What the definitive Group C starting lineup could look like against Steph, Team USA

What the definitive Group C starting lineup could look like against Steph, Team USA originally appeared in NBC Sports Bay Area

Let the games begin. Team USA men’s basketball went a perfect 5-0 in exhibition play ahead of the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics, where final results will now matter starting Sunday morning in the first of three Group C games .

Team USA, as part of the group stage, will face Serbia on Sunday, South Sudan on Wednesday and Puerto Rico on Saturday, August 3. They have already faced Serbia and South Sudan as part of their recent exhibition series, narrowly beating South Sudan and enjoying a 26-point victory against Serbia. Puerto Rico will be a new adversary for the United States.

Serbia was the only opponent the US team easily faced on the way to Paris.

What if Team USA had to play a starting five made up of the three countries they will face in Group C?

It would be fascinating to see all five, so let’s have fun in an alternate world.

Grand Robbery Alvarado it will be a joy to watch a week from now when Team USA plays Puerto Rico, depending on where your interests lie. Watch Alvarado when he’s not playing against Team USA, too. It’s a viewing experience designed to keep you hooked throughout all four quarters.

This is how Alvarado approaches his work. Undrafted in 2021 after a four-year starter at Georgia Tech, where he was the ACC Defensive Player of the Year as a senior, the New Orleans Pelicans converted Alvarado from a two-way deal to a standard contract after just 47 NBA games. He is so important. It can be guaranteed that he will also try to be Steph Curry’s biggest annoyance at the Olympics.

Alvarado will certainly follow Curry’s every step wherever he may be. In the only game the Pelicans played against the Warriors last season with Alvarado, a five-point win at New Orleans, Alvarado scored just four points on 1-of-5 shooting — all of which were 3-pointers. But Alvarado, after 35 minutes off the bench, also had the best score of the game, plus 18.

Curry scored a game-high 33 points on 12-of-33 shooting and was 7-of-13 from three, but he also committed a game-high seven turnovers and his minus-8 was the worst among Warriors starters. Puerto Rico will be the big underdog and Alvarado will leave every last drop of sweat on the ground.

Shooting guard: Carlik Jones, South Sudan

A 6-1 backcourt of Alvarado and 6-foot Jones spells trouble when compared to the size of the U.S. team. The duo would also be a lot of fun, and Jones has to be rewarded after the performance he did well against the Americans.

Jones’ final shot in South Sudan’s one-point loss to Team USA ricocheted hard off the boards, but his play earned everyone’s respect. Although he made just 7 of 21 shots, Jones recorded a triple-double of 15 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists against the United States. He also tallied two steals, turned the ball over just once and scored a game-high 14 more.

There were rumors that Jones’ performance could earn him another chance in the NBA, but his deadline has passed and he will play for Partizan Belgrade next season. Jones last appeared in NBA games for the Chicago Bulls at the end of the 2022-23 regular season, where he scored 11 points in the fourth quarter. Between the Bulls, Denver Nuggets and Dallas Mavericks, Jones played in 12 NBA games.

The Olympics will be his biggest stage to prove what kind of player he is, and Jones will again try to make Team USA sweat during the group stage.

Forward: Marial Shayock, South Sudan

Another player from the South Sudan national team who didn’t work out in the NBA, but gave attacks to the US team. Shayock played four games for the Philadelphia 76ers in the 2019-20 season, scoring a total of 11 points. He has not returned to the league since.

He also scored a team-high 24 points for South Sudan as they nearly pulled off the biggest comeback in basketball history. LeBron James was the only person to score more points than Shayock in Team USA’s victory. The NBA’s all-time leading scorer had 25 points, just one more than Shayock.

Shayock, 6-5 and now 29 on July 26, shot 9-of-16 from the field and 6-of-12 on 3-pointers while dismantling Team USA’s defense. Last season in China, he averaged a career-high 19.1 points on 47.8 percent shooting from the field and made 41.1 percent of his threes. He would bring more shooting to the team, and Steve Kerr knows Team USA needs to be better prepared the next time they are guarding Shayock.

Forward: Khaman Maluach, South Sudan

There are now three players in a row from the youngest country in the world, after gaining independence after successfully separating from Sudan in 2011, and now it’s the turn of the youngest player on the team. As the youngest among all basketball players at the Olympics.

In reality, someone like Wenyen Gabriel, Maluach’s South Sudan teammate who played 150 NBA games, should be placed here. This is not reality, and Maluach is the most intriguing and fun choice. Even – or especially – at 17 years old.

The 7-2 teenager played 12 minutes off the bench against Team USA, totaling seven points and three rebounds. Maluach made 3 of 4 shots and made his only 3-pointer. Getting minutes against Joel Embiid, Anthony Davis and the big stars of the US team will again be unforgettable for Maluach.

The five-star recruit is headed to Duke to play alongside the nation’s top prospect, Cooper Flagg. In this made-up scenario, his frontcourt partner is a three-time NBA MVP.

Duh. Do I really need to write more? Probably not.

Jokic in Serbia’s exhibition loss to Team USA it was a game low -27. He scored 16 points on 6-of-19 shooting and missed all four 3-pointers, adding 11 rebounds but just two assists. Jokic doesn’t have Jamal Murry to pass to, and Team USA will force his teammates to beat them.

Try as they might, the mountain is probably still too high to climb. Jokic is already an all-time great and going against him always causes a headache. Kerr’s goal is to cause the Joker the same frustration.

Jokic rounds out the top five, which includes a future draft pick, a blight on the entire Western Conference and two Olympic stars aiming to bring a lot more attention to their country’s growing basketball scene.

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