Recapping a Historic Olympics for Men's & Women's Team USA

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00:00Always good to have Kyle Irving on Kyrie's cousin from the Sporting News covers the basketball

00:13for us at the Olympics Kyle good to see you again buddy I thought that we were just talking

00:18about the game that game was epic yesterday and I frankly I mean we'll talk about the

00:24game with France in a minute but let's go back to what you thought were some of the

00:29differences you know I thought and beads 19 was heavy I thought is lit enthusiasm late

00:36in the game like you know getting emotional about Jokers travel getting fired up diving

00:45on the floor the game was very violent away from the ball they weren't calling anything

00:51away from the ball and I think he liked that and I thought Durant's defense when he finally

00:57came in the game and contributed at the end was huge I thought Booker's three was huge

01:03at the top of the key off of the foul on Joker after the kit you know KD three count the

01:09three and the foul and the ball and the three from the top of the key those were some of

01:15the keys for me and obviously curry shooting was phenomenal yeah there was also that stretch

01:20where Steph had a fast break layup LeBron went down for a fast break layup and then

01:24Steph had a steal and had another fast break layup and like right then and there it felt

01:28like this is what we've been waiting for we've been waiting for LeBron and Steph to be teammates

01:32they were the two that stepped up in that moment like you said I thought Joel and beat

01:35on the offensive end you know really gave them some energy at the beginning of that

01:39fourth quarter he still had a couple lapses on defense that led to open Serbia threes

01:43but as you mentioned I mean that team was you know shooting over 50% from three for

01:47the majority of the game and then all of a sudden it's not like they stopped getting

01:50good looks they just stopped hitting the open looks which was pretty shocking they really

01:54missed an opportunity to put the USA away there but you know the other play that sticks

01:58out in my mind is Carmelo Anthony's on the sidelines he's kind of coaching him up Kevin

02:03Durant has the ball at the top of the key he gets the Stephen Curry sets on the screen

02:07he gets the switch that he wants and Kevin Durant is at the top of the key with USA up

02:12by two points on an island and I don't think there's anybody in the entire country that

02:16didn't expect that shot to go down we've just seen him hit that high hesitation crossover

02:21so many times straight into a confident smooth pull up jumper to put the United States up

02:26by four and really put the game away so there were a lot of signature moments and like you

02:30said that was fiery you know you'll get just screaming on the sidelines I've never really

02:33seen him like react like that in an NBA game Joel Embiid was getting all fired up you could

02:38tell LeBron kind of kicked it into another gear it really had all the makings of what

02:42felt like an instant classic I've never seen Bogdanovich play like that in my life like

02:49I've never like you've seen him hit shots in the NBA he looks like a guy that in the

02:55NBA to me just a guy that's getting paid a lot of money to shoot threes and he doesn't

02:59care he just goes through the motions in my opinion but I gotta tell you he played that

03:05game like he was going to the electric chair I mean my man was all out playing and he was

03:11I think he was really bummed out when they lost like he legitimately looked like he needed

03:17a shrink like he was crying after it was over I mean that guy played his ass off and had

03:23a 20-piece and he had some huge shots and then I just couldn't believe in the fourth

03:27how they missed nine straight threes after they had hit so many off-screen perfect off-screen

03:33threes like they were getting the cleanest looks and their ball movement for the open

03:39man they were doubling Joker at times and leaving a guy wide open every time and you

03:43know it's a kiss of death with that guy Joker when he finds the open man and they were like

03:47shooting corner pocket switch all net splash threes I couldn't believe they went cold Kyle

03:54honestly yeah that's why the one where you know you and I was talking to you about it

03:59before Dobritsch was wide open on the right wing Serbia was I think up by four points

04:03with like two and a half minutes left he had been hitting those all night the balls in

04:06mid-flight and I'm like wow they're really going to lose this game and then he somehow

04:09missed and that kind of again catalyzed the United States comeback but you know to your

04:13point that's kind of the you know the risk that you play against Nikola Jokic like he's

04:17so gifted as a passer that if you double-team him he's going to find the open man like a

04:21sixth sense it's incredible there was a play in the fourth quarter also where I think it

04:25was LeBron James came to double from the baseline someone cut it might have been Bogdanovich

04:29cut baseline and Jokic before LeBron could even get there on the double team through

04:32a head pass behind his head right to Bogdanovich for an easy layup but you know bogey was a

04:37killer yesterday he looked it seemed like he gave himself a little bit of like added

