How ultimate Group C starting lineup vs. Steph, Team USA might look

How ultimate Group C starting lineup vs. Steph, Team USA might look originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Let the games begin. Team USA Men’s Basketball was a perfect 5-0 in exhibition play ahead of the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics, where final scores now will matter starting Sunday morning in their first of three Group C games.

Team USA as part of Group Stage play will face Serbia on Sunday, South Sudan on Wednesday and Puerto Rico on Saturday, Aug. 3. They already faced Serbia and South Sudan as part of their recent slate of exhibitions, barely beating South Sudan and enjoying a 26-point win against Serbia. Puerto Rico will be a brand-new opponent for the United States.

Serbia was the lone opponent Team USA handled easily on the way to Paris.

What if Team USA had to play a starting five composed of the three countries they’ll go against in Group C?

The five would be fascinating to see, so let’s have some fun in an alternate world.

Great Theft Alvarado will be a joy to watch one week from now when Team USA plays Puerto Rico, depending where your rooting interests lie. Watch Alvarado when he isn’t playing Team USA, too. It’s a viewing experience made to keep you wired for all four quarters.

That’s how Alvarado takes his job. Undrafted in 2021 after being a four-year starter at Georgia Tech where he was the ACC’s Defensive Player of the Year as a senior, the New Orleans Pelicans converted Alvarado from a two-way deal to a standard contract after only 47 games in the NBA. He’s that important. One can guarantee he also is going to try to be Steph Curry’s biggest annoyance of the Olympics.

Alvarado is sure to follow Curry’s every step wherever he is on the floor. In the one game the Pelicans played the Warriors this past season, a five-point New Orleans win, Alvarado only scored four points on 1-of-5 shooting – all being 3-pointers. But Alvarado in 35 minutes off the bench also was a game-high plus-18.

Curry scored a game-high 33 points on 12-of-33 shooting and went 7 of 13 on threes, but also committed a game-high seven turnovers and his minus-8 was the worst among Warriors starters. Puerto Rico…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/ultimate-group-c-starting-lineup-184902972.html

Author : NBC Sports BayArea

Publish date : 2024-07-27 18:49:02

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