the most sense for both what the fifth starter should bring and how it affects the rest of the rotation.
While starting Booker, Tyrese Haliburton or Anthony Edwards would give the starting five more juice on offense, it would be better to have them come off the bench and help out Adebayo and Davis, who are more offensively limited, at least in this high-profile context. Plus, White will still be there as a defensive extraordinaire at the guard spot.
Lineups in basketball are fluid, so just because someone starts doesn’t mean that won’t team up with bench players (and vice versa). But it does still matter who starts the games. The combination of Curry, Holiday, James, Durant and Embiid appears to be the best option for a starting five for Team USA.
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