When Team USA fell to Nigeria in their first exhibition matchup this past weekend, most people chalked it up to a fluke upset. But when the star-studded U.S. roster fell yet again to Australia last night, heads really began to turn.
But, even after the Australia loss, analyst Dan Patrick wasn’t too concerned — that was until he saw the postgame reaction from head coach Gregg Popovich.
The Team USA coach got into a heated exchange with The Athletic reporter Joe Vardon after the 91-83 loss, indicating some deeper rooted frustrations with his squad.
“At the time when they loss to Australia I thought it wasn’t a big deal. But hearing the way Gregg Popovich spoke last night, I think there’s more of a story here,” Patrick said on The Dan Patrick Show Tuesday.
“At the time when they loss to Australia I thought it wasn’t a big deal. But hearing the way Gregg Popovich spoke last night, I think there’s more of a story here.”
-DP on #USABMNT loss to Australia last night pic.twitter.com/ROIWsv5Stf
— Dan Patrick Show (@dpshow) July 13, 2021
After Team USA’s first loss to Nigeria, Coach Pop brushed it off, giving credit where it was due to the hard-working and talented opposition. But, the tone of yesterday’s postgame press conference was much different. The longtime Spurs coach got defensive with the media about his team’s poor performance so far this summer.
Patrick also brought up some statistics that could be cause for concern with this Team USA squad.
In the past three days, this U.S. roster has now lost as many exhibition matchups as they have in the past 28 years. Before the start of this year’s exhibition games in Las Vegas, Team USA had a 54-2 record dating back to 1992 when pros were first allowed to join the team.
To be fair, Team USA isn’t operating at full capacity. Khris Middleton, Jrue Holiday and Devin Booker all still participating in the NBA Finals, but the expectation for this All-Star-laden roster is still a win in every single game.
The U.S. squad will have another chance to halt their exhibition-game losing skid later tonight. Looking to claim their first win as a team, Popovich and his struggling unit will take on Argentina at 6 p.m. ET.
The post Dan Patrick Has Blunt Reaction To Latest Team USA Loss appeared first on The Spun.
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