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By Alex Kirschenbaum
Contributing Entertainment Writer
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On Wednesday, Team USA men's basketball head coach Steve Kerr did the right thing, making a major starting lineup change to help the program notch its second straight double-digit victory in Olympic pool play.
Team USA faced off against South Sudan, whom it barely beat during a London exhibition game last week. But now that the games count, Team USA appears to be fully dialed in.
The star-studded roster made quick work of South Sudan, notching its second straight blowout victory, a 103-86 shellacking.
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But Team USA did the deed without former starting center Joel Embiid in the lineup at all. The seven-time Philadelphia 76ers All-Star, who won the NBA's MVP award in 2023, has looked awful across the Americans' five exhibition games and their first group phase contest, a 110-84 blowout over 2024 MVP Nikola Jokic's Team Serbia.
Although Los Angeles Lakers center Anthony Davis drew the start over Embiid, it was the Miami Heat center Adebayo who scored a team-most 18 points on 8-of-10 shooting from the floor (2-of-3 from three-point range) and pulled down seven rebounds off the bench. The 6-foot-9 All-Defensive big man also blocked two shots, dished out one assist, and swiped a steal.
Adebayo was, naturally, a standout on both ends of the hardwood.
The victory improves Team USA to a 2-0 record and allows the club to make the Olympic quarterfinals in Paris. South Sudan falls to 1-1 in group play.
Embiid did not suit up for a single minute in the contest.
Kerr also demoted Boston Celtics All-Defensive guard Jrue Holiday to a reserve role, while starting All-NBA Celtics power forward Jayson Tatum. Tatum controversially did not play at all in the win over Team Serbia. He scored four points on 2-of-4 shooting Tuesday.
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Indiana Pacers All-Star point guard Tyrese Haliburton, who like Tatum missed every second of the Sunday victory against Team Serbia, played a perfunctory eight minutes off the bench. All told, 11 of the 12 Team USA players saw action.
Six Team USA players scored in double figures during the game. Beyond Adebayo, that tally included Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (12 points), Phoenix Suns power forward Kevin Durant (14 points), Minnesota Timberwolves shooting guard Anthony Edwards (13 points), and Celtics guard Derrick White.
Former G League forward Nuni Omot led South Sudan with 24 points on 8-of-12 shooting from the field (3-of-5 from long range) and 5-of-6 shooting from the foul line, plus two rebounds, two assists, and two steals.
When it came to breaking down why Embiid sat, Kerr pointed to one particular South Sudan strength that almost cost Team USA its 101-100 exhibition game win in London, per David Suggs of The Sporting News.
"This is the fastest team in the tournament we're going to play," Kerr said of South Sudan. "We wanted to match up. They made 14 threes against us in London. The whole game today was going to be about switching and staying in front of people."
Next up for Team USA is a matchup with Puerto Rico on Saturday.
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