Olympics: Grant and Bey are fine; Team USA not so much

The Detroit Pistons’ Jerami Grant and Saddiq Bey made their debuts with Team USA. They did not do badly, but the team did.

It was very exciting for Detroit Pistons fans to see two of its players, Jerami Grant and Saddiq Bey, playing for the USA’s Olympic basketball team. The first two games were also exciting, but they were not suppose to be.

Team USA dropped its first two exhibition games, falling to Nigeria (which did not even have Jahlil Okafor) and then Australia. That is not suppose to happen.

How did the Detroit Pistons’ Jerami Grant and Saddiq Bey do for Team USA

After the loss to Nigeria, coach Gregg Popovich made some adjustments. One of them was to move Grant to the starting lineup. He probably figured the team needed some defensive intensity.

It seemed like the move worked. With so much firepower out there, Grant was able to slip in and contribute.

Grant had five points, three rebounds and three assists in the first half, as Team USA took a nine-point lead into halftime. Grant barely played in the second half, as Australia won the third period by a 32-18 margin and ended the game on an 11-1 run for a 91-83 victory.

Grant was in for 13 minutes, 17 seconds and was a minus-2 for the game. Only Kevin Durant (+1) and Bradley Beal (-1) had a better plus/minus. Grant is averaging 5.5 points, 3.0 assists and 2.0 rebounds in 15 minutes a game.

The USA next plays against Argentina on July 13. It will be interesting to  see if Grant remains in the starting lineup.

Saddiq Bey did not play against Australia.

Bey, a first team All-Rookie selection, had made the USA Select team (along with fellow Piston Isaiah Stewart, who got injured). However, with three Team USA players still involved in the NBA playoffs, he was promoted to the Olympic team to help with their exhibition schedule of five games in eight days (all in Las Vegas).

https://twitter.com/DetroitPistons/status/1414288721004929028

Bey did see action against Nigeria. He played six minutes in the second half, getting two rebounds and a steal.

We will have to see if Bey gets any more of a run with Team USA. Since he will not be going to Tokyo, it will most likely depend on what happens in the games.

No matter what, Bey will be training with Team USA until at least July 18. That can only help his development.

Detroit Pistons’ Okafor unstoppable with Nigerian team

In the first part of the doubleheader, Nigeria crushed Argentina, 94-71. Pistons center Jahlil Okafor was virtually unstoppable.

https://twitter.com/NigeriaBasket/status/1414686889529856000

Okafor made 7 of his 8 shots, and finished with 15 points and seven rebounds in just 15 minutes of playing time.

He did not play in the game against the United States because he had missed a week of practice due to a personal matter and had come back just the day before.

Okafor had knee problems during the year with Detroit. Even though he was playing at the end of the season, coach Dwane Casey had said he was not fully recovered.

It looks like Okafor is definitely 100-percent healthy now.

He should get a ton of playing time with Nigeria, if not be a starter for D’Tigers, at the Olympics. While not a young rookie, this still should be seen as a positive development.

Okafor has had a rough past couple of seasons in the NBA. A boost of confidence, like playing well in the Olympics, can only benefit him and the Pistons.

Michael Gbinije, a second round pick of the Pistons back in 2017, who played nine games for Detroit. Is also playing for Nigeria.

He had two points, an assist and a steal in six minutes against the United States, and scored three points, an assist and a steal in eight minutes vs. Argentina.

Team USA has plenty of time to turn things around, after a historically bad start. They have three exhibition games before heading to Tokyo. Hopefully, the pair of Pistons will help get them on the winning track.