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Brian Windhorst, ESPN Senior Writer
Kevin Durant didn’t fully understand he was playing three Olympic games 130 miles from Paris until he reported to Team USA training camp last month in Las Vegas.
“I never thought I would come to a city like this,” Durant said. “But Lille was incredible to us, I love being here.”
It wasn’t that USA Basketball kept the unusual format for these Olympics — pool play in Lille before moving on to Paris — a secret but it wasn’t exactly advertised on the “Come play for Team USA in the 2024 Olympics” brochure.
But, as Durant said, the quaint northern French town with a charming city center and a giant retractable dome on its outskirts wonderfully hosted the basketball world for the past eight days. There was good food, friendly hosts and an unexpectedly terrific venue with more than 27,000 fans at every USA game.
And the Americans rolled during their time in Lille, winning three games by an average of 24 points. Here are the biggest takeaways from Team USA’s 104-83 win over Puerto Rico — a victory that propelled them into the quarterfinals as Group C winners.
Embiid continues his dialogue with the French
This game was primed for Embiid — the Puerto Ricans were the smallest team in the field — and getting him going was clearly a key part of the game plan. His teammates were looking for him early and often and he got 14 shots, second on the team, while scoring 15 points.
He was booed and, in Embiid fashion, he encouraged it as he taunted the crowd right back. Embiid’s choice to play for Team USA over France is an old story line at this point, he’s spoken about it and explained himself repeatedly since last fall when he made his announcement.
The decision was, and will remain, controversial, especially if the U.S. matches up with France in a rematch of the 2021 gold medal game — a possibility based on the bracket. But Embiid talked about it again in the wake of the back-and-forth with the big crowd.
“Like I said, it was a tough decision, but it’s all about comfort level,” Embiid said. “I’ve known these guys (American teammates) for a long time and I just felt more comfortable than on the other side. It was some concern with the other side, so like I say, comfort level was huge. I always say I’m going to be where I’m wanted and these guys wanted me.”
There’s some coded language in there, as there was some wonder if Embiid would’ve fit on a French team that already had two star centers in Rookie of the Year Victor Wembanyama and four-time Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert. There’s been some passive-aggressive commentary about it for months and Embiid added to it.
One thing is clear, Embiid doesn’t regret his decision and he’s happy to give it right back to the French fans.
“I mean, I play in Philly. They boo their own guys,” Embiid said. “Sometimes it feels like our fans are more against us when they’re supposed to be against our opponent. But like I said, it’s all love, is all because they want to push you.”
A look at the U.S bracket
The Americans clinched the No. 1 seed in the Olympic tournament and are on the same side of the bracket as Serbia. The U.S. will play Brazil at 3:30 p.m. ET on Tuesday and the winner will face the Australia-Serbia winner on Thursday.
Team USA has played five of the other seven teams remaining in the field this summer but Brazil is not one of them. The Brazilians have just one current NBA player, Golden State Warriors’ forward Gui Santos, on the roster. But it’s a veteran team led by 41-year-old former NBA guard Marcelinho Huertas.
They made 18 3-pointers in their crucial win over Japan to qualify and former NBA player Bruno Caboclo scored 33 points in that win. They also lead the field with an average of 13 offensive rebounds per game, which is a sore point for the U.S. after allowing 16 more offensive rebounds than they’ve gotten as a team.
Serbia remains a threat, even though the U.S. has beaten them twice this summer by 20-plus points. When NBA MVP Nikola Jokic was on the floor against the Americans in pool play the teams were even and when he was on the bench Serbia was outscored by 26 points. In a possible semifinal, Jokic may barely leave the floor.
Talent-laden Canada and World Cup champ Germany, the two other undefeated teams in pool play, are on the other side of the bracket. The U.S. will only have to beat one of them to win gold. This is one of the reasons coach Steve Kerr wanted to lock down the No. 1 seed.
Holiday will return
Jrue Holiday didn’t play with a sprained ankle Saturday but he will be back on Tuesday, Kerr said.
“He would’ve played had this been a metal round game,” Kerr said. “But it made sense to give him the night, give him an extra couple of days to heal.”
LeBron on retirement
After being eliminated from the Olympic tennis singles by Novak Djokovic this week, legend Rafael Nadal expressed frustration about constantly being asked about his retirement plans. In the wake of a brilliant week of play in which he averaged 14.3 points, 6.7 rebounds and 7.3 assists on 64% shooting, LeBron James was asked if he could relate to being asked a lot about retiring.
“I don’t get asked that much to be honest,” James said. “Everyone expects me to play 10 more years for some odd reason.”