The Paris Olympics are drawing to a detailed, and Workforce USA is in a dominant place in males’s basketball. An enormous 122-87 win over Brazil within the quarterfinals takes USA to a 4-0 file within the video games, with a median win margin of 24.75 factors. It’s precisely the sort of efficiency the staff needed in Paris, and the assertion we needed to see.
Evan Turner of The Level Ahead Podcast was joined by Payton Pritchard of the Celtics to debate whether or not USA can convey dwelling the gold. Pritchard is uniquely positioned to debate the staff’s potential with three of his teammates in Boston present representing the US in Jayson Tatum, Jrue Holliday, and Derrick White.
Like most basketball followers, Pritchard was shocked when Tatum didn’t play within the USA’s first sport once more Serbia, seen as a important assertion sport towards Nikola Jokic.
“Everyone knows how gifted he’s,” Pritchard stated, “I’ve been in conditions like that. To not his degree, however it’s a humbling expertise.” Each athlete looks like they need to be taking part in, contributing, and making a distinction — no matter expertise degree. That confidence and drive make them higher, and finally Pritchard thinks it’ll be a very good expertise for the Celtics mega star. “I’m excited to see what he does with that. That simply provides extra gasoline to the hearth.”
Pritchard thinks that being knocked down the pecking order on Workforce USA will inspire Tatum to return again to the NBA subsequent yr and need to show his dominance much more, maybe even to run it again and win one other title with Boston. “Now you gotta present individuals once more, as a result of they doubting,” he says, “I’m wanting ahead to JT proving them incorrect.”
Exterior of taking part in alongside three of the present Workforce USA members, Pritchard had hands-on expertise with this squad. Named to the choose staff, he practiced alongside the staff that went to Paris, and acquired a way of their potential. It was much less about merely taking part in towards the greats of the fashionable period that appealed to Pritchard, however an opportunity to look at their preparation.
“What time are they waking up? Simply analyzing all that sort of stuff. That’s what I used to be most wanting ahead to. It’s simply with the ability to take a few issues by way of what they did for his or her physique. When are they lifting? All these kinds of issues.”
One hypothetical query that Turner requested didn’t require a second of thought: If the 2023-24 Boston Celtics went to the Olympics and competed towards the world, may they take dwelling the gold medal?
“I’d wager my cash on it that we’d. I’m not gonna say it’s a achieved deal for certain […] You win an NBA Championship. Undergo an entire season like that and be taught to play collectively — yeah, we’d be alright.”
Workforce USA’s subsequent take a look at comes within the semi-finals towards Serbia within the rematch. It’ll be one other probability to show who runs the world in males’s basketball.