RIO DE JANEIRO—Something’s wrong in Rio.
The team that usually wins big is barely winning.
An unheard of two straight close games for the U.S. Olympic men’s basketball team has created a question that few dared consider just a few days ago: Is the best team in the world not good enough for gold?
“I’m not concerned, we’re not concerned with things we could do a little bit better,” four-time Olympian Carmelo Anthony said. “But we’re OK. We’re fine.”
OK and fine aren’t the U.S. standard.
Great. Dominant. Those are the standards the Americans have set.
United States' DeMarcus Cousins (12) and Serbia's Nikola Jokic, right, leap for a rebound during a men's basketball game at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Friday, Aug. 12, 2016. Andrej Isakovic/Pool Photo via AP
