Team USA basketball notebook: Is it time to move Joel Embiid to bench, start Anthony Davis?

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Through two exhibition games, Anthony Davis has been the best player for Team USA: A combined 27 points, 25 rebounds and six blocks on 11-of-22 shooting. He’s been a force on both ends of the court.

He’s done all that off the bench, Joel Embiid has been the starting center for Team USA. Embiid looked better in Game 2 against Australia — 10 points, five rebounds — than he did fouling out in the first exhibition, but coming off a knee injury heading into the playoffs, he has seemed a step behind in Steve Kerr’s pace and space offense.

Is it time to make a change at starting center? Kerr left the door open without really saying anything in his comments to reporters after the USA beat Australia on Monday (via Joe Varden at The Athletic).

“These next few games, I’m going to continue to experiment with the lineups,” Kerr said. “Joel is getting better and better every day. It usually takes big guys a little bit longer to get rhythm and flow, but I love Joel, he’s a dominant player, and I think it’s going to be important for us to figure out the best combinations and putting the right people together, and that’s still a work in progress.”

The USA will need Embiid’s size and physicality inside in Paris — the USA got bullied in the paint at the FIBA World Championships a year ago and came into this camp with the size to combat that in Embiid, Davis and Bam Adebayo. USA Basketball Managing Director Grant Hill specifically recruited Embiid, a physically dominating center, for just this reason.

The best test may come Wednesday, when the USA plays another Paris tune-up game against Serbia and its big front line featuring three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic. Will Kerr stick with Embiid against Jokic, or will he go with the slightly smaller but quicker Davis? Both will likely get their chance. The USA struggled to contain an NBA center for Australia in Jock Landale (Rockets), but Serbia provides a more skilled test.

It’s something to watch. If Embiid struggles Wednesday Kerr will have some serious considerations to make (the USA’s first game in the Paris Olympics is against that same Serbian squad on July…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/team-usa-basketball-notebook-time-180122898.html

Author : NBC Sports

Publish date : 2024-07-16 18:01:22

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