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Team USA could start its Olympic campaign with both of its best big men at less than full strength.
Joel Embiid missed Saturday’s practice with an illness, joining Anthony Davis on the sideline, per ESPN’s Brian Windhorst.
Davis, who is also ill, has missed practice over the past several days but participated on Saturday.
Coach Steve Kerr told reporters he was “confident we’ll have everybody ready” when Team USA faces Serbia on Sunday.
2024 PARIS OLYMPICS
Kerr was also hopeful about the status of Kevin Durant, who missed all five exhibition matches with a calf injury, though noncommittal on whether Durant would start.
“He came through the scrimmage two days ago pretty well and we’ll have another practice today and we’ll just keep taking it day by day,” Kerr told reporters.
Team USA was generally unimpressive over its exhibition slate, with close victories against Germany, South Sudan and Australia.
It did, however, dispatch of Nikola Jokic and Serbia 105-79 in Abu Dhabi on July 17, though Serbia was playing without Bogdan Bogdanovic.
“Jokic, with what he’s able to do, obviously we know what he does at NBA, but maybe a little bit higher usage in the international game,” Davis told reporters. “It’s going to be fun.”
The Americans are heavy favorites to win gold for the fifth straight Olympics, but are likely to face increased competition from the likes of France, Canada and Serbia, among others.
“This is not like the NBA where it’s a marathon,” LeBron James told reporters. “This is a sprint. This is a Michael Johnson/Usain Bolt-type game.
“The real thing starts tomorrow … so we need to be ready to go, which we will be.”
