I know people will say “but the USA doesn’t have their top guys—“ fam, let me stop you right there, lol. There’s enough talent on Team USA to go undefeated, and it’s not close.

Chemistry is certainly an issue, as a lot of these international teams have played together for years so they know how to play together better… but coaching is the bigger issue. Space the floor better. Create driving lanes. Pressure harder on defense, force the opponent’s issue. If our halfcourt is struggling, create transition opportunities. And get the fuck on these guys if they don’t defend.

Not to be “The Duke Guy” here, but K may just be notably better at managing egos and assigning roles on a team like this than Pop is.

Also all of this may be an overreaction, as clearly the final few minutes involved some anomalously bad shooting on open attempts by USA. Like, make 1 or 2 open shots, and USA wins, and this conversation takes a very different tone. But still, the talent is there to make it so the game shouldn’t have even had an opportunity to go that way.