Next Up For Team USA: Puerto Rico

Don’t sleep on these guys.

Team USA gets Puerto Rico Saturday morning in the final game of pool play and while you may think big deal, it’s just Puerto Rico, may we remind you that Los Gallos almost upset the US in 1976, losing 95-94 (Butch Lee got his revenge with Marquette, beating Dean Smith, Phil Ford and UNC for the national championship) and did beat the US in 2004 in the disastrous Larry Brown era.

Could they do it again?

Almost certainly.

They do have a serious problem: Jose Alvarado is injured, but he apparently will play. That’s good news for Puerto Rico because there aren’t many players anywhere with more heart than Alvarado.

Most Americans don’t realize the intense level of passion the island has for basketball. Per capita, we’re pretty sure the game is more popular there than it is in the mainland.

And the Puerto Ricans have the same advantage that a lot of other teams have over the Americans: they know each other better than our guys do.

The US is also dealing with an injury as Jrue Holiday got banged up against South Sudan and may be questionable. He’s a great defender of course so if he can’t go that would hurt, not least of all because Puerto Rico’s strength is in the backcourt. Alvarado, along with fellow guard Tremont Waters, are PR’s scoring leaders. Obviously Holiday could be a key defender against a guard-oriented team.

By the way, former Miami Hurricane Davon Reed also plays for Los Gallos.

The US is aiming for a big victory Saturday, not just on principle but because they want to nail down the top seed in the knock out round and in the Olympics, point differential matters when it comes to seeding.

There’s a lot of uncertainty about how the seeding will work out, but being the top seed is the best place to be and if the US beats Puerto Rico by four or more points, they won’t see Germany until the finals (if both make it there).

It looks like Steve Kerr will return to a starting lineup of Holiday, Joel Embiid, LeBron James, Stephen Curry and Devin Booker, but that probably depends on how Holiday is doing. Anthony Davis and Derrick White are also both dealing with injuries but are expected to play.

• Philadelphia 76er Joel Embiid and Team USA men’s basketball taking on Puerto Rico
• USA Olympic basketball scenarios: How Puerto Rico game impacts quarterfinal matchups, path to gold medal
• The Olympic rematch: USA vs. Puerto Rico in a high-stakes fraternal duel
• Team USA’s men’s basketball team warns Puerto Rico: ‘We want the No. 1 seed’
• US Olympic basketball team seeks No. 1 seed going into Paris Games quarterfinals
• USA Basketball: Jrue Holiday (ankle) questionable vs. Puerto Rico in 2024 Olympics on Saturday
• Inside Puerto Rico’s basketball team: A complete roster and more to know about 2024 Olympics team