Yesterday, we reported on the Team USA basketball team and how they lost to a team full of G-League players ahead of the FIBA Basketball World Cup in China. The score finished 36-17 and fans were roasting the squad for losing to a bunch of players that in theory, are inferior in terms of skill. After the loss, Kevin Durant was tasked with speaking to the team and with the tournament just a few weeks away, the squad will need to get it together.
After the fallout from the loss, PJ Tucker spoke about what went down and said that what was being reported wasn't the full story. As he explained, there were a lot of factors at play when it comes to why they lost and that no one on the team is worried about it.
“Nobody gave the whole perspective of what happened. They just threw the score up and said, ‘they lost,”’ Tucker said via USA Basketball. “It was two quarters after we’d been playing two hours. And they just come in fresh and everybody kind of … we played. We didn’t play a game. That was two quarters of practice and whatever.We come in today and nobody talked about it. We’re doing what we do, working hard and practicing. It doesn’t matter. It matters when the game starts. We’re just going to keep working and get to the point where we’re comfortable with each other and playing together and fighting for each other.”
Heading into the tournament, Team USA is one of the favorites so it will be interesting to see how the team performs against their international competition. Perhaps by then, the team's chemistry will be at full force.
