The 2024 Paris Olympics will officially begin for Team USA and Team Japan’s women’s basketball group today. This should be a very exciting game, as Tokyo 2020 ended with a gold medal match between the two. However, the US is riding a FIBA World Cup win from 2022 while Japan has had a bit more of a struggle in recent years.
In game one of the qualifiers, Japan managed to beat Spain 86-75. However, they couldn’t escape a loss to Hungary 75-81. This isn’t the best look as Hungary didn’t end up qualifying for the Olympics due to losses from Spain and Canada. The land of the rising sun managed to get a win over Canada to qualify for Paris.
On the flip side, the United States delivered a pounding to two out of the three teams they played. They had some difficulty against Belgium in their 81-79 win, but Nigeria and Senegal both lost to the US by over 50 points. If they play like this in every matchup, there’s no question who it winning gold.
USA vs. Japan Game Details
Fixture: Team USA vs. Team Japan
Date and Time: July 29th, 2024 @ 3:00 pm ET
Group: C
Streaming: Peacock
TV: USA
USA vs. Japan Team Review
Team USA
With this being the first game for these two teams, let’s instead take a look at USA’s qualifying game against Senegal. Top players like Sabrina Ionescu and Kelsey Plum played limited minutes in this game. A major spark came from the bench through Rhyne Howard who in 15:27 scored 25 points and grabbed five boards. Starter Napheesa Collier also had a fantastic game with 22 points.
Expect the stars to be the main players of this game. It will be interesting to see how long Diana Taurasi plays as she is now 42 years old. Many believe she should have been left off the roster for Caitlin Clark to join or even Angel Reese. If she can’t keep up with her teammates, the backlash will probably continue through the Olympics.
Team Japan
This team managed to survive a solid Team Canada roster to ensure they would qualify. Major efforts in this win came from Evelyn Mawuli who came through with 31 points shooting 70% from the field and 75% from three-point land. Mai Yamamoto also had 21 points in this game. Lastly, viewers saw a 16-point showing from Saori Miyazaki who went 7/11 from the field.
For this team to be the United States, there will need to be a big effort from the bench. In the game against Canada, the bench didn’t get much action, but this game will be a different story. The American players play fast and will run this Japanese team as much as they can. Substitutions will most likely be necessary here.
Possible Breakout Players of the Game
Team USA
Look for Kelsey Plum to have a good game today. She’ll most likely be coming off the bench, but should still be a big contributor. I expect her to have more than 10 points and 15 minutes. Plum has been a great source of energy for this USA team and will continue to be one. If she can knock down her shots, they’ll come out on top today.
Team Japan
Saki Hayashi needs to have a better game today. She plays in the WJBL for the Denso Iris where she averaged 13.9 points per game in the regular season. She also averaged 6.3 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game. Hayashi didn’t get the best start in the game against Canada. In the time she played, it was only a six-point showing. She’ll need to turn it up in this game if she wants to help her team get a win.
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