It's Sunday, at 5:15 p.m., that Team USA will begin its Olympic Games with an XXL shock as LeBron James and his teammates will challenge Nikola Jokic's Serbia. On the infirmary side, three uncertainties. First, there is the case Kevin Durant. He missed all five warm-up games with a calf injury, and we still don't know if he'll be able to play. The good news is that he hasn't suffered a relapse and he trained normally this Saturday.
“I hope he plays”, said Steve Kerr. “He did well in training two days ago, and we'll have another training session today and continue to take things day by day.” For LeBron James, Durant's presence is already palpable. “An immediate impact”, LeBron James responded about Kevin Durant. “He did really well the other day in practice. Obviously his cardio and his rhythm are going to continue to develop, but if we're able to get him back and he's going to have a huge impact on our team.”
Read >> Presentation of Group C (United States, Serbia, South Sudan, Puerto Rico)
Two more uncertainties, and they concern two of the three centers: Joel Embiid and Anthony Davis. Both are sick, and Embiid missed Saturday's practice. For his part, Davis has missed a few sessions in recent days, but he practiced this Tuesday.
“I am confident that we will have everyone tomorrow” Kerr anticipates, while LeBron reminds us that it is a sprint, and not a marathon unlike the NBA. “It's not like the NBA where it's a marathon… It's a sprint. It's like Michael Johnson or Usain Bolt… Things get serious tomorrow, and we'll have to be ready. And we will be!”
