Jerry Lai-US PRESSWIRE

USA Basketball has finished its exhibition play in preparation for the London Olympics which will begin Friday, July 27. Team USA went 5-0 in their exhibition games beating the Dominican Republic, Brazil, Great Britain, Argentina and Spain.

Team USA will be in Pool A in the Olympics along with Argentina, France, Lithuania, Nigeria and Tunisia. The United States is the favorite to win gold in London but it won’t be a cakewalk.

“All I’m concerned about is how we’re going to get better,” Kevin Durant said when asked who was the favorite in the Olympics. “How we’re going to approach these Games, that’s all I’m worried about. We’ll see what happens at the end.”

The team has been modest at times but also knows there is only one acceptable outcome for them.

The United States will play each team in their pool once before the medal round begins. The top four teams from each pool after the round robin will advance to an 8-team tournament.

Pool B is considered the better all-around pool but there will be some competition in Pool A for Team USA. Here is a preview of each team in the pool:

United States

Team USA is ranked first in the world and rightfully so. They won gold in the 2008 Beijing Olympics then won the World Championships two years later. LeBron James has averaged 18.6 points per game to lead the team in its five exhibition games while Durant is averaging 17.6 points per game and went 16-for-29 from beyond the shorter 3-point line.

The weakness for the United States is no secret. They aren’t a big team and have played LeBron, Durant and Carmelo Anthony a lot at the four and five positions. Some teams will have a pretty decent advantage against them inside but it shouldn’t be enough to take them down.

France

France is always a team you expect to be a little better because they have quite a few NBA players. Unfortunately for them they will be without Joakim Noah who would have been huge for them. Tony Parker is playing some of the best basketball of his life though and will be a tough cover for anyone. They also have a few decent athletes at the wing positions led by Nicolas Batum to try and match up with the U.S. Boris Diaw is coming off a great year for the Spurs and has a game made for the international style. Spurs fans will also get a look at Nando De Colo who will be joining the team next year.

France should advance to the medal round and is one of the few teams with a chance to upset the United States but it is pretty unlikely.

Argentina

This is not the same Argentina team that won a gold medal in 2004 and beat the United States. Actually, it pretty much is and that’s the problem. They’ve gotten older and aren’t the heavyweight they used to be. They’re still led by Manu Ginobili, Luis Scola and Carlos Delfino who can all fill it up on any given night, just not as consistently as they used to.

Argentina and France will battle it out for the second seed in Pool A, a spot each will really want to get because then they would avoid the United States until a potential gold medal game.

Lithuania

Lithuania is a small country that absolutely loves hoops and produces some fine NBA-caliber talent. They’ve had some success in the past and have the potential to come out of Pool A as possibly the 2-seed. They have NBA talent in Sarunas Jasikevicius, Linas Kleiza, Darius Songaila and Jonas Valanciunas. They have a lot of size too and could give the U.S. a very good game.

This Lithuania team is the kind that would have probably beaten Team USA in 2004 but this year it should be a different story. Raptors fans will love getting their first look at their 2011 first round lottery pick, Valanciunas.

Nigeria

Nigeria was the last team to qualify for the Olympics making a pretty improbable run to get in. They are led by two NBA talents in Al-Farouq Aminu and Ike Diogu. This is another team with a lot of size but simply not enough talent to be taken seriously. They have an outside chance of advancing to the medal round as the 4-seed but it is pretty unlikely.

Tunisia

Tunisia qualified for the Olympics by winning the African tournament. They aren’t to be feared by anyone though. They are the new Angola and should get blown out in every game in this pool aside from Nigeria.

Tomorrow we will have a preview of Pool B.

Kevin Durant scored 13 points Tuesday afternoon as Team USA beat Spain 100-78 in an exhibition game in preparation for the London Olympics.

Durant scored just three points in the first half but then got it going in the third quarter. He hit a three then got to the rim a few times including this dunk off a Chris Paul assist in which he hit his head on the rim.

Durant’s length is something most international teams haven’t seen before. It’s made him maybe the best player on Team USA as he is able to so easy rise and fire treys from the shorter 3-point line.

Durant is also becoming a better defender and for Team USA has become very effective on defense blocking shots and getting his hands into the passing lanes as international players aren’t used to his length.

The United States went 5-0 in exhibition play over the past two weeks with Durant averaging 17.6 points per game and shooting 50 percent from deep.

Durant is the leading candidate to lead the United States in scoring in the Olympics. LeBron James has slightly edged him in the five exhibition games but Durant did not start the first two games.

One of Durant’s specialties is garbage time baskets. He always has his offense motor going and will clean up a lot of easy buckets for the U.S. when the Olympics start.

The Olympics will start July 27 with Team USA playing their first game July 29 against France.

Bob Donnan-US PRESSWIRE

LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony led USA Basketball to a 100-78 victory over Spain Tuesday afternoon as the United States improve to 5-0 in exhibition play in preparation for the London Olympics.

LeBron scored 25 points and hit three 3-pointers and Anthony scored 27 with 23 coming in the first half as he was hot from deep making five 3-pointers as well.

The U.S. had a big advantage shooting the three in this game going 13-for-23 while Spain struggled at just 5-for-19.

Kevin Durant got off to a slow start as the United States fell behind early while Spain pounded the ball inside. Durant would finish with 13 points in the game making just one 3-pointer coming off the Argentina game in which he made seven threes.

Russell Westbrook came off the bench to give Team USA a nice little spark with nine points.

Pau Gasol led Spain with 19 points in the game and Serge Ibaka scored all 16 of his points in the first half. Marc Gasol did not play for Spain as he is still nursing a banged up right shoulder.

