Kevin Durant may be right: will Team USA win these Games?

It was still March, there were still playoffs and Paris was still far away, which Kevin Durant He spoke of Team USA’s resounding and challenging ambitions with overtones of nostalgia.

“I really want to make a statement about how dominant our players are. Like, victories by 40 or 50 points. I want to do that,” said KD.

Basketball in the rest of the world has developed enough for the United States to defeat its rivals by outrageous margins of 43 points in general as was the case with the captivating Dream Team in Barcelona ’92.

However, Durant proved himself right by taking care of this matter 23 points on his return to completely strip Serbia Nikola Jokic and Svetislav Pesic by a difference of 26 points (84-110).

A margin that could have been fully equivalent to a 40-point victory at that time considering the strength of the rival. And Serbia, apart from its natural status, the current runner-up in the world, it refers to the best player on the planet, Nikola Jokic, and his coach is an experienced smart guy who knows a little about basketball and a winning mentality, Svetislav Pesic. Among other achievements of magnitude, the 74-year-old coach broke a seemingly insurmountable psychological barrier and guided Barça to its first Euroleague in 2003.

Ironically, Team USA also acknowledged Pesic’s wisdom, warning that this American team is “much stronger” than the original Dream Team.

If Serbia kept the tactical tricks in the friendly that they clearly lost last week by the exact same margin (105-79), the United States also dismantled the Balkan team in a victory that indicated the real difference between the two team. And nothing Kevin Durant.

The star of Phoenix Suns He monopolized all the praise after the match, turning the conversation completely, until then focusing on his leg injury and his 0 minutes in the warm-up friends.

“He’s just an out-of-this-world talent,” he said. lebron in statements collected by ESPN. One generation of players complimenting another with both living up to their legend, with The king bordering on a triple double with 21 points, 7 rebounds and 9 assists.

Lacking a competitive rhythm after not playing since April, KD showed his legendary spirit at its best, subduing a Serbia standing at that point and even ahead after the first reaction of Team USA (19- 14), who hasn’t lost an Olympic gold since Athens 2004.

Durant played to perfection, converting all of his shots perfectly with 8/8 on field goals and 5/5 on triples to score 21 of his 23 points at halftime and control the game with the American team in 49-58. All this, in just 8 minutes of that first half the first time KD came off the bench for Team USA, his fourth of his entire career in almost 36 years.

“I’ve been playing my whole life, so I keep it simple,” Durant said matter-of-factly about his stunning, dazzling display. “When the ball touched my hand, it was aggressive,” added the Suns star, who also left a mark that defines his talent in the mid-distance jump shot that has characterized the two-time NBA champion in Warriors.

The brain of the dynasty from the bank, Steve Kerr He knows the forward well and his former player’s recital in Golden State proved his words about the star’s quick fit when he wasn’t available weren’t decorative. If there’s one thing Kerr has always been like at press conferences, it’s that he’s straightforward.

“When he comes back from a long absence, you don’t notice it,” stressed the US coach. “He’s very fit and looks like he’s in mid-season shape after not playing a real basketball game for months (actually it was three). It’s incredible. Infuse fear to the other team,” added Kerr.

With Kevin Durant, Team USA fulfilled one of the two fears of its opponents, that its stars would start to make one shot after another even as they scored and set up the defense, a fact that had an enormous impact. on the scoreboard as in the mental factor so demoralization to see how the rival adds points despite deploying good defenses.

Another fear is how unattainable the American team will be once they start running and Serbia has also seen that come true. The United States has not been spared a single one of those transitions or semi-transitions delivered by the Balkan team after a loss or a bad shot. Coming out quickly on the counterattack is one of the maxims of this Team USA because of the difficulties that it sometimes has to attack statically due to the presence of a group of players who have not yet competed.

Germany, the world champion, showed in the last warm-up friendly how important it is to mature possessions enough to generate quality shots and avoid counterattacks by Team USA, which suffered to beat the German team (92-88). As a group Gordon HerbertSerbia is also rich in offensive resources attacking from the middle court with Nikola Jokic and how it will coach with Pesic.

However, the world runner-up has not been able to make advantages despite the triple MVP with its bases –Avramovic and Micic-, without worrying about their changes in pace despite their 10 and 11 points. But the lack of success from 6.75 – with 9/37 – also did a lot of damage to Pesic’s men offensively and defensively.

The surprising and inspiring South Sudan This will be the thermometer to measure how much Team USA has raised compared to friendlies. The African team, which lost only 101-100 and won 16, will face the United States on Wednesday after its victory over Puerto Rico. The Royal Ivey team, with all its players 1.96 except for the elusive base Karlik Jones -1.83-, equal to the physical characteristics of Team USA, which they suffer with a slightly different formula than Germany, which refers to a lot of play in the first seconds of possession. Replicating the success of the three in the friendly -14/33- will be key for the South Sudanese team.

But, for the time being, and just beginning, the United States has reached its peak power or is approaching it after recovering Kevin Durant for the purpose of culminating the generational trio LeBron – Curry – Durant and at this level. The leading scorer in the history of Team USA under the American flag found a glorious escape from the unfortunate continuation of his NBA career after his departure from the Warriors, without going beyond the second round since 2019, which lost in the Finals against Raptors after his serious injury Achilles tendon in Game 5.

Durantula He has a date in history by becoming the first player of all time to win four Olympic gold medals after London 2012, Rio de Janeiro 2016 and Tokyo 2020. A recital worthy of his greatness on KD’s part to start by coming to say that his words should be taken seriously.