LAS VEGAS - As far as pre-Olympic tuneups go, it doesn't get more star-studded than this. A couple weeks before the Paris Games tip off, Team USA - the four-time defending gold-medal champions - played an exhibition contest against the best men's basketball team Canada has ever fielded. The U.S. won the game, 86-72. Here are five takeaways from what most believe will be a championship game preview.
Jrue fits, Embiid doesn't (yet)
No one was surprised to see Joel Embiid starting at center for the U.S., but the decision to start Jrue Holiday alongside Steph Curry and Devin Booker in the backcourt was far from obvious. Yet Holiday shined in his role against Canada, while Embiid's fit looked clunky.
Ever since Embiid - who was born in Cameroon but holds dual French and American citizenship - decided to represent the U.S., the thought of adding the 2023 MVP to an already Monstars-like lineup felt almost unfair. However, Wednesday night in Las Vegas was a reminder that things aren't always as easy on the court as on paper.
Among a lineup wanting to get out and run and on a team with too many options to force-feed him in the post, Embiid looked lost trying to find his role within the offense. In less than 13 minutes of action, Embiid scored five points on 2-of-5 shooting, recorded as many turnovers (four) as made field goals and assists combined, and somehow fouled out. He also picked up an unsportsmanlike foul for good measure.
In fairness to Embiid, it was his FIBA debut, and he admitted afterward that he's still getting used to the rules and physicality of the international game (no foul-baiting here!). He'll surely be better at the Olympics than in Vegas, but would anyone be surprised if Anthony Davis supplants him as a starter before the end of the tournament?
As for Holiday, his ability to guard the opposing team's best perimeter players, the fact he can play on the ball but doesn't need the ball, and his shooting make him the perfect fit on this modern Dream Team (and any team, for that matter).
"He does everything, and he makes no mistakes," Booker said of Holiday after Team USA's victory.
One of Wednesday's five starters will move to the bench if and when Kevin Durant returns from a calf injury. My money's on Booker, with Holiday continuing to balance the best starting five on the planet.
Canada's size problem
Even with Embiid struggling, the Americans still exposed Canada's glaring weakness in the middle. The U.S. outscored Canada 50-32 in the paint, held the visiting team below 50% shooting in the paint, and dominated the glass until Canada's garbage-time lineup (featuring players who didn't make the Olympic team) crashed the offensive boards.
Kelly Olynyk, Dwight Powell, Trey Lyles, and Khem Birch bring plenty of FIBA experience and important skills the team can use in doses, and Canada can probably get away with playing small in some matchups. But this team is playing for a medal, and that rotation of bigs won't be enough against the U.S., Serbia, and France. This is where two-time NCAA Player of the Year Zach Edey will be missed.
Head coach Jordi Fernandez will need to get creative, and Canada will have to rely on its tremendous depth of guards and wings to fill the gaps (with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and RJ Barrett providing most of the rim pressure). They'll also need more from the bench, especially from Nickeil Alexander-Walker, whose left-handed 3-point attempt at one point summed up how out of sync he was.
The talent gap, and a rest advantage
Canada came into this game as the healthier team and boasted more roster continuity. The exhibition contest also meant more to the Canadians, as evidenced by the number of times Lu Dort and Andrew Nembhard hit the deck in pursuit of loose balls. So, it wasn't exactly shocking Canada looked like the more fluid, cohesive squad early, building an 11-1 lead before the U.S. knew what hit it.
Then Team USA trotted out an all-bench lineup of Jayson Tatum, Anthony Edwards, Anthony Davis, Tyrese Haliburton, and Bam Adebayo - 21 All-Star appearances between them. In addition to turning the game in its favor, that second unit provided a stark reminder of how big the talent gap remains between the U.S. and everyone else when the Americans bring their A-team.
Oh, and the U.S. will soon add Durant and Derrick White to the mix. "We feel like this will be the worst we look," Haliburton told reporters postgame. That's a scary thought for the rest of the world.
Then again, while Canada would have little hope of winning a series against the Americans, it only needs to beat them once in a tournament setting. And no team in Paris will be better equipped to do so. Plus, the Canadians are heading straight to France from Vegas. The U.S. will first navigate stops (and four more exhibition games) in Abu Dhabi and London before going to the Olympics. It's a grueling schedule that could catch up to the gold-medal favorites.
Playing their parts
Anthony Edwards and Dillon Brooks couldn't have been received more differently in Vegas, and it was perfect.
Edwards, the media darling who's established himself as one of the NBA's faces of the future, got raucous ovations every time his name was announced in T-Mobile Arena. Only LeBron James and Steph Curry elicited more fervent responses.
Meanwhile, Brooks embraced his role as a universal basketball villain, welcoming a chorus of deafening boos I wouldn't have believed possible from an exhibition crowd in a non-NBA market. (Canadians would surely prefer Brooks plays within his role as a 3-and-D star rather than leading the team in 2-point attempts, though.)
Just days after proclaiming himself as Team USA's No. 1 option, Edwards was the game's leading scorer (13 points). His 10 field-goal attempts also matched Davis and Gilgeous-Alexander for the game high. When one media member jokingly asked whether Edwards looked like a No. 1 option against Canada, the Timberwolves star replied, deadpan, "What do you think?"
In a fitting end to the night, Brooks and Edwards addressed the mixed-zone media at the same time, just a few feet apart. When Brooks finished his scrum, he exited by walking directly through Edwards' scrum, briefly interrupting it, much to the chagrin of some grumbling American media members.
An innocent mistake in an unfamiliar arena? Possibly. But as is usually the case, Brooks likely knew what he was doing. Canada's hoping he'll continue getting on everyone's nerves over the next month.
Leonard out, White in, and awkwardness all around
Everything about the decision to replace Kawhi Leonard with White brought uncomfortable questions for USA Basketball. Managing director Grant Hill tried to answer some of them in a pregame press conference.
Hill said the decision was made Tuesday night in conjunction with Leonard and the Clippers but that it was ultimately USA Basketball's call. "We just felt that we had to pivot. Not to get into the particulars in terms of what went into the decision, but we felt it was in our best interest, the Clippers' best interest, and also in Kawhi's best interest to move in a different direction."
Leonard's camp reportedly expressed concerns Monday (the third day of training camp), but Leonard addressed the media Tuesday and said he thought he'd be suiting up for Wednesday's game.
However, Hill deflected when asked if there was any doubt about Leonard's status at the time the roster was announced. The team architect noted that while the hope was to have all 12 players arrive at camp in shape, management discussed contingency plans for a number of players and potential worst-case scenarios.
This begs the question, why name your 12-man roster before training camp? Why not bring 13 or 14 prospective Olympians to Vegas and whittle the roster down after camp and/or injuries? Especially when one of those 12 players has missed an average of 37 games per season over the last seven years due to knee and leg injuries and was just sidelined by knee inflammation two months ago. Canada named its 12-man roster on Wednesday. The Americans named theirs on April 17.
Finally, with conspiracy theories swirling that Jaylen Brown's past criticism of Nike was why the All-NBA forward and Finals MVP was snubbed, Hill said such speculations are nothing more than theories. He also mentioned that among the many things he likes about White's game, the fact that White will play a similar role for Team USA as he does for the Celtics - as a complementary piece playing off multiple stars - makes him a good fit.
Joseph Casciaro is theScore's senior content producer.
