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Team USA has assembled another Dream Team led by LeBron James, Stephen Curry, and Kevin Durant. On paper, this team has more talent than any Olympic team, but sometimes that doesn’t make sense.

After several days of training, Team USA beat Canada, which also has NBA talent, in an exhibition game Wednesday night in Las Vegas, 86-72.

The U.S. team got off to a slow start, missing its first six shots and settling for too many 3-point attempts instead of going to the basket. The second unit, behind Anthony Edwards and Anthony Davies, got things back on track and the Americans continued to advance.

There have been good times and bad times for head coach Steve Kerr and Team USA. Let’s see.

Okay, okay, okay

In the first quarter, the American team committed eight turnovers and found itself with 15 plays.

Some substitutions can be attributed to teammates playing together for the first time. Understanding how and where a man wants to move the ball takes more than a few practices and one game to figure out.

This James substitution is an example of a chemical substitution. Jrue Holiday blocked the kick, recovered the ball, and made a fast break. James made a break, drawing the defense and putting Curry on the wing, but he stopped on offense as James thought Curry was continuing to drift.

A few weeks later at the Olympics, the game would be an open 3-point attempt for Curry or a corner 3 for Devin Booker.

Protection against attacks

Team USA’s defense shined against Canada. More importantly, it opened up their passing game. They had nine blocks, led by Davis’ four blocks. They also recorded 11 steals, with Tyrese Haliburton having four.

Those defensive stops have translated into 28 points on the ground and 1,273 points per possession, according to Synergy. They’re a fast team, so they have to play fast and it all starts with defense.

The highlight of Curry-on-James was the Canadians’ forced turnaround.

LeBron to Steph… BACK TO LEBRON FOR THIS 🤝😤

📺 #USABMNT Show on FS1 pic.twitter.com/0hKELo83Uq

– NBA (@NBA) July 11, 2024

On that play, James chased down a block, Curry pulled it back and passed it to Joel Embiid, who found Booker in the corner for a 3-pointer.

22 of the U.S. team’s 90 positions are in transition. About a quarter of their possession has been conceded, a good number for an Olympic score. If America is in transition, it will win on defense.

The best place for Edwards

Should Anthony Edwards be the starter?

Timberwolves’ Anthony Edwards on how he fits into U.S. Olympic basketball team: “I’m still the number one pick. You can look at it differently. … They have to adjust to me. That’s how I feel.” pic.twitter.com/Cga5kTiR2J

– Ben Golliver (@BenGolliver) July 7, 2024

The Minnesota Timberwolves star guard was joking when he gave the quote. The kid knows how to go viral, but Team USA’s slow start didn’t turn into a game until the second unit, led by Edwards, came on. He provides instant energy.

But Kerr had to hold back his urge to start.

Edwards, who leads the second unit, is a perfect fit for this team. If he starts alongside James, Curry and Durant (once healthy), he’ll be relegated to a supporting role rather than a leading man.

With the second unit, Edwards controlled the ball more. For his first bucket, he blasted RJ Barrett and finished acrobatically around Shai Gilgeous-Alexandr. Later in the game, he moved around a Davis screen for a pull-up as Andrew Nembhard defended.

Edwards isn’t just creating his own shots. He’s recruited others as well. He did a nice job finding Bam Adebayo off the dribble while the defense was down and dunked for Adebayo.

Video of Edwards saying he was the #1 pick 1 isn’t completely false; he was the #1 option in the second unit.

Where does Embiid fit in?

Embiid had a rough night against the Canadiens. He fouled out, turned the team over four times and even committed an unsportsmanlike foul.

It’s easy to overreact to a game, but the question remains: Should Davis start over? It’s too early for Kerr to make that decision, but it’s still a conversation.

The starting unit needs to center around Curry’s movement with James as the primary ball-handler. Embiid is used to the offense being centered around him. There won’t be many touches for him in the post or in isolation off the elbows. He needs to embrace more than just being a screener and mixing in rolls and pops, which doesn’t maximize Embiid’s skill set.

Another issue is that Embiid is not eligible for the second unit. As mentioned above, the second unit is the Edwards group.

Embiid’s best option may be as a specialist. There will be games where Embiid’s size will be an asset. Team USA will face Serbian Nikola Jokic in the opener and could face Frenchmen Rudy Gobert and Victor Vembanyamo later.

If Curry or James have a tough matchup, Embiid could be Kerr’s guy on offense. Embiid may not like it, but it could be the best role for him on Team USA.

(Photo by Anthony Edwards: Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images)