Team USA men’s basketball faces South Sudan on Wednesday at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, entering as a gargantuan 29.5-point favorite just 10 days after eking out a one-point win over this very same side in an exhibition match just 10 days ago.
In that highly competitive contest, South Sudan stunningly led by as many as 16 points before LeBron James led a comeback, including a game-winning layup. Joel Embiid and Anthony Davis combined for 29 points and 18 rebounds in the victory.
For an inexperienced South Sudan team, 29-year-old guard Marial Shayok led the way with 24 points including six three-pointers made. Carlik Jones had a triple-double with 15 points, 11 assists, and 11 rebounds. Current Charlotte Hornets player JT Thor had 14 points in the tight defeat.
Now the rematch. While the US is searching for its fifth consecutive gold medal, South Sudan is making their debut in men’s basketball at the Olympics. So far, the Americans have been dominant while South Sudan got a nice first-ever win.
Team USA routed Serbia and three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic on Sunday, winning 110-84. James had 21 points, nine assists, and seven rebounds. Kevin Durant, the all-time scoring leader for the US men’s basketball team at the Olympics, contributed 23 points and was 5-for-5 from three-point range.
Crucially, Durant did not suit up in the exhibition matchup between these two teams. There is no doubt that the three-time gold medal winner being on the floor should make a major difference.
Interestingly, 2024 NBA champion Jayson Tatum did not play at all in the US win against Serbia.
Head coach Steve Kerr said “he felt like an idiot” for not playing Tatum at all. Kerr added that “Jayson will play,” so it seems extremely likely that the Celtics superstar will see minutes against South Sudan.
Kerr, a four-time NBA champion head coach, has the challenge of allocating minutes with a star-studded roster. Expect Celtics star Jrue Holiday to continue to garner minutes for his strong defense, especially as the team faces Shayok again. He played the third most minutes against Serbia with 24, only behind LeBron James and Devin Booker.
South Sudan, who only gained independence in 2011, obtained their first-ever win in men’s basketball at the Olympics on Sunday. They defeated Puerto Rico 90-79, led by 19 points, seven rebounds, and six assists by Carlik Jones. Shayok contributed 15 points to go along with three rebounds in the milestone win.
Thor had just six points on 2/9 shooting in the victory. As one of the few NBA players on the South Sudan roster, they will need the forward to do much more to have a chance against team U.S.A.
Jones and Shayok will need to shine like they did in the last meeting between these two teams for South Sudan to pull off the huge upset. It will likely be much more challenging this time around for the duo as Team USA focuses on them. Last time was also an exhibition game, this time there are crucial points at play as both teams vie for an Olympic medal.
It remains to be seen whether this matchup will be even remotely close, as the first one was. Team USA opens up as 29.5-point favorites, less than the exhibition game where they were favored by over 40 points.
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