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There are only so many shots to go around on Team USA’s loaded Olympic roster, tasked with suddenly sharing the orange-and-white FIBA basketball on one of the most talented American outfits ever assembled. All-Stars Jayson Tatum and Tyrese Haliburton didn’t even see the floor in Team USA’s Group C opener against Serbia on Sunday. No U.S. player other than LeBron James took more than 13 shots in that 110-84 victory over Nikola Jokić and Co.
To prepare for such unfamiliar territory, for prime lethal scorers like Tatum and Anthony Edwards to come off the bench as opposed to starting with the ball in their hands, Team USA coaches installed a particular drill during minicamp practice. Steve Kerr’s staff would pick a different spot on the floor, trying to mimic the situation of a player rising off the pine without the chance to warm up and drilling a jumper on a swing-swing sequence. All of Team USA would file along the baseline, taking turns one by one, as the whole group needed to hit 50% of its ice-cold attempts.
“A lot of these guys shoot 20 times a night,” Micah Potter, a member of the Team USA Select Team, told Yahoo Sports. “Some of them might get three to five looks in these games.”
Potter made all but one of those shots throughout Team USA’s four days of Las Vegas practices. With each make, the illustrious figures around the gym began to expect Potter’s shots to swim through cotton. “This is what I do!” he’d shout, spitting fire — like Tatum’s Celtics teammate, Payton Pritchard, another Team USA select player, who flashed his knack for half-court heaves during the NBA Finals. And sure enough, there was Potter, stripping off his navy blue warmup shirt and cashing 2-of-3 triples throughout Team USA’s exhibition play in Abu Dhabi and London, despite sitting for hours of real-time action.
Micah Potter of the 2024 USA Basketball Men’s Select Team runs onto the court for the U.S. exhibition game against Canada ahead of the Paris Olympics at T-Mobile Arena on July 10, 2024, in Las Vegas. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty…
Source link : https://ca.sports.yahoo.com/news/g-leaguers-once-in-a-lifetime-team-usa-experience-with-joel-embiid-lebron-james-and-stephen-curry-125905328.html
Author : Yahoo Sports
Publish date : 2024-07-31 12:59:05
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