The 2024 Paris Olympics has kicked off, as has Team USA Basketball. The United States once again comes into the tournament as the odds-on favorite to take home the gold, and after a strong game against Serbia, this group of All-Stars looks ready for a matchup against South Sudan today.
Team USA’s toughest exhibition game came against an unlikely opponent. Against South Sudan, LeBron James needed a game-winning layup to win by one. Looking to avoid another game like the exhibition, James, Kevin Durant and Steph Curry will look to play better against South Sudan.
South Sudan Basketball Features NBA Talent in First Olympics
In its very first Olympic game, South Sudan took down Puerto Rico, 90-79. South Sudan basketball was led by former Louisville star Carlik Jones, who poured in a herculean effort against Team USA. Jones scored 19 points on 7-15 shooting from the field, adding seven rebounds and six assists. Jones has seen some NBA experience in his career, playing three seasons with Dallas, Denver and Chicago. Jones is a high-motor player, who obviously takes pride in representing South Sudan.
Joining Jones is Virginia/Iowa State alum Marial Shayok, Auburn alum and Charlotte Hornets forward JT Thor and Iowa alum Peter Jok. While Team USA does feature a much better collection of NBA talent, those four players are enough to make games interesting. What South Sudan showed in their first matchup against Puerto Rico is a strong defensive presence. South Sudan held Puerto Rico to 38.6% shooting from the field and out-rebounded them 55-37. With length and athleticism, South Sudan may be able to disrupt USA enough to cause a little problem.
What South Sudan succeeded at on the defensive side of the ball, they were a little careless on the offensive side of the ball. Turning the ball over 15 times, South Sudan was able to rely on their defense against Puerto Rico. That will not be the case against a much better Team USA.
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Team USA Basketball Offense is Far Superior
While many were somewhat worried about Team USA basketball, before their matchup against Serbia (and rightfully so), things really came together. Kevin Durant coming off the bench and shooting 100% in the first half was probably the catalyst for a blowout for the States. Will Kerr employ the same strategy in bringing Durant off the bench in this game? Possibly. I am not so sure that Team USA will need that kind of production though as, in my opinion, South Sudan is not as good as Serbia.
We also did not see Jayson Tatum or Tyrese Haliburton in game one. We may not see much of Haliburton in this game, but Kerr made it known that Tatum is going to play against South Sudan. Bringing Tatum off of the bench for at least 12 minutes is likely and that is only going to contribute to the states’ offensive performance. Tatum, like Durant, has the ability to play the four and stretch the floor for LeBron James and Anthony Edwards to find driving lanes. On top of the court stretching, South Sudan does not have the chops to keep up with the shooting of Steph Curry, Devin Booker and Jrue Holiday.
Without having the responsibility of exerting pressure on defense guarding Nikola Jokic, Team USA’s big should have a better showing on offense, primarily Joel Embiid.
Best Bet for Team USA Basketball vs Team South Sudan
With Team USA coming in as 31.5-point favorites, I am looking at the total here. At 191.5, I like the under, based on Team USA’s ample defensive presence. With Team USA scoring 110 in their first matchup, under 191.5 may seem like a bad bet. But with South Sudan under the bright lights and against the best team in the world, I think they may struggle heavily. This seems like a game where Team USA can get up big in the first half and coast throughout the second half. Point differential is a tiebreaker, but if the game goes as I predict, I don’t know that point differential is going to play that big of a factor into Team USA’s game plan in this one.
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