The French are headed to the semifinals in the men’s Olympic basketball tournament. The hosts this summer, France did not look particularly convincing in group play to set up a battle with one of the favorites to win the whole thing, Canada, to start the knockout rounds. But something clicked, and the team looked much better in its quarterfinal matchup en route to an 82-73 win.
One of the big changes the team made heading into the game against Canada involved its starting lineup, as veteran big man Rudy Gobert got moved to the bench for former Boston Celtics forward Guerschon Yabusele. It seemed like a terrific gamble — Gobert played just three minutes, while Yabusele had a team-high 22 points — but as it turns out, this was necessary, as Gobert told reporters after the game that he suffered a finger injury two days prior that forced him to get surgery on Monday.
French big man Rudy Gobert, who played less than four minutes tonight, just told a few of us reporters that he had surgery on his left ring finger yesterday and was thankful he was able to play at all in this win over Canada. @JeffZillgitt @davidaldridgedc
— Sam Amick (@sam_amick) August 6, 2024
France center Rudy Gobert said he injured his left ring finger in practice two days ago and had surgery on it yesterday which limited his minutes against Canada. France advanced to semis with victory vs. Canada.
— Jeff Zillgitt (@JeffZillgitt) August 6, 2024
Well, kinda. According to French coach Vincent Collet, Gobert did not have surgery, and instead, he just got an MRI.
France coach Vincent Collet: Rudy Gobert's finger was examined, including an MRI, but "it was not a surgery."
On benching Gobert: "Small ball. I wanted Wemby to start at position 5. Yabusele at position 4."
Fournier benched because Collet wanted a "defensive starting 5."— Ben Golliver (@BenGolliver) August 6, 2024
Gobert got 3:41 of action off the bench, did not attempt a shot, and only pulled in one rebound. It’ll be interesting to hear what exactly is going on here down the road, but for now, the French may have more important things to focus on, like their semifinal matchup against defending World Cup winners Germany.
