Kerr Calls Out Team USA After Watching Tape from Close Wins vs. Germany, South Sudan

Despite going 5-0 in its exhibition run leading up to the Paris Olympics, the Team USA men's basketball team showed some flaws in close games against Germany and South Sudan.

Per ESPN's Brian Windhorst, head coach Steve Kerr was not happy with some of the things he saw during a film session and put the team through its most intense practice of the summer on Thursday in preparation for Sunday's Olympic opener against Serbia.

"That's what today is about. It's the reminder. It's time. We're here," Kerr said. "So it's got to be 40 minutes of force and attention and focus, and we can't let teams outplay us effort- and energy-wise like we did the other night against Germany, like we did against South Sudan."

Kerr went on to add, "It's literally six games and, watching the tape, we're jogging through some possessions. We're not hitting bodies on box outs. And so it's time. It's time to lock in on that."

Despite having a star-studded roster that includes LeBron James, Stephen Curry and Joel Embiid, Team USA needed a last-second game-winner from James to avoid a monumental upset against South Sudan and narrowly survived in a four-point nail-biter against Germany.

The Americans were without star forward Kevin Durant for the entire exhibition run as he recovered from a calf strain. James told his teammates that it was "f--king good" that they faced adversity ahead of the Olympics because it would benefit them in the long run.

Team USA enters the Paris Olympics as the favorites to take home a fifth straight gold medal, but it will face stiff competition from the rest of the field that features multiple NBA stars and high-quality players.

Kerr, who was an assistant coach for the gold-medal-winning team at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, knows the pressure that comes with emerging from the three-game pool play to the single-elimination medal round. He said his staff is doing everything it can to put the players in the best position to succeed, but it's up to them to bring the energy needed to get through the tournament.

"We have another level. I think we have another two levels that we can get to, but it's a collaboration always," Kerr said. "So we can show the strategic stuff on the tape walkthrough. We can show them, 'Let's do this, let's do that. Let's learn personnel.' We got to know the shooters, know the non-shooters, all that stuff. So that's where we can help them. Where they can help themselves is just effort and energy play after play, after play. This is different."

Team USA will have the chance to enjoy the Opening Ceremony on Friday before locking in for Sunday's game against Serbia, which will present a matchup against reigning three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokić.

"This should be one of the great experiences of our lives," Kerr said. "But the best way to make it an incredible experience is to win a gold medal."