PARIS – On paper, the United States has a better Olympic basketball team than France.
The same goes for Canada and Germany. It didn’t matter.
If the Americans make it to Saturday’s gold medal game, they should be prepared for an aggressive, physical and sometimes ineffective French team that will be waiting for them, fueled by a raucous crowd here at Bercy Arena.
The French defeated Germany on Thursday, 73-69, to reach the final of the Olympics. They did it the same way when they beat a talented Canadian team on Tuesday, overwhelming their opponent and getting different players to step up in critical moments.
The United States survived a scare from Serbia on Thursday evening to set up a gold medal match in Tokyo three years ago.
“If we can play like that, with our hearts and our heads, we can do anything,” said France’s Frank Ntilikina.
NBA fans can expect the French team to be led by Rudy Gobert and Victor Wembanyama. That’s not it.
Gobert is the second player here, getting just 5:09 of playing time against Germany after 3:41 in the Canada game. Gobert said it was because of finger surgery, but the French coach doubted that. The team is playing well without him.
Meanwhile, Wemby is playing more and causing havoc on the court with his 7-foot-4 frame, but he hasn’t shot the ball well. He had 11 points but was 4 of 17 from the floor. The team didn’t run on him, though he did manage one of two free throws with 10.2 seconds left, allowing France to foul out the game.
Instead, the hero was Guerschon Yabusele, a 6-8, 271-pounder who caught fire with the Boston Celtics and now plays for Real Madrid of the Spanish League. He had 17 points, seven rebounds and played hard on both ends of the court.
Or maybe it was his defensive partner in crime, 6-9, 256-pound Mathias Lessort of the Greek League who powered his way to 10 points and four boards.
Or maybe it was Isaïa Cordinier from the Italian League, who caught fire for 16 points and seven rebounds.
Or maybe it’s the style of play that destroyed the Germans and the Canadians. The power of defense is insane. They blocked five shots and recorded six steals against Germany. The physicality pushes the limits of even FIBA.
“They came out and beat us in the mouth,” Canada’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander said after Tuesday’s loss to France. “They play with more energy. They were attackers on both sides of the court.”
The offense is flawed, passing and shooting, but difficult to solve.
The French find a way to make the game ugly and win that way. That’s style. That’s the system.
“We thought we were the better team,” said Germany’s Andreas Obst. But going to France, they were the better team today. “
It works, spurred on by a home crowd that sings, dances, waves flags, and beats drums. Considering the color scheme of the uniforms and the unwavering support of the lyrics, this might as well be Allen Fieldhouse along the Seine.
“It’s an amazing, amazing moment,” Wembanyama said of the crowd. “The supporters made it difficult for me not to cry. I thank them for being who they are and enjoying it as much as they do – this opportunity, this thing that we all live for. ”
It’s a cocktail that worked to upset Canada. Then again to upset Germany in one of the best basketball games you will ever see.
There is only one chance of confusion left.
Team USA will have several advantages in the potential gold medal game.
But they better come prepared for a stone war.
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