5 Things To Watch For During Team USA VS. France
Jacob Sutton, JSutt Hoops
What to watch for in gold medal game
Shaun Powell, NBA.com
For U.S. basketball, there’s one acceptable Olympic ending — and the job’s not done
Sam Amick, The Athletic
Can U.S. men’s basketball win gold against France? Here are five things to watch
Ben Golliver, Washington Post
Team USA vs. France will be pressure cooker for men’s basketball gold medal
Jeff Zillgitt, USA Today
USA Basketball starting lineup change: Kevin Durant in for Jrue Holiday in Olympic gold medal game vs. France
Kyle Irving, Sporting news
Jokić leads Serbia to Olympic bronze over Germany
Sam Amick, The Athletic
Team USA’s Thrilling Win Over Serbia Is a Preview of a New International Landscape
Seerat Sohi, The Ringer
Steph Curry saves USA Men’s Olympics vs Serbia (with LeBron, KD, Booker and Embiid)
Eric Apricot, Dub Nation HQ
Are rookies getting better on defense?
Jared Dubin, Last Night In Basketball
Ranking the 14 most impactful league-altering offseason moves
Michael Saenz, Sir Charles In Charge
Each NBA Roster’s Best Kept Secret for 2024-25 Season
Grant Hughes, Bleacher Report
Keon Ellis emerged from obscurity last season to start 21 games for the Sacramento Kings, bringing a level of energetic hustle and defensive intensity they weren’t getting from anybody else at the guard position not named Davion Mitchell. Heading into a 2024-25 season in which Sacramento will be even more over-indexed on score-first players, Ellis is only going to become more important. Ellis’ true value will be as a defensive force capable of hiding his teammates’ weaknesses.
De’Aaron Fox has the quickness and length to be a quality defender, but he’s always struggled to navigate screens and doesn’t consistently summon the requisite effort to be a difference-maker. DeMar DeRozan has been a sub-par defender for his entire career, Malik Monk’s focus is always on the offensive end and Domantas Sabonis just doesn’t have the lift or foot speed to survive as a rim-protector or in space against guards.
Ellis is a wiry 6’6″ shooting guard, which means he can’t cover for all of those deficiencies by himself. But the Kings will need him on the floor as often as possible to make sure DeRozan and all the rest aren’t getting cooked quite so badly on D.
Kyle Guy on retiring from pro basketball
Scott Agness, Fieldhouse Files
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