04:40motivation he was talking trash with Melo courtside and you know I know Melo was probably

04:45letting Serbia hear it back in 2016 when the United States beat them in the group stage

04:49and then smoked him by 30 points in the gold medal match and bogey was on that team as

04:54well so maybe that's why he had a little bit more oomph to his game but you know like you

04:57said he was a huge huge reason why they had built the lead they did and then you know

05:02those are real tears at the end like Serbia has to feel like they really let that one

05:06slip away and that's where you know the United States like with the momentum that they're

05:09carrying going into the gold medal match I don't know how they could you know fall flat

05:13on their face after a game like that it was you know for me it's like the 80 hockey team

05:21they won the game against Russia and then they had to turn around and win another game

05:25and they had to come from behind in that game too I feel like they have to go finish

05:32the deal like obviously there's one more step tomorrow against the home team playing on

05:38their home court in front of their fans in Paris how will they handle the French and

05:45Wembanyama yeah I think that's you know this is a France team that is surging all of a

05:51sudden they didn't look very good at the beginning of the tournament they made that lineup change

05:54where Rudy Gobert you know originally we thought it was due to an injury he had that

05:57finger thing that he was dealing with in the first round against Canada but turns out as

06:02you know they continue to move on it was a head coaching decision from Vincent Kalei

06:05to you know just bench the four-time defensive player of the year in favor of playing a faster

06:10more versatile lineup so now we're gonna see the United States have to try and match up

06:15with you know Wemby is the focal point of that team but you know they have to really

06:19take advantage of France's lackluster guard play Frank Nino Lachina is not going to get

06:24the job done against guys like Stephen Curry against guys like Anthony Edwards Devin Booker

06:28who's played well you know Isaiah Cordonnier is someone who has been shooting the lights

06:32out in this tournament so far but he's not really a known scorer I saw someone tweet

06:36the other day that he only scored 18 or more points three times the entire Euroleague season

06:41he's done it twice already in back-to-back games in the knockout round for France so

06:44you know if you put a hand in that guy's face he's gonna start missing shots and then with

06:47Wemby I'm curious see how they defend them defend him because they could throw multiple

06:51bodies at him I'm sure LeBron's gonna get a look at him I'm sure Bama to bio with that

06:55second unit is going to get a look at him maybe this is where Jason Tatum could come

06:58back into the rotation and you know maybe disrupt one be a little bit but you know he's

07:03the focal point of that team and if you can slow down him then you know they're gonna

07:06have to really rely on the other guys to step up and that's why I like USA to get the job

07:09done so you know one of my favorite parts of that game yesterday was when LeBron was

07:14on Joker late and he was banging with him in the low block and Joker was banging and

07:19giving him the shoulder and then he did the muscles and then really he really banged with

07:25him like 68 to 60 like you cannot just push me around brother like he pushes people around

07:31and he usually goes right around and bead with quickness he's got that hook spin but

07:36he couldn't do it against LeBron he was banging it they eventually called the foul but LeBron

07:41was he wanted all the smoke what about the ladies Kyle a blowout win today over Australia

07:47Brianna Stewart was incredible I thought copper played great young Wilson they all

07:53played great all had double figures they're waiting for the to find out who they're gonna

07:59play in the gold medal game but they look unstoppable yeah they're really impressive

08:04and you know I'm really impressed with Cheryl Reeve who you know made that switch she gave

08:07Diana Taurasi you know her her time in the spotlight as she's going for you know another

08:12gold medal in the most by women Olympian I think I believe in USA basketball history

08:16breaking the tie with Sue Bird but you know she she could have stuck with the same starting

08:21lineup they've won 60 straight games she didn't have to do all that much but she decided to

08:25move Diana Taurasi from the starting lineup insert Jackie Young starting lineup and Jackie

08:29Young has been incredible in back-to-back games a huge reason why the ball is moving

08:33the way that it has been why they USA has been able to score as easily as they have

08:37been and then I talked about it last time I was on here but the biggest difference is

08:40Asia Wilson and Brianna Stewart like those two are so big and so athletic and so mobile

08:45that other countries just don't have bigs that are versatile enough to keep up with

08:49those two Asia Wilson had you know another four blocks and two steals today like you

08:54said Brianna Stewart was making the wheels turn on offense that's a team that again 60

08:58straight wins they're going for a 61st straight win in an eighth consecutive gold medal it

09:03just doesn't even sound right to say that's just a different level of dominance.

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