USA vs Brazil – Preview for Olympics Basketball Quarterfinals

06 Aug 2024 ScoreWaves Staff view

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The 2024 Paris Olympics are firmly underway, and Day 11 brings a lot of mouth-watering action with it. However, USA’s clash against Brazil in the quarterfinals of the Men’s Basketball tournament will surely grab most of the attention.

The US Men’s National basketball team are gunning for their fifth consecutive gold medal at the Olympics. However, Brazil stands in their way of achieving history. Fans are eagerly awaiting the quarterfinal battle between the two nations. This Brazil squad has shown immense character and resilience to reach the quarters. But the USA is the overwhelming favorite to advance into the semifinals. So, could Brazil pull off a miracle, or will Team USA ease past them?

USA vs Brazil – Match Preview

The US Men’s National basketball team has completely dominated the men’s basketball circuit since the beginning. No country has a better crop of talent. They are always considered favorites for the gold in whichever tournament they partake in, and the 2024 Paris Olympics are no different.

So far, Team USA has lived up to those high pre-Olympics' expectations. They overcame Serbia in their first match of the campaign by 110-84. On matchday two, USA sealed their second win of the group stage, defeating a talented South Sudan side by a scoreline of 103-86. The Americans wrapped up the group stages with a dominant 104-83 win over minnows, Puerto Rico. They finished the group stage with a points difference of +64, which is the highest amongst the 12 teams competing at this year’s Olympics.

On the contrary, Brazil Men’s National team has had a much harder road to the quarterfinals. They succumbed to a 78-66 defeat in their opening game of the campaign against host France. The Brazilians lost their second game when world champions defeated them by a scoreline of 86-73. This result meant that Brazil had slim chances of qualifying for the knockout phase.

However, a 102-84 victory against Japan clinched a quarterfinal spot due to results going their way in other groups. Brazil qualified as the best third-placed team, as they had a points difference of –7. Meanwhile, Greece and South Sudan, the other two third-placed teams, registered a points difference of –8 and –17 respectively. Having said that, many fans are of the opinion that the stacked Team USA will wipe the floor with Brazil in their quarterfinal tie.

Will Brazil’s one big strength create problems for Team USA?

Team USA have Brazil beat on most aspects of a basketball game. However, the Brazilian’s do possess a quality, which could give USA some problems. Brazil is one of the best rebounding teams at the tournament. In fact, they have grabbed 39 offensive rebounds in just three games. Therefore, Brazil can cause a massive upset by taking advantage of second chance points.

Team USA head coach Steve Kerr is privy of Brazil’s immense rebounding capabilities. In a recent interview, Kerr outlined that the American’s need to be physical against Brazil. He said, “They're very physical. I think they're the No. 1 offensive rebounding team in the tournament. They've got a lot of really good shooters, and they just play hard. They compete play after play, so we'll have to be ready for their physicality and their shooting, and we need to be on edge and ready for them because they're not going to back down."

While the chatter around Team USA’s quarterfinal clash with Brazil is all about their incredible offensive firepower, it's worth noting that the Americans have also been rock-solid on defense. They have tallied the most steals (32) and defensive rebounds (95) in the tournament. Additionally, their 16 blocks across three games are the second highest in the competition.

The game will undoubtedly be a very physical affair, with both teams going at hammer and tongs for the win. However, Brazil will definitely have to be on their A-game if they want to beat one of the greatest basketball teams ever assembled.