Even though everybody had written off Serbia ahead of the semifinals against Team USA, the underdogs gave the reigning champions a run for their money. If it were not for Stephen Curry‘s amazing shooting, Lebron James‘ hustling triple-double, and Embiid’s late-game blowout, it would have been curtains for the Dream team. Now with just one game away from clinching the Gold medal, Team USA needs to make sure that there is no room for complacency. They will be up against the home team in their final match-up, so the home-court advantage would be overwhelming, per Bill Simmons in his podcast.

Simmons, however, has a not-so-unpopular advice for the French team, which surprised even his co-host, Rob Mahoney. “I think France has to start Gobert in this game.”, the podcaster mentioned, to which Mahoney replied, “Wow. This is the zag I never expected.

Mahoney’s reaction is understandable – Gobert’s on-ball defense against top big men in the paint is not that strong. But before jumping to conclusions, let’s explore what made the media veteran say it. “I happen to watch Embiid score 70 points on Wemby and it was absolute evisceration,” Simmons said. “I thought he[Embiid] had a lot of confidence and too much size for Wemby and if they just start Wemby without starting Gobert too, I just think the US is gonna attack Wemby and try to put fouls on him.”

Remember the game where Embiid put up 70 points against San Antonio with Wemby guarding him last season? In that game, Embiid proved that Wemby wouldn’t be able to hold him down. Coming off a 19-point game against Serbia, ‘the process’ seems to be in good form.

Additionally, we all know that Team USA has no problem getting physical in their games, so leaving Wemby alone without another big man to support him does not seem like a good idea for France. “Whether it’s Wemby or Gobert on the ball, the combination of the two is what you want in terms of stifling a sort of low post presence,” Mahoney added.

Whatever France comes up with, they need to be at their best going up against Team USA in this winner-takes-all game. But, with the final match-up taking place in Paris, they surely have the home-court advantage.

Does France have the upper hand in the final?

Even though Team USA might seem like the stronger team in the final France VS USA matchup, other factors can decide the fate of the game, like home-court advantage. Joe House, who also appeared on the Bill Simmons podcast, shared his views on what other factors could affect Team USA in their final game against France.

“That whistle is going to be what do they say ‘Allez les Blues’, whatever. It’s going to be very home cooking whistle, so if they want to come out and be physical, I do believe that could be an element that we need to factor into how we asses this thing,” House said.

There have been times during France’s games in this Olympics where one could say something was off with the refereeing. “That four-pointer against Japan, which is the single play that has us in this very situation. It’s literally the reason why France is in the gold medal game.” House added. “I do think that they are susceptible to home court pressure, that’s all.”

Japan was leading 84-80 with ten seconds left on the clock against France when the referees made a controversial foul call on Japan’s point guard, Yuki Kawamura, resulting in a 4-point play that sent the game to overtime. Unfortunately for Japan, France won in overtime, eliminating them from the tournament.

“They are not great, the refs in FIBA basketball generally but they are kind of evenly not great, if that makes sense except in apparently France and the home cooking.” Mahoney supported Joe House’s statement.

Even though France might have a home-court advantage over Team USA, it is not something that Team USA has not handled before. If we consider all the 12 players on the Dream Team, they have a combined total of 14 NBA titles. To think they can’t handle home court pressure? Not very clever, right? What are your thoughts on this?

Before you go, do not forget to check out this crossover between BG12 and Georgia Bulldogs star Asia Avinger.