After Team USA lost its Olympic opener to France, 83-76, on Sunday, ESPN analyst Tim Legler posited that perhaps this result could be a “good thing” for the Americans — that it could serve as a “wake-up call” as they move forward in their quest for a fourth straight gold medal. Funny thing about that: Gregg Popovich and Jayson Tatum said the same thing after the U.S. lost to Nigeria two weeks ago in Las Vegas.
“In a way, I’m kind of glad it happened,” Popovich said. “That means nothing if we don’t learn from it. It could be the most important thing in this tournament for us.”
“I think this is good for us,” Tatum added. “We are going to learn a lot from film, regroup and stay positive.”
Turns out, it wasn’t that good for the Americans. Two days later they lost to Australia, doubling their number of exhibition losses over the past 29 years in a 48-hour span.
