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Rio de Janeiro • France forward Boris Diaw is conscious of trying to involve Rudy Gobert in his team's offense — now and in the future.
Diaw smiled as he described his Olympic strategy to "get him ready for Utah," anticipating their first season together with the Jazz.
The problem is Diaw's effort is not working especially well in Rio, as France prepares to play the USA to conclude preliminary play in the Olympic basketball tournament Sunday (11:15 a.m. MDT). Gobert's lack of offensive progress and overall impact in the Games is not encouraging to those who hope he keeps developing with the Jazz.
"He's doing his job," said Diaw, the French captain. "He's a young guy, so he's got to learn some details. He's improving."
Gobert looks awkward offensively, though, having trouble catching passes and finishing around the basket. About half of his 21 points in four games have come via free throws — although he's only 11 of 20 from the line.
Gobert is not concerned about his own performance, with France (3-1) having qualified for Wednesday's quarterfinals and appearing capable of earning a medal. "That's when it really starts," he said.
Yet other than a game against a struggling China team, with 10 points, eight rebounds and five blocked shots, Gobert has not done much statistically in this tournament. In the other three games, he has totaled 11 points, 18 rebounds and five blocks.
There are a few disclaimers. Gobert is playing only 21.2 minutes, which is about standard in France coach Vincent Collet's rotation. Diaw is the only player averaging more than 24 minutes of the 40-minute games. And because the team qualified for the Olympics in early July as Gobert chose to rest and develop his strength, France learned to play without him in meaningful games.
Gobert said getting into the flow of games after four months away from competition since the Jazz's season ended in mid-April has been difficult. But he added, "I feel great, physically."
France will face a USA team that withstood strong efforts from Australia and Serbia in its last two games. The Americans need to win to assure themselves of the No. 1 quarterfinal seed from Group A, although they likely would earn it via a point-differential tiebreaker if the USA, France and Australia all have 4-1 records. Australia (3-1) faces Venezuela on Sunday night.
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