Both Australians and Americans praise Holiday’s defensive effort: ‘He’s the best on ball defender’

2021-08-05 06:54

Team USA reached its fourth Olympic basketball tournament final in a row, as Kevin Durant scored 23 points, but most of the praises went to Jrue Holiday.

Holiday was a prime defender of Patty Mills, who finished the game with 15 points (2/9 2PT, 3/5 3PT, 2/2 FT), 8 assists, 5 rebounds, 3 steals, 2 turnovers, and 18 EFF.

“He sets the tone on defense; we just follow him. He's the best on-ball defender in the League,” said Zach LaVine. “We have probably five of the best offensive players of the (NBA) League, but his defense today was off the charts.”

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Holiday received good words from Australia’s forward Nick Kay, too. 

“He is a great defender. He climbs in and used his body really well,” said Nick Kay. “His long arms make it difficult to bring the ball up the court. When he is on point, the rest of the guys use that energy as well.”

“They were a lot better today on their switches. They are a great defensive team and contest really well. If you are not making shots, they are going to get out and run down the other end,” added Kay.

Speaking of Australia, it was their fifth loss in the semifinal of the Olympic Games, and head coach Brian Goorjian admitted it’s not an easy thing to deal with, but he added that his team would do everything to bring the bronze medal home.

"These guys have put 12 years into this. I have come in and out of this,” said Goorijan. “The more you are willing to commit to something, the harder it is to retreat. When I walked out of that locker room, the message is loud and clear. Head back, head straight, walk out of here proud, proud of who you are, proud of what you do, proud of what you are displaying.”

“We have got something right in front of us now that has never happened for this country, and so let's get excited about that,” added the head coach.

Meanwhile, Gregg Popovich let everybody know what Strong Face term means, which he took from coach Mike Krzyzewski.

“He told it to all his Olympians in all the Olympic Games he participated and coached,” Popovich said. “Basically, that means to play on with the next play, that you don't react to a teammate's turnover or referee's call or the fact that you missed the shot. Nobody cares about that.”

“You don't have that right, you owe your team, and you're responsible to your team to move on to the next play. He called it 'strong faces', and as simplistic as that sounds, it's really true. We tried to adopt it,” Pop finished.

Kevin Durant added that he would be waiting for an opponent in the upcoming gold medal game.

“The journey has been fun so far. We are looking forward to this opportunity, we need to see who we are going to play against in the Final, but I'm looking forward to executing our game plan on defense,” Durant said.

In the gold medal game, Team USA will face either Slovenia or France.



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