THE USUAL GOLD IS READY FOR TEAM USA, YET WAGNER DID DUNK OVER VICTOR
Nothing suggests the Americans will lose the gold medal, while Kerr does his best to unite the money bags, but do realize Germany and Canada have an eye on the gold medal as U.S. superstars count days
It shouldn’t matter to LeBron James, who was seen enjoying red wine and dancing with his family at a beach volleyball game. Can we stop asking when the Americans will play Germany or Canada, not that he’s pondering either by the Eiffel Tower? It’s likely one team or the other remains, in the Olympics finals, and if it bothers you that Franz Wagner eluded the whipping arm of Victor Wembanyama and thundered a forcible left-handed slam, have a Pinot Noir yourself.
Which dunk did he like better, the one over Wemby or the one over Isaia Cordinier? “The second one. I don't know who was there, honestly, but whatever the second one was,” said Wagner, the recently minted max-contract giftee of the Orlando Magic. Say, not the one over the 7-5 behemoth?
“I don't even remember the first one, really," he said.
Regardez, which means “look” in French, Team USA should win gold regardless of which contender ends up where. Brazil, not a contender, comes next in the Tuesday quarterfinals. Will the Americans get Canada-France or Australia-Serbia in the semis Thursday? We’re asking this only because they must get through the field, and they aren’t avoiding Soviet Union scammers like the old days. First, coach Steve Kerr paid tribute to Lille, where the first three games were played in a retractable-roofed dome.
“I mean, number one, it’s been really fun to be in Lille — it’s a beautiful place,” he said, sounding like a man with gold on his mind a week before the title game.
He also knows the Americans must play supremely, without the lull periods that bothered Jayson Tatum and Joel Embiid when they sat entire games, or the non-stop abuse Embiid continues to endure from French fans who wonder why he rebuffed their team. “These guys wanted me,” Embiid said Saturday of the U.S. “It was a tough decision, but it is all about comfort level, and like I said, I’ve known these guys for a long time and I just felt more comfortable than on the (French) side. There was some concern with the other side. Comfort level was huge. I always say I’m going to be where I’m wanted.”
Not that Parisians will be satisfied when they see him this week — in their minds, against Wembanyama and Rudy Gobert. Say what you will about Kerr and some of his hijinks, but so far, the Americans are prepared for the legitimate competition. Anthony Edwards and Kevin Durant — might they play together someday, in Minnesota — are murderers off the bench. Edwards tried to pull a Wagner jam in a 104-83 victory over Puerto Rico.
“I wanted to go between the legs, but I ain’t tried it in a minute so I didn’t want to embarrass myself,” Edwards said. “I want to dunk on somebody, but I ain’t got a lane yet. I’m glad I got that one.”
Tatum? He has started the last two games, feeling better after sitting the entire opener. Days ago, the NBA champion said, “Definitely a humbling experience, right? Win a championship, new contract, cover of 2K (video game) and then you sit a whole game. Cover of Sports Illustrated. So it was definitely a humbling experience.”
That led Kerr to play the role of a man who must lead these multi-millionaires — or billionaires, as LeBron sips his drink. “I think the NBA is so popular worldwide and the regular season is kind of a soap opera. And so we understand that, and social media takes over and everything becomes so dramatic,” he said. “I think we need to give these guys more credit. They’re here to win a gold medal. They’re pros. They’re committed to each other. I don’t read social media and I would hope our guys aren’t paying too much attention. That’s a regular-season thing, where the soap opera can carry the ratings. Here, it’s just win a damn gold medal.”
The players agree. Still, is it winning the gold or piling in Kerr with a loss for assuming too much control? “We have an embarrassment of riches on the roster, that’s the best way to put it. I mean, these guys are all champions, All-Stars, Hall of Famers, however you want to put it,” Kerr said. “So the whole thing is, are we committed to the goal? That’s it. I always tell our guys with the (Golden State) Warriors, the reason they pay us a lot of money is there is so much interest worldwide in what we do. And so you can’t have it both ways. You can’t accept your salary and get mad at all the coverage.
“The beauty of the Olympics is none of that crap matters. And I know everyone’s going to write about it, but none of that crap matters. We’re just trying to win every game and win a gold medal, and it’s an incredibly pure feeling and the guys are committed to each other and they’re not going to worry about any of that.”
Purity, he said. Is Kerr running a college philosophy class? The Celtics — Tatum, Derrick White and injured Jrue Holiday — realize Boston fans think they’re short-shrifted. “You can be frustrated that you want to play as a competitor, but maybe have some empathy for some of the guys on my team (the Celtics) that don’t always get to play or play spot minutes,” Tatum said. “So it’s a learning experience to have, see it from that point of view, and just move on from it.”
Stephen A. Smith has weighed in, on a network beyond NBC, saying of Tatum: “You do not disrespect him and embarrass him the way you did. Steve Kerr, that’s some straight bulls—.” Smith needs ratings, I see.
Next Saturday, if they wear gold medals, no one will care about Tatum or Embiid or Stephen A. “I think we’re in a good place,” James said. “We can always get off to a better start to start games, but teams are very excited to go against us and it’s not a feel-out, but we could do a better job starting the games. Giving up (29) in the first quarter today, we didn’t like that and we got better from that moment on though.”
Precisely, Kerr knew where to take that thought train. Praise LeBron, forevermore. “Maybe one of the best things about this trip for me has been to see LeBron behind the scenes, see the preparation, see the focus and getting a picture for why he is who he is,” he said. “It’s just amazing to watch him. He loves the game so much. He loves the work, he loves his teammates. There’s an energy and a joy to LeBron that just, it sort of spreads through the locker room.”
While James stands there with a drink and starts to dance for the U.S. players, while daughter Zhuri yelled, “Noooooooo!”
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Jay Mariotti, called “without question the most impacting Chicago sportswriter of the past quarter-century,’’ writes general sports columns for Substack while appearing on some of the 1,678,498 podcasts and shows in production today. He is an accomplished columnist, TV panelist and talk/podcast host. Living in Los Angeles, he gravitated by osmosis to film projects.