Texas Basketball-ex Kevin Durant, Team USA come out flat vs. France

In taking on a formidable foe, at least compared to the rest of the field, in France on the morning of July 25, former Texas basketball star forward Kevin Durant and the United States really fell flat. KD and Team USA looked like they were off to a solid start in this meeting with France to open up the 2020 Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan, for this squad.

Despite adding the likes of the Milwaukee Bucks star guards/wings Khris Middleton and Jrue Holiday, and Phoenix Suns star guard Devin Booker, the United States could not get past France to open up pool play in the Olympics on July 25. Team USA did take hold of the lead early in this meeting with France but was not able to keep control of the game in the second half.

The United States jumped out to a seven-point lead at the end of the first quarter and had an eight-point lead at halftime. But a 14-win edge for France in the third quarter helped to eliminate that edge for Team USA. It was a red hot outing from the Boston Celtics newly acquired scoring guard Evan Fournier that pushed the French side to get this big second-half run.

Fournier registered a game-high 28 points, four rebounds, one assist, one steal, no blocks, and five turnovers. And Fournier shot 11-of-22 from the field, 4-of-12 from beyond the arc, and 2-of-3 from the free-throw line.

Star Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert was also a force for France in this game. He registered a team-high nine rebounds, along with 14 points, and one assist.

It was poor efforts almost across the board for the United States on both ends of the floor, especially from the top stars, that resulted in this loss. KD registered just 10 points, two rebounds, and two assists. And he shot 4-of-12 from the field, 1-of-6 from beyond the arc, and hit his one attempt from the charity stripe.

Texas basketball ex Kevin Durant and Team USA faltering in a big way

There were problems all over the place for the United States. KD nearly had as many missed field goals as he had points, and both Booker and Portland Trail Blazers star point guard Damian Lillard had more turnovers than made field goals. Boston Celtics star wing Jayson Tatum also had a flat outing, shooting just 3-of-9 from the field and 1-of-5 from beyond the arc.

It’s hard to find where the legendary San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich and the United States goes from here. You have to get wins over the Czech Republic and Iran to round out pool play.

This now makes it a record of 2-3 in the last five games, including the pre-Olympic exhibition circuit, for the United States. It feels like it is getting very close to time to push the panic button for Team USA.

KD and Team USA now have a must-win outing on July 28, when they face Iran in Saitama, Japan. Tip-off time for that meeting between the United States and Japan is set for 11:40 a.m. CT on July 28.