3 things Team USA need to change before the start of 2020 Tokyo Olympics

#2 Team USA need to have more ball movement and less isolation

Team USA

Team USA have NBA stars who love to isolate in every possession, but that isn't going to work at the Olympics.

Most of Team USA's offense has come on isolation plays of players like Kevin Durant, Damian Lillard or Jayson Tatum, whereas other countries play as a team. Countries like Nigeria or Australia cannot rely on superstar talent to win them games, so they play as cohesive units.

But the first instinct of Team USA is get their main scorers isolation opportunities.

Team USA’s offense has legit sucked for the #Olympics. No ball movement or flow to the game. Just ISO nonsense.

— Sean Jordan (@BaySean) August 12, 2016

The other countries are naturally envious of the basketball talent in the USA. Team USA need to exploit that advantage and play like they're playing an NBA All-Star game.

If the ball is constantly moving and the players are moving off the ball, no country would be able to stop the offensive firepower Team USA have at their disposal.

What's wrong with Team USA hoops?Simple.They're not one.They're a bunch of iso players with nothing gelling them together to help each other succeed.Can they fix it before the Olympics?And is Popovich the solution to the problem.. or the cause?https://t.co/p4yi9ZfXzO

— Regular Human Bartender Jackie Daytona (@TheRobBrownShow) July 13, 2021

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#3 Drawing fouls won't work in the Olympics

USA vs Nigeria

The rules around fouling work a lot differently at the FIBA and Olympics than they do in the NBA.

The NBA players in Team USA try to draw fouls on contact, but the referees in the Olympics don't blow their whistles. It's not that the Team USA players are intentionally drawing fouls or foul-baiting. But it has become their natural instinct to chuck the ball in the air on contact and get upset at the referee for not blowing the whistle.

Whereas the international players use contact and physicality like players used to in the 1980s or 1990s NBA.

We’ve seen this happen more often in recent times, Team USA players completely unused to the physicality of FIBA basketball and the lack of easy foul calls. Yes, they’ll get some good players back for the Olympics but this isn’t a tap they can easily turn on now.

— Steve Smith (@stevesmithffx) July 13, 2021

At the end of the day, Team USA players are excellent basketball players. But they need to stop hunting for fouls and treat each game as if it's a key NBA playoff clash.

Darius Garland said about the difference in officiating at the Olympics and the NBA:

“I be running down the court, and someone would hack me, and there’s no foul. This is very different officiating than what there is in the NBA, so we still need to get used to it.”

Team USA can easily outplay any team in the Olympics, based on their talented roster alone. But if the players get caught up on missed foul calls and no whistles, it will only hurt the team's chances at the Olympics.