Questions flying as Team USA's men's basketball team opens Olympics on a whimper
Team USA's men's basketball team is in unfamiliar waters.
The NBA-laden American squad lost its opening game in Group A play at the Olympics on Sunday, falling 83-76 to a worthy French team, spearheaded by Boston Celtics winger Evan Fournier.
For the first time since 2004's disastrous outing at the Olympics — where the U.S. lost two group games, fell in the semis to Argentina and settled for bronze in Athens — the Americans have tasted defeat on the Olympic stage.
Since 1992, when NBA players were allowed to compete in the Games, the U.S. men's team has claimed gold at every Olympics — barring 2004's flop.
In fact, the U.S. hadn't lost a single game during those six gold-medal runs.
Given the way this U.S. team opened up the Olympic campaign, and how they performed in the leadup to Tokyo — a pair of losses to Nigeria and Australia, followed by a pair of wins against Argentina and Spain — it's safe to say some alarm bells are going off.
Is this 2004 all over again?
On a team loaded with NBA superstars — including Kevin Durant, Damian Lillard, Jayson Tatum and Jrue Holiday, to name a few — critics can't point to a shallow talent pool.
Chemistry, or lack thereof, wasn't an excuse Durant was going to lean on after the loss to France.
"I don't think it really had to do with chemistry or getting to know each other," Durant said. "I just think it's a make-or-miss game, and we didn't hit the shots that we were supposed to late in the game in the fourth quarter, but I think we will be better next game."
One person who has found himself at the center of a lot of criticism is head coach Gregg Popovich.
Despite Popovich's Hall of Fame NBA résumé, decorated with five Finals victories and more than 1,300 regular-season wins win the San Antonio Spurs, his record at the international level doesn't quite stack up.
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Following in the footsteps of Mike Krzyzewski, who coached the team to three consecutive gold medals as head coach, Popovich has had trouble finding sustained success.
That disparity is one of the reasons why Chris Broussard said he's not so sure this USA men's basketball team is gold-medal bound.
Rather, Broussard indicated winning gold might be more of a surprise than losing it, as things stand.
"I've always said that Pop is one of the greatest NBA coaches in history, and he is, but he's also one of the worst international coaches, and he is," Broussard said. "Team USA is now 11-6 under Gregg Popovich. They're 6-3 under Pop in games that matter. … I'm not going to write them off completely, just because of sheer talent … [but] at this point, I might be surprised if they win the gold, more so than if they lose it."
Chris Broussard: I might be surprised if USA Basketball wins gold rather than lose it I FIRST THINGS FIRST
Those coaching struggles are not lost on Popovich, according to Joe Vardon of The Athletic. "To be clear, Popovich is horrified by his own record coaching this team. He dwells on it and hates the losing," Vardon wrote following the loss to France.
Tellingly, though, the players are expressing some dissatisfaction, too.
"The players are frustrated, too, grumbling on their way back to the locker room about ‘running the San Antonio offense’ when apparently they feel like there are better ideas," Vardon wrote.
Whatever the issue is, it needs to be remedied fast, Brandon Marshall said on "First Things First."
The good news for the Americans is they still have time to work their way out of Group A and into a quarterfinals spot.
Even if they fail to finish in the top two of the group, the two best third-place teams will advance. Even so, the window is tighter than anybody with a vested interest in the U.S. would like.
As ESPN's Brian Windhorst pointed out, Team USA might need to go into Wednesday's game against Iran (12:40 a.m. ET) and win big. Not just to make a statement, but to also improve their odds of moving on.
If Team USA's hopes of continuing on at the Olympics wind up hinging on point differential, it'll be a stunning first week for the heavily favored Americans.
Then again, they might be willing to take what they can get.
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