Following a poor start to the Summer Games, the United States men’s basketball team is one victory away from reaching the knockout stage at the Tokyo Olympics. The U.S. gets their chance to pick up that win Saturday in a matchup with the Czech Republic.
Saturday’s matchup between Team USA and the Czech Republic is scheduled to start at 9 p.m. local time in Tokyo. That means the game starts at 8 a.m. ET. A live stream will be available on Peacock, NBCOlympics.com and with the NBC Sports app.
NBC will have coverage at 4 p.m. EDT. Basketball fans can watch a replay of the game at NBCOlympics.com, as well.
Team USA is expected to cruise in the final game of group play. After blowing a late fourth-quarter lead against France in their Olympic opener, the Americans blew out Iran 120-66 Wednesday.
Damian Lillard led all scorers with 20 points on 7-15 shooting against Iran. Devin Booker had 16 points on 6-9 shooting.
“Our energy was higher, we played at a faster pace. We were more aggressive, and we played like ourselves."
When __ #USABMNT raises its level, we know good things happen. #Tokyo2020
— USA Basketball (@usabasketball)
France defeated the Czech Republic 97-77. Czech Republic only defeated Iran by six points.
Chicago Bulls guard Tomas Satoransky is the only active Czech Republic NBA player. Jan Vesely, the No. 6 overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft, led the Czech Republic with 19 points against France.
Team USA head coach Gregg Popovich tweaked the starting lineup following the loss against France. Draymond Green and Zach LaVine were replaced by Booker and Jrue Holiday against Iran.
Booker and Holiday have been in Tokyo less than a week after competing in the NBA Finals.
Team USA is favored by 23.5 points, according to the point spread at FanDuel Sportsbook. The U.S. is still the odds-on favorite to win the gold medal.
(L-R) Head coach Gregg Popovich, Kevin Love #11, Draymond Green #14, Damian Lillard #6 and Kevin Durant #7 of the 2021 USA Basketball Men's National Team practice at the Mendenhall Center at UNLV as the team gets ready for the Tokyo Olympics on July 7, 2021 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Photo: Ethan Miller/Getty Images
