The U.S. Olympic men’s basketball team has been as-advertised so far at the Paris Olympics, cracking 100 points in each of its first two wins over Serbia and South Sudan. Now comes the final game of group play vs. Puerto Rico, with a chance to clinch the top overall spot in the bracket.
Here's everything to know as Team USA gets set to take the court again on Saturday, Aug. 3.
To finish up Group C, Team USA is set to take on Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico has dropped its first two games against South Sudan and Serbia, but it does boast an NBA guard in Jose Alvarado who's shown the ability to explode on the international stage.
Tipoff of Puerto Rico vs. USA is set for Saturday, Aug. 3, at 11:15 a.m. ET.
Live and tape-delayed coverage of the U.S. men's basketball team will be shown on NBC.
The full TV listings for basketball can be found on the NBCOlympics.com schedule page by clicking the toggle at the top to “TV Only.”
The complete basketball schedule, including TV listings, is also available on the NBC Olympics schedule page.
All live streams are also available to watch on mobile, tablet and connected TV devices via the Peacock, NBC and NBC Olympics apps.
This remains the million-dollar question. Team USA's star-studded roster gives Kerr a ton of options to play with, and he's been content to mix and match so far in Paris. In the opener against Nikola Jokic and Serbia, Kerr opted for size, starting Joel Embiid at center and sitting Jayson Tatum entirely. Against South Sudan's smaller, faster lineup, however, Kerr flipped the script, sitting Embiid throughout and starting Tatum alongside Steph Curry, LeBron James, Devin Booker and Anthony Davis.
Curry, James and Booker have been the only constants all summer, and figure to be starting once again on Saturday. How Kerr chooses to sort through his depth at center and on the wing, however, is anyone's guess.
The men's team has been led by Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr since 2022.
The U.S. and Puerto Rico have met six times in Olympic competition. Team USA took each of the first five matchups, including the Dream Team in 1992. But the teams' most recent matchup, in Athens in 2004, was one of the more memorable upsets in Olympic history, as guard Carlos Arroyo led Puerto Rico to a shocking 18-point win over the U.S. in group play.
Let's quickly break down the group phase and knockout rounds. More info available in Basketball 101: Competition Format.
Group Phase
Each team will play the other three teams in its group and will earn two points for a win, one point for a loss, and zero points for a loss by forfeit.
At the end of the group phase, the top two teams in each group will automatically advance to the quarterfinals. Additionally, the two best third-place teams will also move on to the quarterfinals. All other teams are eliminated from the competition.
In the event of a tie in the standings between two teams in the same group, head-to-head results will be used as the tiebreaker. In the event of a tie between three or more teams, there is a list of further criteria that will be used to break the tie, starting with the highest point differential in games between the tied teams.
Knockout Rounds
The knockout rounds begin with eight teams in the quarterfinals. A random draw will determine the matchups for the quarterfinals, with two important caveats:
From there, the tournament follows a standard single-elimination format. In the quarterfinal round, the winners advance to the semifinals and the losers are eliminated. In the semifinal round, the winners advance to the gold medal game and the losers go on to play in the bronze medal game.
Note: Some components of NBCOlympics.com may not be optimized for users browsing with Internet Explorer 11, 10 or older browsers or systems.
© 2024 NBC Universal. All rights reserved.Any use, reproduction, modification, distribution, display or performance of this material without NBC Universal’s prior written consent is prohibited.Use of the Website signifies your agreement to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
©IOC 2024 Official Results powered by Atos. Timing and results management by Omega. Picture by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images
Coach Steve Kerr emphasizes the importance of getting top seed, shows his team all the scenarios and point differential numbers to prove his point.
Team USA's final Group C game against Puerto Rico in men's basketball carries great significance despite the Americans clinching the group and a berth in the Tuesday, 6 August quarterfinals at Paris 2024.
Coach Steve Kerr met with his team Friday and stressed the importance of earning the top seed in the tournament, which would mean facing the weakest of the third-place teams when play resumes off at Bercy Arena.
“We talked to them this morning,” Kerr said Friday, 2 August. “We showed the standings. We showed them the point differential. We want that. It gives you the best matchup in the quarterfinals. If we drop down to two or three, which I think is unlikely but we’ve got to take care of our business. We possibly have a much tougher opponent.”
Team USA may have to play Saturday 3 August without key defensive ace Jrue Holiday, who Kerr listed as questionable with a sprained ankle. Holiday, coming off winning an NBA championship with the Boston Celtics, has been an indispensable piece for Kerr during the exhibition games and two Group C matchups. The coach said his rotations are yet to be determined if Holiday is unable to go.
