Team USA won their 3rd group play game with a 104-83 win over Puerto Rico to go 3-0 in group C. They finished as the top overall seed and will face Brazil in the quarterfinals (August 6th, 12:30pm). It can’t be easy for Steve Kerr, who chopped and changed his starting lineup in all 3 games, to bear the burden of expectations to win a gold medal, while having to manage the egos of 12 incredible basketball players. He’s done well up to this point, but now the real test begins and America won’t accept anything less than top prize.

Joel Embiid has had the strangest Olympics, as he was terrible against Serbia and non-existent against South Sudan. For whatever reason, Steve Kerr started him against Puerto Rico, and, surprisingly, Embiid played like the star he is, putting up 15 points on 6-14 FG’s (1-4 3-pt), grabbing 3 rebounds and affecting a handful of shots in the paint. The most important piece was him not bogging down the offense with his post play and slow decision-making on the ball. It was good to see he could change for the betterment of the team. Also, near the end of the game he was taunting the home French crowd after they’ve been booing him whenever he touched the ball because he turned down an offer from Team France to join their basketball program and represent them at the Olympics. America winning the gold on French soil would be amazing retribution for him. While the French hate Embiid, they also LOVE Ant-Man.

Anytime Anthony Edwards does anything the whole crowd goes “ooh” and “aah.” His approval rating is through the roof with the French crowd. During the game against Puerto Rico, he stole a pass and thew down the nastiest windmill dunk that had the crowd, and USA bench, jumping! It helped he was Team USA’s best player going for 26 points on an efficient 11-15 FG’s (3-6 3-pt) in only 17 minutes of action. His importance to Team USA will only continue to grow in the upcoming years.

The two most important players presently, LeBron James and Kevin Durant, both played around 18-19 minutes and chipped in with 10 and 11 points respectively. Not the duo’s best game, but they will be called upon to perform in the knockout stage. No worries about them.

Stephen Curry and Devin Booker are still figuring out their roles on Team USA. Both are here for their shooting, ball-handling and play-making, yet neither of them has truly shown what he can do. Booker, to his credit, seems to be fitting in better than Curry, with his defense being the key difference. Steph Curry is the smallest (6-ft 2-in) and lightest (185 lbs) player on Team USA, so opponent’s know to target him in the pick-and-roll, which has resulted in a major loss of confidence. In the group stage, he shot 3-7 3-pt vs. Serbia, 0-6 3-pt vs. South Sudan and 2-6 3-pt vs. Puerto Rico. That might be the worst 3-game shooting stretch in his illustrious career. It seems like Steve Kerr is letting his superstar work through his struggles in real-time, luckily this team has enough talent to overcome a slumping Curry.

Jayson Tatum has rebounded nicely after not playing in the opening game against Serbia. Since Steve Kerr inserted him into the starting lineup, he’s been solid; scoring when he can, playing good defense and rebounding the ball. He’s the 3rd youngest player and, theoretically, will be one of the top players on Team USA for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles. Any and all experience he gains here will be invaluable going forward.

Anthony Davis and Bam Adebayo have been extremely important to Team USA, as the main big’s off the bench. Both played gigantic roles in the first 2 group stage games, but in game 3 they were less effective. This is mostly due to Joel Embiid finally playing well and soaking up the Center minutes. Bam, in particular, has really impressed me with his defense, rebounding and scoring, in addition to a little ball-handling. Depending on the matchup and how Embiid’s playing, both guys will get a chance to make an impact in the knockout stage.

After being so effective against South Sudan, Derrick White had a quiet game scoring only 2 points. He still played his customarily tough defense, just not as disruptive as past games. As long as he plays defense, rebounds and hit’s a three or two, Steve Kerr will find him some minutes. Jrue Holiday twisted his ankle against South Sudan and missed the game against Puerto Rico. Coach Kerr said he will be available for the game against Brazil.

The lone player who might not play against Brazil is Tyrese Haliburton, and if he does it’ll be for like 8 minutes total. Once again, he’s a very talented player with a bright international future ahead of him. It just happens the position he’s most accustom to playing (PG) is inhabited by Stephen Curry and Jrue Holiday, while the primary ball-handling duties fall to LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Anthony Edwards. Unfortunately, those guys makes Haliburton redundant.

A gold medal is the objective for Team USA, and they did exactly what they’re suppose to do; sweeping the group stage games, while providing some spectacular highlights en route to the top available seed. This means they are well-positioned in the knockout stage with a great draw to the finals. They’ll play Brazil on Tuesday in France, and if the win they’ll face the winner of Australia-Serbia in the semifinals on Thursday, August 8th. Thankfully, the USA avoid France, Germany or Canada until the finals.