Three players will have to face a major challenge in the next few hours. These are the NBA finalists who have just finished their participation in the domestic league and, just a day and a half after winning the title, they will have to fly to Tokyo to play the Olympic Games with the United States team.
Devin Booker, loser with his Phoenix Suns, will have to share a private flight of almost 11 hours with Jrue Holiday and Khris Middleton, champions with the Milwaukee Bucks. The plane will leave from seattle today Friday.
The idea, according to the coach Gregg popovich, is that all three are available to dress short in the Opening match of the competition for the Americans against France, which is disputed Sunday.
The presence of rivals and enemies within Team USA is nothing new, but Never have winners and losers come together in such a compact period of time. The transition from rivals to teammates will have to be faster than ever, starting with head-to-head on the plane.
The three of them will be alone, with no other neutral partner to lean on. “I understand that it is a competition and that it is never something personal with the other person, Unless certain red lines are crossed, ”Booker said about the transition last week before the outcome of the NBA Finals. “These guys are not the type to do this, so I would never get mad at them., since we respect each other ”.
Although They will barely have 24 hours in Tokyo to acclimatizePopovich made no secret of his intention to test his three luxury reinforcements in the US debut against France on Sunday (2pm on the peninsula).
“I have no idea how to use them, but I try to be transparent”, the coach commented to journalists. “Maybe they are good for the game and the effort is hit two days later. Maybe we should make them play in the first half and see how they are “.
The presence of the three finalists in the United States’ Olympic debut, which will seek its fourth consecutive gold at the Games, will be one of the main focuses of attention for a Team USA that has made headlines for having chained two defeats in their preparation, something never seen in the past.