SAITAMA,
Japan (AP) — Damian Lillard was nearly flat on his back, trying to
save a possession the U.S. couldn’t afford to lose.
He not only
couldn’t recover the ball after slipping, but made matters even
worse when he extended his leg and inadvertently tripped up
France’s Evan Fournier, getting called for an unsportsmanlike
foul.
Lillard’s
stumble with 17 seconds left was one of the lasting images of the
Americans’ 83-76 loss in their Olympic
opener. Now, just like its guard after that fall, the U.S. has
to pick itself back up again.
“I think we
are more than capable of doing it,” Lillard said.
Lillard and
Bam Adebayo have already proven they can rise again after
disappointment with the national team.
Both were cut
in previous attempts to wear the red, white and blue but have
returned to become two of the most important players on this year’s
team. They both were in the starting lineup Sunday and Adebayo was
one of the Americans’ best players, finishing with 12 points and 10
rebounds.
It was a
strong debut he believes should have come two years earlier.
The Miami
Heat star was in training camp with the Americans in Las Vegas but
was dropped by coach Gregg Popovich before the team left for China
and an eventual seventh-place finish in the Basketball World
Cup.
“Like I’ve
always said before, I feel like I should have been on the team from
the get-go,” Adebayo said. “But me and Pop hashed it out and I just
worked on my game. He said I wasn’t ready, so I had a point to
prove that I could have been on the team and that was my goal, and
I did that.”
Adebayo went
on to help the Heat reach the NBA Finals in 2020 and Popovich
acknowledged that perhaps the power forward should have made the
team. Adebayo eagerly accepted when he got his second chance just
two years later.
Lillard’s bad
feelings lasted longer.
He was
dropped by the Americans just before they left for Spain in 2014
for the World Cup, perhaps making him the best player cut by the
U.S. since Jerry Colangelo started the national team program in
2005. The All-Star guard then needed time before he wanted to come
back.
“I didn’t
feel like I was above being cut or anything, I just felt like the
time that was spent in the offseason, I just felt like I wasn’t
given a great opportunity to make the team or make a different
impression than that,” Lillard said. “So I think that that’s why it
was a little bit of a sour taste in my mouth after leaving the team
and I just decided for a few years that it just wasn’t something
that I wanted to do.”
The U.S. kept
Derrick Rose over Lillard that summer, allowing him to return from
a couple years of knee injuries at the World Cup. Rose shot 25% in
the tournament and missed 18 of 19 3-pointers, so it was easy to
see why Lillard believed he would’ve been better.
The Americans
needed quality guards in 2016 after All-Stars Stephen Curry, James
Harden and Russell Westbrook withdrew from consideration, but
Lillard didn’t show any interest in those Olympics. He said he
thought about playing in the 2019 World Cup but decided to
pass.
USA
Basketball officials usually just named their 12-player roster in
the Olympic years but have made cuts a few times before the worlds.
Trying to tell players they’re not wanted at the time but might be
in the future is something Colangelo has to navigate.
“Every player
has his own way of dealing with something that doesn’t happen very
often to players at this level, that they didn’t make a team,”
Colangelo said.
“So it takes
maturity, it takes the willingness to not look back and look
forward and take advantage of the next opportunity. And they’re
different for each of those two players, but ultimately it was the
decision they both came to.”
The Americans
will have to play better, starting Wednesday against Iran, if those
decisions will pay off in gold.
“The next one
is the most important,” Lillard said.
Sounds like
someone who understands second chances.