Olympic group stage, US men's basketball team defeated Puerto Rico 104-83.
This game is quite interesting. The U.S. men’s basketball team fell behind 25-29 in the first quarter, and fell behind by 8 points at most. However, in the second quarter, the U.S. men’s basketball team blasted the Puerto Rican men’s basketball team 9-16 in a single quarter and scored the game directly. It’s garbage time.
Facts have proved that in the face of absolute talent, it is really difficult to have suspense about the outcome. The US men's basketball team advanced to the quarterfinals with a record of 3 wins and 0 losses and a net winning score of 64 points. , their first knockout opponent will be It's Brazil.
Back to the game, this time it was Edwards' turn to become the big killer of the US men's basketball team. He only came on as a substitute for less than 16 minutes and made 11 of 14 shots and 3 of 6 three-pointers. scored a team-high 26 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals . If it weren't for 1 of 4 free throws, Edwards' score could be even higher. When
was on the rise, Edwards also performed a windmill dunk, which even the Puerto Rico coach was shocked when he saw it.
In the post-game interview, Edwards's speech was also very pleasing and highly emotional. He said: " James , Durant , Curry , they are the three best people, they let me play my best, this It also shows their character. They can do anything to win. "
The second highest score in the game for the American men's basketball team came from Embiid , who is also our protagonist today.
Embiid played a total of 24 minutes in the game, tied for the highest on the team with Tatum. He made 6 of 14 shots, 1 of 5 three-pointers, and 2 of 2 free throws. He scored 5 points, 3 rebounds, and 1 assist.
Objectively speaking, it's not that bad. Embiid's personal offensive skills are indeed excellent. He can finish from the three-point line to the mid-range to the basket, and he can create mismatches for anyone he hits.
However, Embiid's offensive efficiency was not very good. He took the same shot as Edwards, scoring 11 points less, and also made 3 turnovers.
On the defensive end, Embiid, as an inside man, should have been the backbone of the American men's basketball team, but he easily missed people when the defense was switched. And he only grabbed 3 rebounds in the game . He had to do all the dirty work anyway. Thum did it.
Because he chose to play for the US men's basketball team, Embiid was booed in Paris. From the moment he entered the stadium, the audience kept booing Embiid. In this game, Embiid scored a goal. He also made an action of listening to the boos, which can be regarded as a response;
What was embarrassing was the scene before the end of the game. At that time, Embiid took the ball to provoke the fans on site, and made the audience boo louder, and listened to the boos again. When the Puerto Rican men's basketball team saw this, they almost stepped forward to steal it. Embiid took a shot in a hurry and made a three-pointer. The dramatic effect can be said to be full.
I have one thing to say: Embiid's performance in this year's Olympics really did not meet expectations.
In the five previous warm-up games, Embiid averaged only 17.7 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 3.3 assists per game, with 13.0 turnovers, 139.1% shooting percentage, and multiple empty baskets. Enter the famous scene.
Then in his debut in the group stage, Embiid had a low light. He started for 11 minutes and 27 seconds. He made 2 of 5 shots, 0 of 1 three-pointers, and 0 of 3 free throws. He only scored 14 points and 2 rebounds. There were errors .
In this game, the U.S. men's basketball team defeated Serbia by 26 points. 9 of the 10 players on the team had positive plus-minus values. Only Embiid was -8, which is quite embarrassing.
Maybe it was because his performance in the first game was too poor. In the second game against South Sudan, Embiid was directly dnp. The explanation given by Cole was: "South Sudan is the fastest team we have played against in this Olympics. We Trying to match their speed, they hit 14 3-pointers against us in London, the whole game today was about switching and staying in front of the opponent "
The implication is, when you need to defend. In the game, thick eyebrows will be a better choice than Embiid.
After reading the above, you can probably understand why Embiid's performance in this game against Puerto Rico was not bad as we mentioned earlier. After all, this was the first time he scored in double figures in an official Olympic game.
However, from the warm-up match to the present, Embiid's performance is really not outstanding. He has not played at the level of the NBA's peak mvp and two-time scoring champion .
In fact, Embiid's positioning itself has a small problem. This American men's basketball team is overflowing with offensive talent and needs more defense. Embiid can score, but his efficiency is not high. It is better to give the ball to others. Concentrate on doing the dirty work, and maybe the evaluation will be better.
It is worth mentioning that some of Embiid's remarks off the court are still low in emotional intelligence. Talking about the boos from French fans in this game, he said: " I have seen worse boos, and I have been in a worse environment. I have played in China. This is not something I have never seen before. In Philadelphia, fans boo their own people more than their opponents. Sometimes it feels like they boo us more when they should boo their opponents.”
Philadelphia fans, I don’t know how you will react when you hear Embiid say this. I can only say that it is really not the first time...
Combined with the performance of the NBA and looking at the performance of this year’s Olympic Games, I can only say , if you want to select an active player who needs to prove himself the most, Embiid is definitely in the top three, if not the first.
Embiid is definitely capable, and joining the US Men’s Basketball Team is also the best and most reasonable choice for himself. I hope that in the next knockout games, the emperor can have less comedy drama, at least one game can make people feel , fortunately the US men's basketball team has him.