It is true that coach Steve Kerr confirmed a week ago that Joel Embiid will be his starting center at the start of the 2024 Paris Olympics. However, the presence of Anthony Davis on Team USA could change the aforementioned head coach’s mind.
The 2022-2023 NBA MVP has a present of even greater status than AD, who also belongs to the basketball elite, being the second great figure of the Los Angeles Lakers, after the legendary LeBron James.
But the U.S. national team’s exhibition games on the road to the Olympics have Kerr thinking about who to line up from the start, mainly because “The Eyebrow” Davis has proven to be a more suitable center for FIBA basketball than Embiid, whose slowness in the offense-defense transition and accumulated difficulties in adapting to the tactical system when guarding the low post, may take their toll on him.
The nine-time All Star selection has not only been one of the best elements of the Dream Team in the pre-Paris friendlies; he is a “false center” in the NBA; therefore, a fast and skilled center on both sides of the court in the FIBA environment, in addition to the fact that he has already participated and won gold in the final event of the Olympic Games; as it happened in London 2012.
Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid is likely to serve as Team USA’s starting five in the group stage of the Olympics, but Anthony Davis has the arguments and experience to take his spot late in the tournament.
2024-07-26 18:15:23
#Team #USAs #starting #center
