BROOKLYN TO PARIS: Team Canada Defeats Team France 85-73, Jordi Fernández gets first win

On their runway to the 2024 Paris Olympics, an exceedingly tall, dare I say, unearthly-looking hurdle stood in front of Jordi Fernández and Team Canada Friday afternoon. Sure, it was just an international “friendly,” but Team France and Victor Wembanyama are an intimidating obstacle no matter the circumstances.

After struggling to match red, white, and blue’s size last week and with the French being one of the lengthier lankier teams between Wembanyama and Rudy Gobert, all signs pointed to another 3-point-heavy attack for Canada. Although we got there eventually, the game’s first act took things in an entirely different direction.

Rather than unloading on France from deep, Fernández went against the script, having RJ Barrett and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander probe inside early and often.

Doing so paid off, as they forced Wemby into two early fouls which handcuffed him to the bench for nearly the entire first period. It helped them establish a lead they carried almost the entire game.

When Team Canada got Joel Embiid to foul out last week, they must have stolen his powers because today they took more shots from the line than a crew of kids playing knockout. Both Barrett and Gilgeous-Alexander shot ten or more free throws today, leading what was a dominant performance from the charity stripe.

Without Wemby manning the paint early, the Canadians were able to generate significant inside-out action, eventually opening things up for those triples. Stingy defense at the top of the key, captained by Lu Dort, made forcing turnovers a habit much like against Team USA. The French coughed it up 10 times in the first half, allowing Canada to kickstart multiple transition opportunities. That all combined to put Fernández’s boys up halfway through the first by a 15-6 score.

But with SGA grabbing some bench shortly after that burst, Team France looked to pull even. Andrew Nembhard, however, had other plans.

The Pacer playoff hero seemed to take pride in reinflating Canada’s 4-to-7 point cushion every few possessions as the first wound down, establishing something of a theme for the game. Nembhard came in off the bench and went 3-of-3 to tally seven points in the period. That, along with a Kelly Olynyk buzzer-beater which Nembhard assisted on, put Team Canada up 25-19 through one.

Both teams continued to dance around that margin through the second quarter, even as Wembanyama returned to start doing Wembanyama things. One of which included an and-one triple over Dillon Brooks, who apparently has haters no matter what corner of the world you go to. The game’s most renowned villain, a big favorite of Coach Fernandez, received boos after almost every play he made today — none louder than when he crashed into the country’s most valuable basketball export.

Fernández had Brooks on Wembanyama for much of the game. Guarding the Rookie of the Year, or perhaps the century, is no easy task. Although Wemby’s foul trouble likely had the most to do with his lack of effectiveness today, Brooks deserves some recognition after forcing him into a mere 10-point game nonetheless.

“I’ve always thought Dillon Brooks is a player I’d like to coach,” Fernández said of Brooks last year. “He is very competitive, very physical, and after having been in touch for one month and having been with him three days I’d like to coach him for the rest of my life, and I tell you everything with that.”

“Jordi is a funny guy, he likes joking around, he makes us understand things and his philosophy is great,” Brooks said of his coach.

Team Canada still had its own highlights in the second to rival Wemby’s, headlined by this filthy hesi-drive from SGA on Gobert to keep Canada’s lead at six.

The final stretch into halftime featured a mixed bag of hustle plays. Team Canada remained aggressive with its defense as Nickeil Alexander-Walker picked the ball away at the top of the key to catalyze a last minute fast break layup. But a sequence later, they forgot to box out and allowed Team France to turn a missed free-throw into a bucket. The plays cancelled out, leaving Team Canada still ahead at the break by a 44-40 score.

But Team France wasted little time making Team Canada pay the price for letting them hang around, as all teams seem to do in this sport. A deep Evan Fournier triple to open up the third followed by a tough midrange, baseline shot from Wemby put Team Canada behind 45-44 just like that.

But like Fernández’s Summer League team across the pond, Canada didn’t let that phase them. A tough drive by SGA translating to some free throws followed by five straight points from Barrett put them back in that familiar six-point lead area.

A deep Olynyk triple later and then by perhaps the strangest give-and-go you’ll ever see put Canada up by nine as the third’s final few seconds ticked away.

Fernández again had Olynyk and Dwight Powell in the drop tonight, something to watch with Claxton playing both that and the switch last year. But again, don’t put too much stock in it, as that’s another decision that makes sense given France’s rebounding might.

But a pair of threes, one at the third period buzzer and one early in the fourth from Guerschon Yabusele, made things interesting to begin the final frame. However, it was right around the seven-minute mark of the fourth where Team Canada made it clear nobody could hang with their NBA talent.

Shai splashed a deep triple from the top of the key that put his team up 71-61 and forced France into a timeout. Olynynk followed with another three of his own and then Nembhard sank a middy soon after to give Canada its largest lead of the contest with roughly four minutes to go.

Team France hit shots down the stretch to keep us all away from blowout territory, but Canada choked out their comeback efforts every other time down with timely makes of their own. It was only right for a game that was close, but rarely felt that way due to the minimal lead changes, to finish in that fashion, as Team Canada won by an 85-73 final score.

Gilgeous-Alexander led Team Canada with 23 points, five assists, and five rebounds. Barrett followed closely, adding 21 points and four rebounds. Star guard Jamal Murray did not suit up for this one. Canada Basketball cited “rest” as the reason behind his inactive status and that his condition would be updated as appropriate.

Keeping in Touch

With Fernández only getting started with Team Canada, Brooklyn’s Summer League squad will need to continue without his services. That’s not to say he’s been entirely disconnected from the team, however. In fact, one could argue he’s been as plugged in as a coach could be halfway across the world.

“He sent us texts the other day. We didn’t have the best practice. He texted and said we need to pick it up,” said Dariq Whitehead. “He sent us a text that he watched it and that led to us having a great practice. He sent us all texts around 2, 3 in the morning, I guess they were just finishing practice or whatever. We came in, talked about it, talked about him sending us that text, and we picked it up the next day. So, just having a head coach who’s still involved while he’s not physically here, it’s just huge for us, especially as a young team.”

“I think they’re going to do a great job here in Vegas,” Fernández said of Brooklyn’s Summer League team. “And at the end of the day, wins or losses are going to take care of themselves. We’re not extremely worried about that. I’m worried [about] how we compete, how hard we play, how we support each other, how we challenge each other. So all those things are going to be important, and it starts here in Summer League with all these young guys.”

Next Up

Team Canada’s final friendly will be this Sunday vs Puerto Rico. The team, led by New Orleans Pelicans point guard and New Jersey high school basketball star Jose Alvarado, is making its return to the Olympics this year after a 20-year absence.