Olympics Weekend Recap + Best Bets for Team USA Basketball

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00:00you.

00:02An Olympic assessment looking back on the weekend in Paris and setting up the final

00:08four week of the Summer Games in 2024 live right here on this Monday with Sporting News

00:14Carlin Gay to get you set with everything you need to know around the 33rd Olympiad.

00:20Carlin, we appreciate the time as always.

00:23Thank you for being here once again on the early line.

00:25Appreciate you guys having me.

00:27And I must say, maybe your producer Joe's a little annoyed at me because we had a confusion

00:32behind scenes about the times and everything.

00:35He sent me like four eye roll emojis, a little sassy response in my opinion.

00:39So you got to get it right.

00:41Listen.

00:42Yeah.

00:43That's unacceptable.

00:44Unacceptable.

00:45Out of our producer.

00:46The guest always comes first.

00:47Carlin, we appreciate the time and there will be a stern conversation held by Donny right

00:51side of myself with our producer Joe Friso.

00:54It's like one of those player only meetings.

00:56We'll make sure it's handled internally here, Carlin, on the SportsGrid network.

01:01So we are on in the Olympic basketball tournaments, both on the men's and women's side to the

01:06knockout stages.

01:07And as expected, Team USA in both out in front in the women's tournament.

01:13Team USA, a perfect three and O in group action with its closest game of the three in group

01:19play yesterday against Germany, but still a 19 point win, 87 68 Carlin.

01:27What have you liked most about Team USA in women's basketball throughout group play so

01:31far?

01:32Listen, this is they make it look easy, right?

01:35Like the win streak is like a million and nothing right now.

01:38They haven't lost an Olympic games that they're going to continue that win streak here in

01:41the quarterfinals once we get there.

01:43But what's really impressive is that they were in the group of death, right?

01:46Like Germany is no joke on the world stage.

01:49Belgium is no joke on the world stage.

01:51And Japan plays such a different style from everybody else that you have to game plan

01:55for them.

01:56They shoot a ton of threes.

01:57They actually guys took more threes than twos in the entire tournament.

02:00It was incredible to see them play that way up and down the floor.

02:03So this is the group of death and they were able to go through relatively unscathed like

02:07they lost maybe a quarter in that and that was to Germany by one point.

02:12So this is a team that is well oiled.

02:14They've been together.

02:15They know how we each other play and they're all coming in with their egos checked and

02:19that's the greatest thing about this Team USA team is that everyone is a star in their

02:23own right.

02:24Jewel Lloyd is a 24 point per game score.

02:26She's coming off the bench.

02:27Her ego's in check.

02:28She's just getting in where she fits in.

02:30Kelsey Plum, a former number one overall pick before Caitlin Clark showed up.

02:34She was a number one all-time score in the NCAA.

02:37She's checking her ego.

02:38She's coming off the bench as like the 11th person off the bench and she's fine with it.

02:42This is a team that is well oiled and they know what they have to get done and that is

02:46to cruise into the gold medal stage.

02:49Take a look here.

02:50So far, Carl, in record 3-0 for the women's team, 92 points per game, giving up 72.

02:54So roughly winning each by 20 points or more.

02:57And the one thing that I do like is sooner or later, we're going to get some of these

02:59hot games where they are going to shoot the three point shot with lights out.

03:02It was finally good to see that we're 9 of 21, which isn't electric, but 43% from three

03:07point range going up against Germany.

03:09Going forward, what can we anticipate from maybe the rotations for the Team USA women's

03:13basketball team here?

03:15I think now you start to tighten it up, right?

03:17Like the next game is going to be the toughest game in terms of a team that's going to really

03:21get under their skin in Nigeria.

03:24Nigeria is going to pick them up full court.

03:26Nigeria is coming into this game knowing that they're the massive underdogs.

03:30Nigeria is kind of just happy to be there.

03:31They're the first African nation to make it to the quarterfinals on either men's or women's

03:35side.

03:36So they've already accomplished their goal.

03:37They're already, you know, history has already been made for Nigeria, but this is a very

03:42physical team and they're going to have to use that physicality because Team USA dwarfs

03:46them in terms of size.

03:47So expect the guards to see a lot of pressure.

03:49So Kelsey Plum, Sabrina Ionescu, you know, Jewel Lloyd, Chelsea Gray, those four are

03:58really going to have to handle the rock and handle the pressure full court because if

04:02they start to turn the ball over, that gives Nigeria a chance at least to keep it a little

04:05bit close.

04:07The reserves were great yesterday in the finale of group play against Germany.

04:11Jackie Young, 19 points, a team high for the United States.

04:1658 consecutive wins for Team USA women's basketball in Olympic competition dating back to 1992

04:25in Barcelona.

04:2625 and a half points spread in favor of the United States against Nigeria in their quarterfinal

04:31matchup coming this week.

04:33Should be a great game.

04:35So Team USA women's hoops looking for its eighth consecutive gold medal.

