Reigning World champion Germany
and hosts France will square off once again but this time in a
bigger stage as the heavyweight matchup draws another chapter in
the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
The Germans and the French have
faced each other in the group stage over at Group B where Germany
won handily, 85-71. NBA duo Franz Wagner and Dennis Schroder led
the way for Germany as they stifled a France team eager to play in
front of their home fans in Lille. The Germans punished the French
on both ends of the floor in that game, capitalizing on misses and
converting on easy transition points in the
fastbreak.
That led to Germany finishing
first in the group and facing Greece in the quarterfinals, winning
76-63. France ended up taking second in the group and matched up
against a tougher Canada side with an NBA-laden roster. However,
with the help of an active and energetic crowd in Paris, France
rode the momentum to upset the Canadians 82-73 and set up a rematch
against Germany.
This French crowd may just be
the difference for France in this rematch vs
Germany.
Key storylines to watch out for
- Victor Wembanyama’s bounce back
game
Victor Wembanyama played an ugly
game vs Canada with his usual standards, only having 7 points on
just 2/10 FG and 0/6 from three. Wemby struggled to find his
offense all game long, missing mostly on wide open shots that he
usually makes. He did, however, make a crucial defensive play with
under 3 minutes to go by blocking a shot which eventually turned
into an Evan Fournier dagger from 40 ft to push France’s lead to
10. That is usually where Wembanyama’s excellence is ramified – on
the defensive end of the floor. Much is to be said for the
highly-touted French phenom, but he absolutely cannot play like he
did against Canada if France wants to win vs the reigning world
champions. That said, it can be expected Wemby bounces back
big-time one way or another.
In a bold move, France head
coach Vincent Collet opted to bring the NBA center off the bench
for better matchups against Canada – and it worked superbly well.
Guerschon Yabusele started in Gobert’s place and eventually earned
the player of the game honors with 22 points. Yabusele was the
driving force of France’s attack as he attacked the paint with his
aggressiveness. His added scoring punch compared to Gobert’s
playing style helped France get the lead early and never
relinquished it until the end.
Against Germany, it will be
interesting to see how Gobert acclimates himself and makes himself
usable. The Germans have a strong frontline that fits well with
each other alongside Franz Wagner and Schroder’s relentless
attacking of the rim. Perhaps Gobert will make himself valuable on
the defensive side of the floor as France will need all the help
they can get on defense with Germany’s incredible
offense.
- Germany against Paris, France, and the
world
Despite being the reigning world
champions, pressure will be on against Germany to perform on the
biggest stage in front of a hostile crowd in Paris. The French will
have the crowd on their side and it could be the difference in a
game like this. This would be Germany’s first-ever Olympic
semifinal appearance in the nation’s history, so it will be
interesting to see if they can hold off the pressure and perform
with the highest stakes. They will need every bit of Franz Wagner,
Dennis Schroder, and the rest of the world champion-winning roster
to stave off a tough challenge from Victor Wembanyama and France,
who are also looking to enter the gold medal match as hosts in
these Olympics.
