Rio Olympics: Lauvergne and France bounce back against China
By Drew Albee
One of the Denver Nuggets’ many foreign big men, Joffrey Lauvergne, and his French teammates squared off against China in Group A action at the Rio Olympics on Monday.
Lauvergne and France were forced to qualify through FIBA Olympic Qualifying play and France was drawn into the Manila tournament. France was able to overcome the upstart Canada squad in the final and advance to the Rio Olympics. Lauvergne averaged 8.0 points and 3.2 rebounds during 16.2 minutes per game in the Philippines.
In order to solidify their rim protection, the French national team, also known as “Les Bleus” added Rudy Gobert and his seven foot, eight-inch wingspan to their roster following the qualifying tournament. The addition of “The French Rejection” cut into Lauvergne’s playing time during France’s opening match against Australia, as Lauvergne barely logged 10 minutes in the surprising loss.
Lauvergne and France were in a tough spot following their shocking loss to Australia, but the French squad is filled with veteran leaders and France rebounded from their poor showing Saturday and defeated the Chinese in their second game of the Rio Olympics.
Let’s take a look at the work Lauvergne put in Monday night:
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