This is the Morning Win. For the next couple of weeks, we’ll be writing each weekday morning about the Tokyo Olympics. Subscribe to get irreverent and incisive sports stories, delivered to your mailbox every morning.
The U.S. men’s basketball team struggled in some exhibition games before heading to Tokyo and then lost its first game in the Olympics and a lot of people started bringing up the “chemistry” narrative.
You know the one I’m talking about – when people go on about how the players really need to figure out their roles on the team and come together as one and develop some really good chemistry so it can go on and win games and hopefully take home the gold.
Yeah, that is all fine and good but it’s also really silly. Because do you know what trumps chemistry, especially in a quick tournament like this one? HAVING THE BEST PLAYERS IN THE WORLD.
Chemistry, schmeistry, as the saying goes.
Is chemistry important over a long season? Of course. Is it important over a two-week tournament? No, not when you have the roster Team USA has. Chemistry becomes irrelevant.
The men’s team is heading back to the gold medal game after beating Australia in a semifinal game on Thursday, a game in which the U.S. trailed by as many as 15 points in the first half before storming back to win going away, 97-78.
Three of the top four scorers for Team USA were guys who played in the NBA Finals just a few weeks ago (Devin Booker 20 points, Jrue Holiday 11 points, and Khris Middleton 11 points) and basically joined the team on the fly in Japan.
The leading scorer was a guy named Kevin Durant (23 points), who is the best player in the world right now.
So yeah, all those chemistry concerns were pretty pointless.
The U.S. now faces France, the team that beat them in the opener, in the gold medal game and should Team USA take home the gold it will have very little do with chemistry and very much to do with the ridiculous amount of talent it possesses.
And that shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone who has ever watched basketball.
Quick hits: Wild artistic swimming photos… Hilarious diving photos… Carl Lewis crushes men’s 4×100 relay team… And more.
– You need to see these incredible photos from the artistic swimming event to see just how tough that sport is.
– Also, you need to see these photos of the faces divers make while competing in Tokyo.
– Carl Lewis was embarrassed by the U.S. men’s 4×100 relay team’s struggles on Thursday and the Olympic great didn’t hold back at all.
– LeBron James deleted a fiery tweet aimed at everyone bashing the Lakers for being old.
– ‘Jeopardy!’ fans are not happy about who might be the next permanent host.
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