Stephen Curry has made it clear the United States have "appropriate fear" ahead of their upcoming encounter with South Sudan at the Paris Olympics. (More Basketball News)
Stephen Curry: USA Have 'Appropriate Fear' For South Sudan After Exhibition Win
While the USA are still the clear favourites to win the encounter at the Stade Pierre Mauroy, head coach Kerr said their previous encounter will be to their advantage this time around
Curry, who helped Team USA to an opening 110-84 win over Serbia, echoed a sentiment pushed by his Golden State Warriors coach, Steve Kerr.
Ahead of the Games, the USA endured a stern test against Wednesday's opponents earlier this month, narrowly avoiding a huge upset with a 101-100 victory in London.
South Sudan are making their first appearance at the Olympics, and got their campaign up and running with a 90-79 triumph over Puerto Rico.
Despite South Sudan not having any current NBA players on their roster, they have plenty of experience within their ranks.
The likes of Wenyen Gabriel, JT Thor and Marial Shayok all shone in their pre-tournament meeting with the USA, with Curry acknowledging a tough task lies ahead.
"We have appropriate fear," said Curry. "We know we can't just sleepwalk through any game and feel like you're going to win."
While the USA are still the clear favourites to win the encounter at the Stade Pierre Mauroy, head coach Kerr said their previous encounter will be to their advantage this time around.
"They came within one shot of beating us," Kerr said.
"I'm really glad that we played them so we can feel their speed and their 3-point shooting ability and feel how good they are."
"We'll be much better prepared [Wednesday]. But doesn't guarantee anything."
During their pre-tournament encounter, South Sudan scored 14 3-pointers against the Americans, making 10 more against Puerto Rico last time out.
"The exhibition schedule was great because you got to figure out where we need to get better and also feel the force of teams that are coming trying to beat us," Curry said.
"They're a very high-octane offense, spread the floor, shoot a lot of 3s and have athleticism. So you just got to be mindful of how to guard them. It's totally different than Serbia."
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