Japan, the world’s number one team, lost to France 76-83 in the first match of Group A at the Tokyo Olympics on the evening of July 25.
Damian Lillard (No. 6) played poorly with a shooting success rate of less than 30%. Photo: The U.S. stars woke up in the first half of the fourth quarter, taking a seven-point lead after seven minutes of the quarter. But in the final three minutes, they only scored two points. The two pillars, Kevin Durant and Damian Lillard, repeatedly missed shots from comfortable positions. On the defensive front, Durant committed five fouls and could not contribute to the U.S. in the final minutes.
France scored 16 points in just over three minutes to create the most surprising victory of the first round. Although ranked seventh in the International Basketball Federation rankings, France is far behind the US in terms of star quality. Besides Fournier, the European representative only has Rudy Gobert to support the squad. The best defensive player in the US professional league last season shined in the area under the basket, thanks to the Olympics not having the three-second rule like the NBA. The 2m16 center scored 14 points and had nine rebounds in this match.
The fact that reserve Jrue Holiday scored 18 points – the most on the team – showed the US’s starting stars were in a terrible slump. Durant scored only 10 points, Lillard had 11 points and center Bam Adebayo scored 12 points.
Losing the first game is not a disaster for the US. They still have two more games in the group stage, against much weaker opponents in Iran and the Czech Republic. Even if they finish third in the group, the US can still advance if they are one of the two best third-place teams. However, the pressure is on Durant and his teammates. The consecutive losses in the past two weeks also show that there are problems with the tactics of veteran coach Popovich. The US has won three consecutive Olympic gold medals, but they have won all three of them.
