The medal rounds of the Olympics are here and instead of previewing the two semi-final games, I am going to talk about each team, their strengths and weaknesses and how they can win gold.
Serbia
The Serbs have one thing going for them, Nikola Jokic is on their team. Averaging 19.3 points, 11.8 rebounds and 7.5 assists over the first 4 games of the tournament, Jokic has been awesome. In the quarterfinals, he was a +17 in 38 minutes played, since the game went to overtime it was a 45 minute game and Serbia was -12 in the 7 minutes Jokic was on the bench. The Serbs also have a bunch of good role players as well behind Jokic. Bogdan Bogdanovic is a good NBA player, Vasilije Micic is a former Euro-League MVP (and is now with the Hornets) and has played well in the Olympics, with his ability to be a ball mover and solid Euro-League players like Ognjen Dobric, Aleksa Avramovic and Marko Guduric have played well in this tournament too. This is a good team but they don’t hold a candle to the United States, who they play in the semi’s so if Serbia wants to win the gold, it’ll come down to if Jokic can have the game of his life and even then, with the talent the U.S. has, it might not be enough.
France
France is Guerschon Yabusele’s team. No, not really, but the former Celtics first round pick played very well in France’s upset win against Canada. 13 points and 5 rebounds on shooting splits .67/.50/.80 in the 82-73 win, Yabu has been a key piece for the French during the entire Olympics averaging 10.3 points and 2.8 rebounds on shooting splits of .52/.33/.86 in the 4 games thus far. Yabusele has earned another shot to be on an NBA roster. The French do have a lot of current NBA players on their team, with Rudy Gobert and Victor Wembanyama being the best 2 players on the team (though France did go away from Gobert in the quarterfinals), they have an elite defense. Nic Batum, Frank Ntilikina and Isaia Cordinier have also been great on the defensive end for France in the Olympics. The French’s issue has been on the offensive end. In the group stage game against Germany, France scored just 71 points in their 14 point loss and their guard play has not been good. Evan Fournier played great in the quarterfinals against Canada but he has just averaged 9.0 points a game in the Olympics and he is the most prolific offensive guard France has. In order to upset Germany, France will need more elite defense, a huge Wembanyama game and another great Fournier game.
Germany
FIBA Dennis Schroder might be the greatest player to ever live, with averages of 18.0 points and 8.8 assists on shooting splits of .52/.41/1.00, Schroder has been awesome in these Olympics after he was awesome in the FIBA World Cup last year. Franz Wagner has also been great during this tournament. Though the 3-pointer has not been there, 5/25 over the 4 games thus far, he is still finding ways to get the ball in the basket, averaging 20.8 points per game. Wagner is able to still average 20 points a game while shooting poorly from 3 due to the 69.2% two point percentage he has been shooting. Germany is a really balanced team with good guard play, good wing play and good center play. Daniel Theis and Moe Wagner have been good for Germany, with Theis averaging 9.3 points and 7.3 rebounds and Wagner averaging 9.8 points and 4.3 rebounds over the first 4 games of the tournament. Germany has a really balanced team that has good depth as well. Isaac Bonga, Johannes Voigtmann and Nick Weiler-Babb have played very well for Germany as key role players for them. Bonga in particular has played well, averaging 10.5 points and shooting 62.5% from 3 on 4.0 attempts per game, he has become a key part of the German team.
United States
We all know the names on Team USA. LeBron has been great, Kevin Durant has turned into a super sixth man, as the greatest Olympic player ever has come off the bench for the U.S., and the rest of the team has played well too. The rotations have been weird at times with Jayson Tatum and Joel Embiid each receiving a DNP-CD in these Olympics but that has not stopped the United States from dominating everyone in their way. With wins of 26 points, 17 points, 21 points and 35 points, the United States have been dominant ever since the games began to count. Derrick White has been a huge reason as to why they have been so good as well. While he has not gotten the shots up that he gets with the Celtics, White has been doing all the little things he did for Boston during the championship run, pressuring the ball, blocking shots and moving the ball, White has been awesome for the United States. Another player who has been awesome for the United States is Devin Booker. Booker is not known for doing the little things and how he defends but he has been doing both those things in these Olympics while also shooting 62.5% from 3 point land as an elite floor spacer for Team USA. While LeBron, KD, and Steph Curry get all the shine, White and Booker have been great for the United States as well.
My picks for the semi-finals are Germany and the U.S. with the United States taking home the gold. These Olympics have been a joy to watch and they should only get more fun as we head towards the finish.
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