The star-powered Team USA fell nearly twice in London, their last stop before Paris. But even on the verge of historic losses, Steve Kerr silently bore the criticism. He stayed reluctant with his plans of starting a struggling Joel Embiid. This angered many, who began questioning the nine-time NBA champion. However, Kerr stayed silent. Or rather, he stayed patient, waiting for the right time to unravel his emotions.

Now we know, that Steve Kerr kept all his anger, frustrations, and dissatisfaction for the moment Team USA landed in France. Their very first practice session was not just intense, but the former Bulls guard was vocally active. It didn’t matter the star power in front of him, Kerr’s words were meant to sting them all and make them realize “it’s time”.

On the Hoops Collective show, Brian Windhorst recalled the veteran coach’s disgust when he watched back the film of the USA’s game against South Sudan and Germany. “He said it was like very difficult to watch, and he basically called his team lazy. He called them, you know, basically not interested. He goes, we were jogging back on defense. He’s like, we’re only playing like 20 minutes a game. There’s no reason to do that,” the insider revealed on the show.

Steve Kerr is well aware of not just the advantage he boasts, but also the consequences of his failure. At his core, he too is a competitor and knows the benchmark Team USA needs to maintain. Apart from the grueling film session, Kerr conducted an intense scrimmage, which also featured Kevin Durant. Notably, the Slim Reaper didn’t feature in any of the USA’s pre-Olympic exhibition games, with some reports claiming he might miss the Olympic opener against Serbia too.

However, Kerr isn’t fazed. Even without Durant, he knows the team at his disposal is supreme in skill to any opposition. All he has to ensure is they aren’t complacent and nonchalant during the games and to ensure it doesn’t happen, the 58-year-old is willing to reintroduce his authority. The aim is simple. He wants to deploy the best version of the star-laden lineup.

Steve Kerr reckons Team USA is ‘levels’ below their true potential

Not only was Steve Kerr authoritative during practices, but his sentiments were just as bold with the media. The exhibition games clearly showed that Team USA hasn’t been at their best. The head coach feels they have “two levels” more than what they have displayed thus far.

“I think we have another two levels that we can get to. But it’s a collaboration, always. So we can show the strategic stuff on the tape, in the walkthrough, and show them, ‘Hey, let’s do this. Let’s do that. Let’s learn (opposing) personnel. We’ve got to know the shooters, know the non-shooters and all that stuff.’ So that’s where we can help them,” Kerr told the media. 

The seasoned competitor emphasized the need for high intensity and efforts from his troops. Remember, while Team USA might be the strongest, the competition in international basketball has grown at a staggering pace. They are playing against teams with stellar chemistry and coordination. Furthermore, the skill level has increased tremendously since the days of the Dream Team ’92.

So even if they are overwhelming favorites, there is no space for error. As Kerr said, “It’s literally six games”. The margin for mistakes is narrower than ever. For Team USA to win gold, they need to unlock their complete potential. And they have two days to do so before they meet Nikola Jokic and Serbia in their opening game.