Jrue Holiday of Team USA goes for a layup during their Group C game against Serbia on day two of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 at Stade Pierre Mauroy on 28 July 2024 in Lille, France.
The coherent theme for Team USA has been defensive prowess during the tournament. The club has put together back-to-back 100-plus point games, so scoring is no issue. But Kerr wants to see consistent defense, preventing interior baskets and fast-break points.
“Defense, defense, defense — that’s it,” he said. “We know the history of USA Basketball. We win when we defend well. Our guys are really defending at a high level.”
Kerr admitted he likes the defensive lineups that include Holiday, Celtics teammate Derrick White and Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker, who has blended well from being a prolific NBA scorer to utility man for Team USA.
“Being together for a month, you could see the impact,” Kerr said. “Derrick White, Jrue Holiday are making, Book, the on-ball pressure because our identity is defense starts with ball pressure. Those guys are doing a great job, as is Anthony Edwards. With Derrick, with Jrue, they are accustomed to being complementary players to other stars.
“For us, it’s very obvious watching games that having guys in their usual roles is very helpful. It doesn’t make a whole lot of sense for us to put our five leading scorers on the floor from an NBA season because those guys don’t complement each other well.”
Devin Booker of the United States reacts to a three-point basket during their Group C game against Serbia on day two of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 at Stade Pierre Mauroy on 28 July 2024 in Lille, France.
Booker averaged 27 points this past season for the Suns but is averaging just six shots per game in the tournament. That has not diminished his impact. Booker is averaging 5.5 rebounds and 1.5 steals in 24 minutes. He’s a combined plus-17 in the two games.
“Devin Booker is probably a guy that’s been the most adaptable to go from a different role in the NBA to a new one here,” Kerr said. “He’s such a big scorer in the league. But just like in Tokyo [2020], he’s adapted to being an on-ball guy, ball mover and the offense clicks when he’s out there and the defense is really good. That’s why he’s started every game and seems to be good with every combination.”
Gary Washburn is an Olympic Channel correspondent and national NBA writer for the Boston Globe.
Related content If not listed, please contact your TV provider.
Two down, one to go for Team USA in the group stage of the 2024 Paris Olympics. The star-laden American roster has picked up double-digit victories over South Sudan and Serbia thus far, and now, with only one Group C game left, the knockout stage is nearly at hand. Before we get to the single-elimination portion of the tournament, though, Team USA has one last bit of business: a game against Puerto Rico on Saturday, with the tipoff at 11:15 a.m. ET.
To call Puerto Rico an underdog would be a massive understatement. Team USA is favored by 33.5 points as of this writing. Puerto Rico is ranked No. 16 in the world by FIBA, a fitting thematic number given the extreme rarity of No. 16 seeds defeating No. 1 seeds in March Madness. It would take a historic effort for Puerto Rico to challenge Team USA. Here are five things to know before Saturday's game.
Team USA has sent NBA players to the Olympics nine times. It has won gold in seven of those tournaments, and it is hoping to do so for an eighth time in 2024. The one tournament in which Team USA failed to win gold came in 2004. The ominous beginning to that disappointing run? A 92-73 loss to Puerto Rico.
The teams involved here are obviously quite different. Carlos Arroyo led that game in scoring with 24 points, and the only holdover from either roster is LeBron James, who was a teenager at the time and is now pushing 40. These two teams haven't met in the Olympics since then, even though they squared off in a tune-up for the 2023 FIBA World Cup last August. So in a way, this is a long overdue revenge opportunity for James and Team USA, but that history is just proof that Team USA can't take Puerto Rico lightly. Fortunately, they don't plan to.
Team USA doesn't just want to win on Saturday. It wants to dominate. “We want the No. 1 seed,” USA coach Steve Kerr said at practice Friday. “It gives you the best matchup in the quarterfinals. So if we drop down to two or three -- which I think is unlikely, but we've got to take care of our business -- we possibly have a much tougher opponent.”
A win would take Team USA to 3-0 in the group stage, but there will be other undefeated teams from the group pool. The first tiebreaker for seeding in the knockout stage is the head-to-head record, but the second is point differential. Team USA's +43 margin right now gives it the best point differential in the field, but if that changes before Saturday's game, expect Team USA to play for the blowout just to be safe.
Puerto Rico isn't exactly deep with NBA talent, but its best professional player is Jose Alvarado. He led them through the qualifying tournament to get here, but his Olympic debut nearly ended very badly in the opener against South Sudan when he needed to be helped off of the floor with an apparent ankle injury.
