Team USA is back in action Monday as the Americans continue their pre-Olympics tune-ups with an exhibition matchup against Australia. Team USA took down Canada in an exhibition game in Las Vegas last week before traveling to Aub Dhabi. LeBron James, Stephen Curry and company will face Australia and Serbia in Abu Dhabi before playing two more exhibitions in London.
They open the Olympics against Serbia on July 28. Here’s the full schedule.
And below is all the info for Monday’s clash with Australia. The Aussies have a roster with plenty of NBA talent, including Patty Mills, Dante Exum, Josh Giddey, Duop Reath and Jock Landale. Australia picked up its first-ever Olympic medal three years ago, picking up Bronze at the Tokyo Games.
Team USA basketball vs. Australia
Time: 12 p.m. ET | Date: Monday, July 15
Location: Etihad Arena — Abu Dhabi, UAE
TV channel: FS1 | Live stream: fubo (try for free)
Odds: USA -19.5 | O/U: 188.5
Kevin Durant is expected to miss Team USA’s game on Monday. Durant has been dealing with a calf strain, and he missed yet another practice on Saturday. Still, USA coach Steve Kerr is not worried about Durant’s status for the actual tournament, which begins in late July.
“I know there’s still a couple of weeks before we have to make a decision roster-wise,” Kerr said. “So we’re just taking it day by day.” While Derrick White has replaced the injured Kawhi Leonard for Team USA, Kerr has thus far signaled that he expects Durant to be available when the games count and that the team is not yet planning for a replacement.
“It’s not something we’ve even discussed at this point because we feel good that [Durant] is going to be OK,” Kerr said.
If Team USA does need to replace Durant before the tournament begins, an obvious candidate would be Boston Celtics wing Jaylen Brown, who publicly grumbled about missing out when Team USA named Celtics teammate Derrick White to the roster instead of him. White shares a position with Leonard and Durant, and White, a small guard, does not replicate either of their skill sets.
However, if Brown’s cryptic social media comments have turned Team USA off, there are still several viable options to replace Durant if they need to. Team USA named a 41-player pool of options before whittling the roster down to 12. Of those 41 players, 27 remain if you exclude all currently rostered players, Leonard, White and Brown: Jarrett Allen, Paolo Banchero, Desmond Bane, Scottie Barnes, Mikal Bridges, Jalen Brunson, Jimmy Butler, Alex Caruso, De’Aaron Fox, Paul George, Aaron Gordon, James Harden, Josh Hart, Tyler Herro, Chet Holmgren, Brandon Ingram, Kyrie Irving, Jaren Jackson Jr., Cam Johnson, Walker Kessler, Damian Lillard, Donovan Mitchell, Chris Paul, Bobby Portis, Austin Reaves, Duncan Robinson and Trae Young.
For now, though, Team USA’s hope is clearly to get Durant back on the floor. In addition to being an NBA star, Durant is Team USA’s all-time leading scorer in Olympic play with 435 points. He has won three gold medals and is playing for his fourth, and he has never missed an Olympics since making the team for the first time in 2012. He has become the mainstay of USA Basketball, and it would take a significant health issue to keep him off of the roster.
