NEWSLETTER
THE CHAMP IS HERE! THE CHAMP IS HERE!
Team USA Training Camp is set to tip-off at the Mendenhall Center in Las Vegas today. Chicago Bulls All-Star Zach LaVine could be seen arriving on Monday on USA Basketball’s official Instagram account (clip shared in the third slide).
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Fellow teammates Damian Lillard, Jayson Tatum, Bradley Beal, Bam Adebayo, Kevin Durant, Jerami Grant, and Draymond Green were also shown arriving in the post above. Not featured, but assumingly present, is Kevin Love. Other remaining roster members Khris Middleton, Jrue Holiday, and Devin Booker are obviously absent due to the NBA Finals, which will start Tuesday night in Phoenix on ABC.
After LaVine and Co. get a couple of practices under their belt this week, the team will start a series of five exhibitions games on Saturday. All contests will take place in Las Vegas.
Here is a look at the upcoming Team USA schedule:
July 10th: vs. Nigeria (Exhibition)
July 12th: vs. Australia (Exhibition)
July 13th: vs. Argentina (Exhibition)
July 16th: vs. Australia (Exhibition)
July 18th: vs. Spain (Exhibition)
July 24th: Start of Olympic Games in Tokyo
July 25th: vs. France
July 28th: vs. Iran
July 31st: vs. Czech Republic
August 3rd: Quarterfinals begins
All exhibition matchups should play a strong role in Chemistry building, but those against Australia and Spain could prove to be particularly important. Team Spain falls right behind Team USA in the FIBA Rankings as the Olympics’ 2nd-best team. Meanwhile, Team Australia is led by familiar faces such as Joe Ingles, Patty Mills, and Matisse Thybulle and is ranked 3rd-overall.
Considering the immense amount of talent on the Team USA roster, it will also be interesting to see what kind of rotation head coach Gregg Popovich forms over the next couple of weeks. The absence of Middleton, Holiday, and Booker has opened the door for LaVine to play even more minutes than initially expected, and I can’t wait to see what those minutes look like next to these fellow superstar players. We’ll keep you posted on all things LaVine!
