No introductions are needed when the United States and Serbia meet in the semifinals of the men’s basketball tournament on Thursday at the Paris Olympics.
Serbia features plenty of NBA talent — Denver Nuggets star center and three-time league MVP Nikola Jokic, Atlanta Hawks guard Bogdan Bogdanovic, Charlotte Hornets guard Vasilije Micic and Miami Heat forward Nikola Jovic — representing their native country.
All four of those players logged at least 13 minutes of action when the Serbian national team faced the Americans in a Group C game on July 28, but Team USA rolled to a 110-84 victory. Jokic went for 20 points, five rebounds, eight assists and four steals in that setback, which came just 11 days after the U.S. downed the Serbians 105-79 in an exhibition game.
But two blowouts mean nothing to Team USA coach Steve Kerr.
“We can’t get lulled to sleep because we beat them twice,” Kerr said. “Does Jokic play 40 minutes? What else do they have up their sleeve? We have to be prepared for anything.”
Perhaps Kerr’s emphasis on expecting the unexpected stems from the fact that Serbia erased a 24-point second-quarter deficit in Tuesday’s 95-90 overtime win against Australia in the quarterfinals.
Bogdanovic admitted that the Serbians did panic but managed to come out on top. They resume pursuit of a first Olympic gold medal in team history.
“Honestly, we didn’t keep cool,” Bogdanovic said. “But we knew we were down and we needed to find some momentum and rhythm. … They had the whole momentum of the game. As I said, this is the biggest pressure of the tournament. Quarterfinals. You know if you lose, you’re out.”
The Americans had a much easier time against Brazil, cruising to a 122-87 victory on Tuesday. Devin Booker led six U.S. scorers in double figures with 18 points, while Anthony Edwards finished with 17, Joel Embiid collected 14 and Anthony Davis totaled 13.
Although Team USA had its hands full with Brazilian Bruno Caboclo, a seven-year NBA veteran who poured in a game-high 30 points on Tuesday, it realizes that Jokic is a different breed. And the U.S. wouldn’t be surprised if Serbia coach Svetislav Pesic opts to keep the 29-year-old on the floor for the entirety of Thursday’s game.
“I guess we’ll be ready for that,” Embiid said of Jokic potentially playing 40 minutes. “If that’s what they think they have to do to try to beat us, then they won’t hesitate to do that.”
Thursday’s winner plays for a gold medal on Saturday against France or Germany, who are meeting in the other semifinal. The losers play in the bronze-medal game, also set for Saturday.
It’s been 20 years since the Americans have taken home anything other than gold medals at the Olympics. They won the bronze at the 2004 Athens Games but have since won four straight golds.
In all, the U.S. men’s basketball team has racked up 16 golds.
Serbia last medaled at the 2016 Olympics, grabbing a silver.
–Field Level Media
