Nba and Team Usa, Bradley Beal risks missing the Olympics

Bradley Beal’s attendance at the Olympics is at risk. The Washington star, owner of the first three friendlies of Team USA, has entered the anti-Covid protocol of the stars and stripes national team. His future with Gregg Popovich’s team, and his presence in Tokyo itself, will be evaluated in the next few hours.

Motivated

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Beal’s positivity came the day after his best performance so far in the test lap Team USA is doing in Las Vegas, where he has been training since July 6, before leaving for Japan. After two bad games, coinciding with defeats to Nigeria and Australia, the Washington star slipped 17 points in his 108-80 against Argentina, taking on that scorer role behind stars Durant and Lillard that Popovich had envisioned for him. , so much so that he has deployed him as a starter in all three friendlies. “I’ve always wanted to play in a competition like the Olympics, to represent my country – said Beal after the victory over Argentina -. I have never had any doubts about participating: of course, we come from a complicated period, with the bubble, the little time we have had to recover when it is over and the season we have just ended. But for me the Games are a unique opportunity, something that not everyone has the opportunity to do. I wanted to be there “. Beal is an integral part of the team, so involved in the preparation of this Olympic adventure that he also brought his family to Las Vegas, with his son Braylon seen playing on the sidelines while his father concluded the match against Argentina. Beal is not the only one to have the family in retirement: Team USA has opened the doors to the families of the players, since they will not be able to be in Tokyo due to the restrictions in force, as long as they are also tested daily.

The next steps

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Beal, 28, may have to give up his Olympic dream. Like the NBA protocol, the anti-Covid protocol of Team Usa first of all provides for a confirmation from another buffer after the one that gave the positivity. It is unclear whether Beal was vaccinated or not, but during the NBA season Washington was one of the teams that had to shut down for Covid, even though his name was never listed as one of the positives. According to the first rumors, Beal is fine and has no symptoms. If the contagion were to be confirmed, Beal would go into isolation, and with the Olympic tournament scheduled to start on July 25 and the huge restrictions in place in Japan, even for athletes, it would be difficult to see him on the pitch in the Olympic tournament.

the roster

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His forfeit would be a huge problem for Popovich, who is already working with just 9 of the 12 NBA players on the Olympic roster as Devin Booker, Jrue Holiday and Khris Middleton are busy in the Finals. His forfeit joins the doubts about the conditions of Jayson Tatum, who missed the friendly match with Argentina due to a discomfort in his right knee that the team’s doctors are keeping under control. The only possible way to replace Beal would be to draw on the roster of the Select Team still attached to Pop’s team: the two who have had the most minutes in the friendlies played so far are Darius Garland of Cleveland and Keldon Johnson of San Antonio. The replacement of Beal, from a regulatory point of view, is still possible: Pop will do it only if forced. The US team will leave for Tokyo on Monday, the day after facing Sergio Scariolo’s Spain in the last pre-Olympic test.