Eventually, he returned and did so at a high level. He scored 26 points and added five assists and two steals in that loss. He then struggled to shoot just 1-of-6 in 17 minutes during their follow-up, a 107-66 blowout at the hands of Serbia. It's not clear how much Puerto Rico can expect out of Alvarado at this point. If he's hobbled, any upset hopes Puerto Rico might've had might be gone.
On a roster full of superstars, perhaps the most important player on the team is the one who's comfortable doing the dirty work. Jrue Holiday was a key part of the 2020 gold medal-winning Team USA roster, and he's been essential so far in 2024 as well. However, according to Kerr, Holiday is questionable after rolling an ankle.
If Holiday does indeed miss the Puerto Rico game (or any subsequent matchups), Team USA's decision to bring in Derrick White to replace Kawhi Leonard would be even further vindicated. The two Boston Celtics guards bring similar defensive skill sets to the table, and White has played well in a bench role thus far. If anyone on this roster is equipped to replicate what Holiday does, it's White, but for now, the hope is that White will be able to play.
Thus far in the tournament, the story has been less about who Kerr has played and more about who he hasn't. Jayson Tatum was a DNP-CD in the opener against Serbia. Joel Embiid was against South Sudan. As dominant as those two players are in the NBA, this roster is so deep that someone was always going to have to sacrifice minutes, and Kerr has handled that on a game-by-game basis. Regardless, it has caused a bit of controversy, and Kerr tried to head that off by naming a starting five against Puerto Rico ahead of time: Holiday, James, Embiid, Stephen Curry and Devin Booker.
Now, if Holiday misses the game, that changes things. White has the skill set closest to Holiday's. Tatum started at forward against South Sudan. Kevin Durant is the best player on the team that hasn't started yet, and he is Team USA's greatest ever Olympian. In other words, Kerr will potentially have another tough choice on his hands even after trying to get out ahead of it by pre-naming a starting lineup. Hopefully, Holiday is healthy enough to give it a go and prevent any further lineup questions from arising.
© 2004-2024 CBS Interactive. All Rights Reserved.
CBS Sports is a registered trademark of CBS Broadcasting Inc. Commissioner.com is a registered trademark of CBS Interactive Inc.
The content on this site is for entertainment purposes only and CBS Sports makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the information given or the outcome of any game or event. There is no gambling offered on this site. This site contains commercial content and CBS Sports may be compensated for the links provided on this site.
Images by Getty Images and US Presswire The United States men's national basketball team wasted no time as it took care of business to start the 2024 Paris Olympics.
After pulling away for a 26-point win over Serbia in the group play opener, Team USA clinched a spot in the quarterfinals with a 17-point win over South Sudan.
With a quarterfinal spot clinched, Team USA is one step closer to its ultimate goal of winning a fifth consecutive gold medal. However, as the competition at the tournament has shown, the path to winning won't be easy.
Who stands in the way of Team USA's medal aspirations? Here is a look at the potential path for the Americans as they look to finish on top of the basketball world.
MORE: Complete list of NBA players at the Paris Olympics
Here is a look at the standings and point differential for the top three teams in group play. Team USA has helped itself with its win differential but needs to beat Puerto Rico by at least four points to take the top spot from Germany.
MORE: Explaining Olympic basketball's tiebreaker rules
Team USA will need to beat Puerto Rico by at least four points to earn the top seed among undefeated teams because of the point differential tiebreaker.
That will put Team USA and Germany on opposite sides of the bracket, saving a potential meeting for the gold medal game.
As the top finisher, Team USA would face one of two third-place qualifiers that advanced to the quarterfinals.
Per Olympic basketball rules, a team cannot draw another team from the same group in the quarterfinals, meaning Team USA could not have faced a third-place South Sudan or Serbia to open the knockout stage. The same goes for Germany, which could not face Brazil, as it was also in Group B.
With that in mind, Team USA's opponent to open the quarterfinals will be Brazil, which went 1-2 in Group B but had a point differential of -7.
The margin of victory in its first two group play games means that Team USA would likely still be the top finisher in the group, barring a massive decision in the game between Serbia and South Sudan.
Team USA has already clinched a spot in the quarterfinals so a loss would only drop Team USA out of a top-two spot, clearing the way for undefeated Canada to have a top-two spot.
MORE: Ranking Team USA's biggest threats at the Paris Olympics
Gilbert McGregor is an NBA content producer for The Sporting News.
