In the final tune-up before the 2024 Paris Olympics, Team USA vs. Germany will face off against the reigning FIBA World Cup champions, Germany, on Monday afternoon. Germany boasts several NBA players, including Franz Wagner and Dennis Schroder. Wagner, who had a standout season with the Orlando Magic following a strong performance at last summer’s World Cup, will look to lead his national team against the Americans.
While these two teams won’t meet in the group stage of the Olympics, there’s potential for a clash in the knockout rounds. This exhibition game will be an opportunity for both teams to size each other up ahead of a possible future encounter.
USA vs. Germany
- Time: 3 p.m. ET
- Date: Monday, July 22
- TV Channel: FOX
- Live Stream: fubo (try for free)
- Odds: USA -15.5, O/U: 190.5
Storylines
USA: Of all the games on Team USA’s exhibition schedule, no one could’ve predicted that South Sudan would give them the biggest fright before the Olympics started. Had it not been for a game-winner from LeBron James, we’d be taking a far closer look at that performance. But the U.S. staved off an upset, and now the attention turns to a Germany team that should put up a decent fight in this matchup. It will be interesting to see who the starting lineup ends up being for this game, as we’ve seen Steve Kerr toy around with the roster surrounding James, Stephen Curry, and Joel Embiid. It will be the last game to tinker with things before the results start to count, so maybe we see something different again from the Americans. Or maybe we finally see the debut of Kevin Durant, who returned to practice on Friday after missing the entirety of training camp with a calf strain.
Germany: There isn’t really a specific matchup for the Americans to worry about with Germany. They have the size to match up well against the Germans, so there’s no need for Joel Embiid to assert his dominance like he would against Nikola Jokic and Serbia. But this German team has been playing together for quite some time, and that familiarity and experience together is what helped them win the World Cup last summer. Perhaps it can do the same here against Team USA to catch them off guard as they focus on figuring out the best lineup to roll out there.
Prediction
Germany is good and could contend for a medal in Paris, but I don’t think they’re equipped to challenge Team USA in this meeting or if they meet in the knockout rounds. With the possible return of Durant, the odds sway even more in Team USA’s favor.
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