04:39Team USA men's basketball looking for five in a row.

04:44A 21 point win over Puerto Rico on Saturday.

04:48The Americans clinched the top seed now in the quarterfinal and knockout stages.

04:52When we look at what the United States have done on the men's side, Carlin, of course

04:56there is dominance, but the international gap has tightened ever so slightly.

05:03against Serbia, the largest point differential against the Koliokic and Serbia in the opener

05:08and then closer games perhaps, but still around a 20 point average margin of victory for Team

05:14USA in group play.

05:17What stood out to you most about LeBron James and the Americans in group action?

05:23I still think there's room for improvement.

05:25I still think there's another level that this team could get to on the offensive end.

05:29Defensively, I think they've been able to kind of turn it on and turn it off.

05:32You've seen in these games where they've hit the switch and said, all right, we're going

05:35to cut your water off.

05:36You're not going to score another point.

05:37We're going to go on this run.

05:38We've been able to see that on the defensive side of the ball.

05:41They haven't been able to click exactly the way that I've expected them to click on the

05:45offensive side of the ball.

05:46It's still kind of your turn, my turn offense.

05:49It's not as smooth as it should be with as much talent as there is on the team.

05:54So I expect them to get to another level, an even better level offensively.

05:59And to your point about the, you know, the women's team not able to hit their threes.

06:02If this, if Steph Curry finally makes a shot, like, can we, can we get the greatest three

06:05point shooter of all time to hit a three?

06:07If he's able to finally make a shot, it's trouble because once he sees one go in, it's

06:13going to be on a roll.

06:14And I called it out before the tournament started.

06:16I said, whatever the record is for most three pointers in a quarter, most three pointers

06:20in a game, it is in jeopardy because I think Steph Curry is going to have one of those

06:24moments.

06:25It's his only Olympic games he's ever been a part of.

06:27Steph Curry tends to give us one of those moments where he's like, all right, I'm here.

06:31I'm going to make it memorable.

06:32That hasn't happened yet.

06:33I expect that to happen at some point over the next three games.

06:37We'll see if it starts in the next game, which will be tomorrow.

06:40Team USA versus Brazil, three 30 start Eastern.

06:43That is a heavy favorite here, obviously at minus 26 and a half points here at the fan

06:47blue sports book, a total of one 85 and a half Carlin.

06:50We know a lot about team USA.

06:51Talk to us about team Brazil and what they can present going up against team USA.

06:56Listen, if you gave me the recipe for how to beat the Americans, that's these three

07:00things.

07:01You got to shoot the three ball.

07:02Well, you got to have guard play and you got to rebound.

07:05Brazil has all those three things.

07:08They can shoot the three ball.

07:09Well, they shot 45% over the first three games of this tournament.

07:12They have guard play.

07:13Yago Santos, who comes off the bench, think of him as Brazilian Isaiah Thomas, not Isaiah

07:18Thomas Pistons, Isaiah Thomas, Isaiah Thomas, that finished in top five MVP voting with

07:22the Boston Celtics, Isaiah Thomas.

07:25And then they rebound.

07:26Well, they have two bigs.

07:27We get out there and rebound.

07:28Well, yes, brutal.

07:29Caboclo two years away from being two years away.

07:32That was ages ago.

07:33He's here now and he's on the international stage and can play well.

07:36This is an opportunity for him to remind everybody, hey, I can still play at a high level.

07:41He had a terrific game the last outing where he had 33 points, a double double and was

07:46unstoppable inside.

07:48So Anthony Davis, Joel Embiid going to have their hands full to get their themselves in

07:51foul trouble and their bigs.

07:54Leonardo Lindell can stretch the floor.

07:57Team USA hasn't seen bigs can shoot the three yet.

08:00Brazil has two of them that could do that.

08:02So they have all the ingredients to actually get the job done.

08:05And in a one game scenario, I give a chance, a fighter's chance, at least twenty six and

08:10a half point spread in favor of the United States.

08:13Tip is three thirty p.m. eastern time here, stateside tomorrow.

08:17Carlin, one final minute here in this segment for the other six nations that have reached

08:22the quarterfinal round in the men's basketball tournament facing off in the quadruple header

08:27tomorrow.

08:28Which matchups outside of Team USA versus Brazil catches your eye the most?

08:34I have Australia.

08:35I know they're the underdogs in this one, guys.

08:37I have Australia beating Serbia.

08:39Yes, Nicola Jokic is spectacular, the best player in the world.

08:42Australia is going to come with a game plan and I think they get it done and get back

08:46to the semifinals for the second Olympics in a row.

08:50Six and a half point spread, the shortest number, but Carlin, outside of the Americans

08:54game against the Brazilians, seven and a half point spreads in every other game or less

09:00should be very competitive on the International Olympic stage.

09:04Now in a quarterfinal round, Carlin Gay of Sporting News joining us here on this Monday.

09:09Carlin, as always, we appreciate the time and the insight.

09:13Likewise, guys.

09:14Have a great day.

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