PARIS — On paper, the United States has a better Olympic basketball team than France.
Canada and Germany did the same. It didn’t matter.
If the Americans make it to Saturday’s gold medal match, they’d better come prepared for a fierce, physical and sometimes dysfunctional French team that will be waiting for them, cheered on by a raucous crowd here at Bercy Arena.
The French defeated Germany 73-69 on Thursday to advance to the Olympic final. They did so in much the same way they defeated a more talented Canadian team on Tuesday, overwhelming their opponent and making several players step up at critical moments.
The United States will play Serbia on Thursday night and the winner will advance to the gold medal game.
NBA fans might expect the French team to be led by Rudy Gobert and Victor Wembanyama, but that is not the case.
Gobert is a bit of a bit player, having played just 5 minutes and 9 seconds against Germany, after 3 minutes and 41 seconds in the game against Canada. Gobert said it was due to finger surgery, but the French coach cast doubt on that. The team is playing well without him.
Wemby, meanwhile, plays more and causes havoc on the court due to his 7-foot-2 frame, but he hasn’t shot the ball well. He scored 11 points but shot 4 of 17 from the field. The team didn’t overlook him, though he did make one of two free throws with 10.2 seconds left, allowing France to foul the game away.
Instead, the hero was Guerschon Yabusele, a 6-foot-3, 270-pound giant who swept the Boston Celtics and now plays for Real Madrid in the Spanish league. He scored 17 points, grabbed seven rebounds and played with great intensity on both ends of the court.
Or maybe it was his partner in crime at defensive end, 6’9″, 256″ pound Mathias Lessort of the Greek League, who managed 10 points and four rebounds.
Or maybe it was Isaïa Cordinier of the Italian League, who shined with 16 points and seven rebounds.
Or maybe it’s just a style of play that has the Germans and Canadians off balance. The defensive intensity is ridiculous. They blocked five shots and recorded six steals against Germany. The physicality exceeds even FIBA’s limits.
“They came out as the aggressors and punched us in the mouth,” Canadian Shai Gilgeous-Alexander said after their loss to France on Tuesday. “They played harder. They were the aggressors on both ends of the court.”
The offense is erratic, both in passing and shooting, but it is difficult to adapt to it.
The French find a way to make the game ugly and then win that way. That’s the style. That’s the system.
It’s working, cheered on by a singing, dancing, flag-waving, drum-banging home crowd. Given the color scheme of the uniforms and the unwavering vocal support of the chants, it might as well be Allen Fieldhouse on the banks of the Seine.
It’s a cocktail that worked in the surprise win over Canada and then in the surprise win over Germany in one of the best basketball games you’ll ever see.
There is still a chance for a big surprise.
Team USA will have plenty of advantages in a potential gold medal showdown.
But you better come prepared for a rock fight.