Lebron on Team USA: ‘Much to improve’ before Olympics

This came after Team USA beat Serbia led by Nikola Jokic in a basketball friendly match in Dubai

US forward #06 LeBron James fights for the ball against Serbia’s centre #15 Nikola Jokic during the Basketball Showcase friendly match between the United States and Serbia the at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi on July 17, 2024. | AFP

LeBron James was pleased with the progress made by the USA in their 105-79 victory over Serbia in a friendly in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday, but insists there is “so much room to improve” in the hunt for Olympic gold.

After a narrow win over Australia on Monday, that saw the United States nearly blow a 20-point lead towards the end of the clash, the stars and stripes were in commanding form against a Nikola Jokic-led Serbia.

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Stephen Curry, who scored just three points in the USA’s 98-92 win over the Boomers, caught fire on Wednesday, opening the scoring with a signature three on the very first play and finishing the game with a team-high 24 points, shooting six for nine from beyond the arc.

“We drew it (the opening play) up for that particular reason, to get him going,” said James of Curry.

“He sees one go through the hoop, you see what it opens up for the rest of his game, for the rest of the game for all of us. He set the tone and we just tried to continue to keep finding him.”

Bam Adebayo also had a successful evening, coming off the bench to tally up 17 points, eight rebounds and a pair of assists.

The Miami Heat center combined seamlessly on defence with Anthony Davis, who had six blocks, six rebounds and seven points.

“Bam and AD together are really something,” US head coach Steve Kerr said.

“Just the switching, but they can also protect the rim and be in a drop if we go to that coverage.

“They’ll combine with the ball pressure that Book was putting on their point guard, I thought that really set a tone for us.”

Serbia, who lost to Australia on Tuesday, were once again without Atlanta Hawks guard Bogdan Bogdanovic, who was on the bench but did not play.

Reigning NBA MVP Jokic had a double-double 16 points and 11 rebounds but it was not enough to halt the formidable Americans, whom they will face again in their Olympics opener in Lille, France on July 28.

“We’ve still got so much room to improve but we want to continue to get better and not waste the opportunities. I felt like tonight we got better,” said James, who is gunning for his third Olympic gold medal this summer.

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‘Strength is team depth’

Kerr made one change to the starting lineup he deployed against Australia two days ago, keeping Jayson Tatum, James, Joel Embiid and Curry on the floor but opting for Jrue Holiday instead of Anthony Edwards.

Curry scored nine points within the first two minutes before Serbia picked up the pace with back-to-back threes from Aleksa Avramovic giving them an early 12-9 lead.

Kerr continued with his hockey subs pattern during these exhibition games, taking off all five starters midway through the quarter to bring in Edwards, Tyrese Haliburton, Davis, Adebayo, and Devin Booker.

It was Edwards who reclaimed the lead for USA, going four for four from the free throw line with 38 seconds left on the clock. Vanja Marinkovic had other ideas though, his buzzer-beating layup making sure the first quarter ended with both teams on level terms.

Curry, Edwards and Adebayo helped the USA pull ahead, and the Americans were never in trouble again beyond that first quarter.

Kerr is happy with the strategy he’s been applying so far, of subbing all five starters with an entirely new second unit and alternating those two groups every five minutes in the game.

“I think the identity of the team is our depth, the strength of the team is the depth,” said Kerr.

“And so, if we can play in four, five-minute bursts of just playing intense defence, hitting bodies, rebounding, being physical, then it makes sense to play that way.

“We’ll see if we keep doing it but for now, it’s allowed groups to get together, AD and Bam for example, Steph and LeBron, kind of learn how to play together, having a better feel for each other.

“The strength of our team is just the depth and so if we have to play that way, we’ll play that way.”

The USA head to London next, where they have two final exhibition games scheduled, against South Sudan on Saturday and reigning world champions Germany on Monday.