Ordinarily, it wouldn't be considered possible that South Sudan could beat Team USA in basketball. However, the world has been upside-down recently, and the 2024 Olympics are no exception.
Future Hall-of-Fame point guard Steph Curry admitted the Americans have “appropriate fear” of their African opponents, via ESPN's Brian Windhorst.
“We have appropriate fear,” said Curry. “We know we can't just sleepwalk through any game and feel like you're going to win.”
Although the USA was favored by 43.5 points ahead of the two nations' Olympics exhibition match on July 20th, the Red White and Blue needed resident hoops superhero LeBron James to deliver the game-winning layup in a 101-100 thriller.
“They came within one shot of beating us,” head coach Steve Kerr said. “I'm really glad that we played them so we can feel their speed and their 3-point shooting ability and feel how good they are.”
The “appropriate fear” phrase was pioneered by legendary coach Gregg Popovich, who mentored Kerr. The term is meant to give respect to opposing underdog teams to avoid getting upset by them.
Will the Americans win more convincingly this time?
Team USA knows it has to give full effort to beat South Sudan in the Olympics
Perimeter defense will be paramount, as South Sudan hit 14 three-pointers against Team USA and hit 10 more in their win over Puerto Rico in the opening group stage match.
“The exhibition schedule was great because you got to figure out where we need to get better and also feel the force of teams that are coming trying to beat us,” Curry continued. “They're a very high-octane offense, spread the floor, shoot a lot of 3s and have athleticism. So you just got to be mindful of how to guard them. It's totally different than Serbia.”
One strategic change for the Americans will be its rotation. Kerr revealed that 2024 NBA champion Jayson Tatum will see the floor in Wednesday's conference after riding the pine against Serbia, via NBA.com's Shaun Powell.
“I’m not going to answer your next question, which is if he plays, who doesn’t,” Kerr said. “But we’re going to need him, and part of this job for me is to keep everybody engaged and ready, because my experience with this is crazy stuff happens.”
Each player can't get significant run every game on such a star-studded roster, so Tatum's inclusion means that someone else's playing time will go down. However, personal sacrifices are necessary when chasing Olympic glory.
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