Can he be serious? Or is it just the usual rattling of the coaches before an important game, the transparent attempt to take the role of favorite and thus take the pressure off the team? Already after winning the preparatory game for the Basketball World Cup in Asia, Steve Kerr had sung various hymns of praise for the German team. Sure, Spain, defending champions, deserve respect. But this German team, ouch, their boys haven’t had such a strong opponent yet.
And of course, the coach of the Americans followed up against the same super Germans before the semi-finals on Friday (2.40 p.m. German time / free at Magentasport): “This is probably the best team in the tournament.” After all, Kerr hasn’t forgotten the word “probably”, because what the 57-year-old is saying doesn’t fit the American basketball self-image at all. This collection of NBA pros is and remains the overwhelming gold favorite in this tournament, Kerr can say what he wants.
Incidentally, it sounded a little different with his players: “Of course we have to win gold,” admitted Cameron Johnson, and colleague Brandon Ingram agreed: “Anything else would be a disappointment.” The two gave that to the American sports broadcaster ESPN on record during the preparatory phase. Now Ingram and Johnson only have limited dream team potential, because the US team is missing all the big names: no LeBron James, no Kevin Durant, no Stephen Curry. But individually, this selection is far ahead of the competition even without its celebrities; Players like Anthony Edwards of the Minnesota Timberwolves (USA) and Mikal Bridges of the Brooklyn Nets can decide games single-handedly.
Third-best points-scorer after the aforementioned is long-range shooter Austin Reaves, and the 25-year-old has a very special story to tell at this Worlds. The Los Angeles Lakers guard almost came up for Germany, Reaves has a German grandmother and should be naturalized before the World Cup. His brother Spencer, who is two years his senior, has a German passport, played for Bamberg last season and surprisingly left the former German series champion in the direction of Bundesliga promoted Vechta. Austin Reaves, meanwhile, chose his country of birth, in part because coach Kerr reportedly promised him a place on the Olympic team.
USA coach Kerr warns against Franz Wagner: “We know how versatile Franz is, and so do my players.”
The DBB had put Dennis Schröder on Reaves, who was a teammate with the Lakers last season. “Dennis asked me all year. It was an option for me, I was open to playing for Germany in the future,” said Reaves before the duel in Manila. The offer to play for the USA was one that you couldn’t refuse.
But even without a long-range shooter like Reaves, the German selection does not have a chance in this World Cup semi-final against the USA – which of course the opposing coach also signs. After all, Germany was the only undefeated team at the World Cup, according to Kerr. Please don’t overestimate the bumpy 81:79 win against Latvia. How his boys rushed over Italy in the quarterfinals with 100:63 points? That was good, but you have to at least confirm that against the Germans.
In addition, there was the defeat against Lithuania. In fact, Team USA has not only lost its aura of invincibility since the ignominious seventh place at the 2019 World Cup in China. European basketball has caught up enormously, with players such as Slovenia’s Luka Doncic, Greece’s Giannis Antetokounmpo and Serbia’s Nikola Jokic (the latter two missing from the World Cup due to injury) among the best in the NBA.
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Austin Reaves (right) almost played for Germany when he got an offer he couldn’t refuse.
(Photo: Jam Sta Rosa/AFP)
And then the German selection also has a few names to offer that are well known in the NBA. First and foremost Dennis Schröder, who failed to prove his class against Latvia, but carried the German team through the previous rounds. Coach Gordon Herbert isn’t worried about his leader: “He’s had a tough night, he’ll hit back.”
US colleague Kerr, however, warns in particular about the Wagner brothers, who play for the Orlando Magic and are among the leading players there. A lot of video material has been viewed, says Kerr, “we know how versatile Franz is, and our players know that too”. Kerr is probably also aware that the German team is far more than its NBA pros, which also include Daniel Theis of the Indiana Pacers. Andi Obst is a long-range shooter who doesn’t need to hide from Reaves, Isaac Bonga, Johannes Voigtmann, Johannes Thiemann and Maodo Lo have been playing at a high level since the start of the tournament.
The German team particularly impressed with its team spirit: one fights for the other, everyone knows their role and knows how to fulfill it; just the defensive work, with which one can seldom shine, is the showpiece of this team. In the NBA, on the other hand, what counts primarily is the offensive spectacle, the individual quality of the protagonists – that is also the special quality of the USA team, which the Italians recently felt. But that can be the chance for the Germans to spoil the opponent’s fun with physical defense drudgery.
No matter how the game ends, Germany has already achieved great success by qualifying for the Olympics. “We’ve already made history,” reminded Captain Schröder to be on the safe side, which is not entirely true: in 2002 in Indianapolis, the DBB selection made it into the World Cup semi-finals, where they lost to Argentina and won bronze. By the way, the USA was sixth at the time.
