Paul George expressed concern after the U.S. narrowly escaped Serbia with a 94-91 win at the Rio Olympics on Friday.
Though the U.S. is 4-0 in pool play, consecutive close calls over Australia and Serbia has George thinking about what the Americans need to do differently.
“We just got to start getting some movement. We’re relying on our natural talent so much, it’s so easy to guard us. Teams are just loading up and watching us play one-on-one,” George said in an interview with NBC after the game
“We probably should have had a little bit more tweaks. They were kind of locking in to just switch,” he said of Serbia.
George was then asked whether the U.S. needs to run more instead of stopping the game and slowing down in the halfcourt.
“It’s real important (to run),” he said. “Teams are going to try to find ways to slow us down. … As good as we are in the halfcourt, that’s not going to win enough games for us.”
George, who scored 12 points in the game, noted that other teams have been dictating style to them.
“I think honestly, other teams have been dictating. We go big, we get relaxed and they continue on to pressure. It’s kind of crazy about basketball — it’s a game of runs. We got a little complacent and a little relaxed early on, we allowed them to get confident, they came back and kind of changed the tempo. For a while we were playing their game. We have to slow down, we have to figure this thing out. Most importantly, we got the win.”
The U.S. still has a game against France in Group A play before moving on to the knockout stage. As they move into the knockout stage, they may have to face some even more difficult opponents like Lithuania and Argentina. Paul has very good reason to be concerned.
