Photo Credit: Reuters
LeBron James is happy with team USA’s progress but feels like there is room to improve. The USA beat Serbia 105-79 in a friendly game that took place in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday, but James insists there is “so much room to improve” if the USA is to bring home the gold.
Team USA beat Australia in a close game where they came close to blowing a 20-point lead on Monday.
Stephen Curry, who scored just three points in the USA’s 98-92 win over the Boomers, caught fire on Wednesday, opening the scoring with a signature three on the very first play and finishing the game with a team-high 24 points, shooting six for nine from beyond the arc.
“We drew it (the opening play) up for that particular reason, to get him going,” said James of Curry.
“He sees one go through the hoop, you see what it opens up for the rest of his game, for the rest of the game for all of us. He set the tone and we just tried to continue to keep finding him.”
Bam Adebayo also had a successful evening, coming off the bench to tally up 17 points, eight rebounds and a pair of assists.
“Bam and AD together are really something,” US head coach Steve Kerr said. “Just the switching, but they can also protect the rim and be in a drop if we go to that coverage. “They’ll combine with the ball pressure that Book was putting on their point guard, I thought that really set a tone for us.”
Reigning NBA MVP Jokic had a double-double 16 points and 11 rebounds but it was not enough to halt the formidable Americans, whom they will face again in their Olympics opener in Lille, France on July 28.
“We’ve still got so much room to improve but we want to continue to get better and not waste the opportunities. I felt like tonight we got better,” said James, who is gunning for his third Olympic gold medal this summer.
