Pesic and his saved traps, Team USA concerns

The experienced and cunning are up to something. Svetislav PesicOr maybe Team USA is skeptical and concerned about the easy logic of precedent that says the U.S. can do no wrong in tonight’s semifinal against Serbia (9 p.m.), despite having the best players in the world. Nikola Jokic The Balkan team had lost to one of the world’s biggest powers by 26 points in a friendly before the match. Olympic (105-79) and the first phase match (84-110).

But I smell something Steve Kerr.

“We have to be prepared for their best effort. We have to think about what they’re going to do differently. I think Jokic can play 40 minutes. “What else are they thinking?” ESPN. The winner will face France-Germany.

“I’m not going to lose any sleep because we’ve beaten them twice,” warned the ever-cautious Kerr.

Nikola Jokic In his first friendly match, he struggled to record a double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds, but his shooting was an unusual 6/19. Triple MVP He was more productive in the group stage, finishing with 20 points, five rebounds and eight assists on 8-for-15 shooting in 31 minutes.

The question is whether Pesic can take the risk and keep his star player on the court for the entire game, but that would be more realistic than it was for his former coach. Barca I let him play for about 35 minutes. Joker, That comes from his amazing game against Australia. Despite being the star of Denver Nuggets He laughed off his fatigue during his extra-time recital, perhaps because of the 39 minutes he had to play to complete the Serbian miracle that produced the biggest comeback in Olympic history (24 points).

Last year, they came in second at the world championships without a center, and here are their results: Night and Day When Jokic is not up to the level of Team USA and without him they are a toy in the hands of the American team. In the first phase of the match, the triple MVP on the hardwood scored 81-81, while the center on the bench did not score less than 29-3. The then 21-year-old Interior was part of the Serbian team that won the silver medal at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games after losing to the American team 96-66 to the Authoritarians in the final.

“I can’t sleep because I’ve already defeated him twice.”

Steve KerrUSA national team coach

The U.S. has questioned Pesic’s strange management of Jokic, especially in friendlies. Veteran coach weeks away from achieving goal 75 years (August 28), he stayed inside the court for the first three quarters, which was unusual for an exhibition game. In this case, we can assume that Pesic wanted to observe the different ways Team USA defended their star depending on the different players they used. Team USA was successful in containing the Joker in that clash with a double pivot strategy. Anthony Davis and Bam Adebayo The Minnesota Timberwolves took advantage of this. Karl-Anthony Towns and Rudy Gobert.

In the first phase of the match, the first Barça EuroLeague coach was slow to bring Jokic back onto the field, who had completely exploded with the power of the United States and America. Kevin Durant In the decisive set of the match, the former Barça player was able to draw the clear conclusion that Serbia will not be able to spend much time without Jokic against the US national team.

Old dog Pesic found the perfect balance in his earlier match analysis, with every flower the U.S. needs to turn up the pressure being a clear nod to its pupils.

“We will be playing the greatest, most extraordinary team in the history of national team basketball. Americans no longer just demonstrate exceptional individual qualities; They grew as a team. “We respect that, but at the same time we respect ourselves and we are not afraid. “We want to play a good game,” the Serbian coach stressed in an interviewed statement. Basketball news. The Balkans were already saying before the Olympics that this U.S. team was better than the Dream Team. Barcelona ’92.

“We are not threatening. We have no right to threaten anybody now. We know who we are playing against,” added the former Barca player, who is highly regarded by Kerr and other NBA champion coaches. Erik SpoelstraThe Heat coach, who is one of the assistants on Team USA, expressed his admiration for Pesic last season when asked by MD if there were any European coaches he looked up to.

“The fact that we are in the top four is a great success in itself but we said we came here not just to do our best but to focus on winning an Olympic medal. This is our first chance and we don’t want to miss it,” said coach Pesic, who rested his players yesterday.

“We’re going to be playing the best team in varsity basketball history.”

Svetislav PesicSerbian coach

Coach Svetislav Pesic emphasized, “We will have a 45-minute to hour session tomorrow (today), but we will go into the match against the United States with confidence.”

But whatever the former Barca player plans to do, Serbia cannot afford to fail again and again. triple As in the previous two games, it’s a logical question of improving the offensive numbers, but the lack of success. Transitions Team USA is almost infallible, and in a fast-paced game where mistakes pile up, only the U.S. can win.

Serbia shot just 9-of-37 (24%) from the perimeter in the group stage and needed to improve its 3-point shooting, including from Jokic, who went 1-of-6 in that game. If the center is going to be an outside threat, Team USA will need to raise the line when developing from the header, making it easier to find cuts in the paint.

But the Joker also needs to convert the opportunities he creates in the post for his teammates. The majority of the three-pointers Serbia created were taken and aimed, so all that was left was to execute. Bogdan Bogdanovic He entered the game shooting 48% from long range, a prolific six attempts.

Alexa Abramovich and Vasilije Micic Despite coming in with 11 and 10 points, they will need to give away another after failing to create an advantage with some possessions.

And, of course, there’s also the part about luck, lest anyone on Team USA whose memory is still fresh start firing relentlessly. Kevin Durant In these supernatural conditions, Serbia shot 8-for-9 from the field and scored 23 points in 16 minutes, mostly on a dotted line pitch.

The most important adjustment for the U.S. side is expected to be a reduction in playing time. Joel Embiid A shot from Sombor hit the post and was outplayed by Jokic, slowly negating the Serbian’s dynamic ball movement, and the 2023 MVP only played 11 minutes in the first phase of the match, despite starting 19 minutes with his wife. Adebayo-Davis.

LeBron James He made that clear to his colleagues too.

“Every game is a test in itself. It doesn’t matter what happened in the first two innings, it’s about what happened on Thursday night,” he said. king.

Serbia’s inherently fierce competitiveness is another argument for believing the Balkan team can at least give Team USA a tough time. That intensity is embodied by Svetislav Pesic, who found his players’ strength in the game against Australia after a monumental fight during a timeout.

However, what the US fears most is not what he will say, but what the former Barcelona player is thinking. This is not the first time that the old wise man of European basketball has “deceived” them to the point of suffering. Aito Garcia Reneses They did it already in 2008, when Spain was heavily defeated in the first phase match (82-119), but pushed Team USA to the limit in the final (118-107). If not, just ask LeBron. Svetislav Pesic, a cunning fox on the prowl.