Team USA’s men’s basketball team warns Puerto Rico: ‘We want the No. 1 seed’

PARIS – The star players and coaches on the U.S. men’s basketball team are looking to smash Puerto Rico on Saturday, and they’re not shy about it.

Nothing against the Caribbean island territory or its men’s team. It’s just that Team USA has grand designs of being the No. 1 overall seed at the Olympics when the knockout stage begins Tuesday in Paris, which means it may have to run up the score.

“Yeah, we talked with (the players) about it this morning, showed them the standings, showed them the point differential. We want the No. 1 seed,” USA coach Steve Kerr said before practice Friday.

Asked why this is the case, Kerr explained: “It gives you the best matchup in the quarterfinals. So if we drop down to two or three, which I think is unlikely, but we’ve got to take care of our business. We possibly have a much tougher opponent.”

The U.S. (2-0) plays Puerto Rico (0-2) at 8:15 a.m. Saturday and guard Jrue Holiday is “questionable” due to an ankle injury, Kerr said. Also, Kevin Durant, the U.S. men’s all-time leading scorer, needs 15 points to pass Lisa Leslie (488 points) for the most Olympic points in American history, on the men’s or women’s side. Durant is averaging 18.5 points off the bench in two games.

The Americans have clinched a spot in the quarterfinals, even if they were to suffer a historic upset and lose to the Puerto Ricans (it happened in 2004 in Athens). But this team with 11 current All-Stars and a fifth consecutive gold medal on the line has different plans.

Which team the U.S. might face Tuesday in an Olympic quarterfinal are many and depend on what happens in Pool A and B games on Friday, as well as the outcome of Serbia-South Sudan in the Americans’ Pool C on Saturday. But there are a few inarguable facts, and they are as follows:

The No. 1-seeded team plays against the two No. 3 seeds to advance out of pool play. As of Friday morning, the U.S. was No. 1 overall because it was 2-0 and held a point differential of plus-43. Germany is undefeated and a plus-33 but plays host nation France (also 2-0, with a plus-16 differential) on Friday. Canada, the other undefeated team, has a plus-17 differential and plays Spain (1-1) on Friday.

There are many ways the two No. 3-seeded teams are finalized. But if either Serbia or South Sudan procures one of them, which is likely so long as the game between them on Saturday is close, the Americans would not be allowed to play either team in the quarterfinals, per tournament rules.

“Obviously, (in) FIBA the point differential is a big thing, and so even the first two games we were focusing on not taking our foot off like you do in the NBA sometimes,” USA guard Derrick White said. “It’s a little different than what we’re used to, but that’s all part of the tournament.”

Kerr had said he plans to return to his most-used starting lineup, which means Joel Embiid and Holiday next to LeBron James, Stephen Curry and Devin Booker, but Holiday rolled his ankle in the Americans’ 103-86 win over South Sudan.

Kerr said he was interested to see how Holiday performed in practice, which suggests there is some doubt about his availability for Saturday. Among the other players who appeared to be hurt in Wednesday’s game, Anthony Davis (foot) and White (back) are both good to go, Kerr said.

Kerr said the coaches hadn’t discussed who would play in Holiday’s place.

“We have lots of options,” Kerr said.

Jayson Tatum started instead of Holiday against South Sudan, so Tatum could get another look. Or, Kerr could turn to White, a defensive specialist who would fit against Puerto Rico’s guard-heavy lineup (Jose Alvarado of the New Orleans Pelicans and former Boston Celtics player Tremont Waters are Puerto Rico’s top scorers).

White enjoyed his best scoring game of the summer against South Sudan with 10 points and three 3s, but it’s his defense that is earning him big minutes off Kerr’s bench. He’s averaging 1.2 steals and 13.2 minutes per game in five games, remarkable given that he was not on the team when training began on July 6.

The Americans replaced Kawhi Leonard with White when camp broke and the team left for Abu Dhabi.

“I didn’t know what to expect,” White said. “I was going to come out here and just try to enjoy it, try to get caught up as quick as possible and just find my way.”