Germany’s basketball players are clear outsiders in the World Cup semifinals against the USA – even if the US team lacks the top stars from the NBA. The “young wild ones” should fix it, the star is the trainer.
Steve Kerr knew. “Germany are one of the best teams in the world. They are definitely a medal contender”the successful coach of the US basketball team said before the World Cup.
He and his team had just won a preparatory game against the Germans by a narrow margin of 99:91. “That was definitely our toughest opponent”said Kerr. In the meantime, his team was 16 points behind.
Germany clear outsider
Even if the respect for the World Cup semifinals on Friday (from 2.35 p.m. in the audio stream and in the live ticker on sportschau.de) in Manila is great, the German team of national coach Gordon Herbert is a clear outsider against the Olympic champions. A German victory against the five-time world champion would be a sensation. The fact is: There is hardly a more difficult task in basketball than playing against the USA.
The fact that the USA, in contrast to the German team, already suffered a defeat doesn’t change that. The team surprisingly lost their last intermediate round match against Lithuania with 104:110 and only finished second in Group J in Manila.
Kerr: “The horse picks up the pace”
But the reaction was prompt and the US team won their quarterfinals against Italy in an impressive manner with 100:63. “It was a five week journey for this group, now it’s five days. We are the horse riding back toward the stable. The horse picks up the pace when it senses it’s approaching the stable. Exactly that happening right now”said Kerr. After a disappointing seventh place at the 2019 World Cup in China, the USA are looking for redemption. At the same time, they could crown themselves as the sole record champions. Yugoslavia, which no longer exists, currently has five titles.
The 57-year-old ex-pro Kerr, who plays in the North American professional league NBA the Golden State Warriors trained, is the star of the team. Before the tournament, he had to accept numerous cancellations from the superstars from the best basketball league in the world. Among others, LeBron James, Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant are absent from the tournament in Japan, Indonesia and the Philippines. Traditionally, the Olympic Games are more important to the players than a World Cup. Nonetheless, Kerr has managed to put together a strong team of young and talented players for Asia.
Brunson: “We all just want to win”
“We have a lot of guys who come from different backgrounds and play different styles of basketball, but this is where the egos are left at the door.”said New York Knicks captain and playmaker Jalen Brunson: “We all just want to win.”
Kerr has also managed to adapt his team to the changed conditions. The rules of the world association are stricter than those in the NBA. “We have a lot of respect for FIBA basketball. One of the things is we have to educate our players that FIBA is a different game than the NBA. We have to respect that.”said the coach.
Edwards is the upcoming top star
Kerr’s top man on the court is den winger Anthony Edwards Minnesota Timberwolves. “He’s definitely the man with us. You can see that he knows that. Now the whole team knows it and I think the fans saw it too.”, said Kerr in Abu Dhabi after the friendly win against Germany. Edwards was the standout player with 34 points and a strong defensive performance. Nothing less is expected from the 22-year-old professional in the semi-finals. “He’s such a dynamic young player. And he’s still improving.”said Kerr.
Weaknesses under the basket
However, the US team has weaknesses under the basket. There’s Jaren Jackson Jr. from the Memphis Grizzlies not an outstanding one center. The Germans have far more quality under the board. In addition, the young US team still has to prove its nerves of steel in tight games and tricky phases.
Even if it is not enough for the German team to win against the favorites, Dennis Schröder and Co can hope that the NBA icon Kerr will be right with his forecast. The bronze medal would also be a huge success for the Germans.