The United States still stuck to their small lineups although they pretty much had to with Tyson Chandler fouling out in just seven minutes of action. LeBron does a good enough job denying post position but once Spain’s bigs had the ball down low, the interior defense for Team USA was no match.

Spain did what they wanted to in this one. They showed that Team USA was beatable early on then they rested their best guys for much of the remainder of the game as the United States ran away with it.

It’s not as if Team USA played their best players the entire game but they are so much deeper than even Spain that they were able to keep playing at a high level with their bench on the floor.

Spain players made it clear before this game that the result of this exhibition was meaningless and they’d gladly trade a Gold Medal in a few weeks for a loss today.

In 2008, Spain lost to the U.S. in the group play by 37 points and then in the Gold Medal game in Beijing they lost by just 11.

The United States wrap up their exhibition play with a perfect record but still some things to work on. The Olympics officially begin Friday, July 27 but Team USA won’t play its first game until Sunday against France.

A few members of the 2012 Olympic USA Basketball team were asked to come up with a starting five including themselves and four other members from the 1992 Dream Team.

Chris Paul, James Harden, Russell Westbrook and Kevin Love were asked this question and all answered about the same. All of them picked Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson and Charles Barkley. Harden, Westbrook and Love chose Larry Bird as well while Paul took David Robinson.

Almost none of these starting fives make sense if you had to play this game, mainly because Bird really shouldn’t have been picked by any of these players. It seems everyone loves forgetting how past his prime Bird was in 1992.

These current players are also very affected by the fact that Barkley and Magic are on T.V. these days and don’t remember some of the other options that would have made sense like Karl Malone, Patrick Ewing or Scottie Pippen.

The question really is: If you could combine the 1992 Dream Team and 2012 Olympic Team, what starting five would you ultimately put out on the floor?

PG – Magic Johnson
SG – Michael Jordan
SF – Kevin Durant
PF – LeBron James
C – Patrick Ewing

It’s really tough to go wrong with any combination. Jordan and Durant are probably the most obvious ones because Jordan was the best player ever and Durant’s game is so perfect for international play with the short 3-point line.

I like LeBron at the four because he can handle that spot and it gives the team more versatility. It may actually make more sense though to move LeBron to point instead of Magic and start Barkley or Malone at the four.

Magic is just so perfect on team with multiple scoring options so it’s hard to consider not starting him.

And here is who I’d have coming off the bench as the second 5-man lineup:

PG – John Stockton
SG – Clyde Drexler
SF – Scottie Pippen
PF – Charles Barkley
C – David Robinson

That’s right. The ultimate team would have a 10-man rotation with only two players coming from the 2012 team.

The toughest decision was Drexler over Kobe Bryant. Kobe is just too old right now and these teams are all about getting out in the open floor. Drexler has the advantage in ’92 over Kobe now in that department so that’s why I went with him. Plus, Kobe would hate coming off the bench in general so he’d probably refuse to even play on the team.

Now there’s only one thing to do: fire up NBA 2K12 and play with this team.

Bob Donnan-US PRESSWIRE

USA Basketball will play its final exhibition game in preparation for the London Olympics today at 4:30 p.m. EST on ESPN2 vs. Spain in Barcelona.

The United States are 4-0 so far in exhibition games beating the Dominican Republic, Brazil, Great Britain and most recently Argentina 86-80 last Sunday afternoon.

Spain is ranked 2nd in the world according to FIBA and will definitely be the biggest test for Team USA so far. Spain is considered maybe the only team with a chance to beat the United States in the coming Olympics and we will find out more about that this afternoon.

Spain beat Argentina by 20 points a few days ago before Argentina lost to the United States by six on Sunday. Spain consists of perhaps the most impressive cast of NBA players besides Team USA with Pau Gasol, Marc Gasol, Serge Ibaka, Jose Calderon and Rudy Fernandez.

The game will feature four Oklahoma City Thunder players in Ibaka, Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and James Harden. Last year’s rookie sensation Ricky Rubio will not be playing in this game or the Olympics as he is still recovering from a torn ACL suffered last season.

Spain and the United States played in the memorable 2008 Gold Medal game in Beijing four years ago with the United States coming out on top 118-107.

The balance on Spain’s roster is better than Team USA’s and their talent is high enough to compete as well. The United States are very small and it has been an issue so far in the exhibition games. Spain will do the best job of taking advantage of their inside strength with the Gasol brothers and Ibaka.

The lane to drive will be closed up more than normal for the United States and they will likely continue to settle for jumpers from the short 3-point line. The United States has attempted an average of 28.8 3-pointers in their four exhibition games while shooting .374 percent.

Kevin Durant has certainly led the way leading the team in scoring at 18.8 points per game and has gone 14-for-26 on threes. Durant scored 27 points and made seven threes against Argentina.

Two other gunners for Team USA, Kobe Bryant and Carmelo Anthony, have been less effective from beyond the arc. Kobe is shooting just .278 percent on threes and Anthony .250 percent. Kobe and Anthony will continue to look for their shots in general and take a lot of threes. One of the potential weaknesses of this team is Kobe and Anthony shooting them out of a game.

Team USA is at its best with Durant and LeBron James on the floor together. In the four exhibition games, they have each played 101 minutes leading the team. Durant started the last two games but did not in the first two as Anthony got the nod. Durant should continue to start though.

LeBron is second on the team averaging 17.0 points per game. His best game was against Brazil when the outcome was most closely in doubt and he took over scoring 30 points to lead the United States to victory.

LeBron’s role is most weighted on his versatility with Team USA especially because of how small they are. LeBron has basically been playing power forward at all times for the U.S., something that will become more challenging when he is matched up with Pau Gasol and Serge Ibaka.

LeBron has shown the capability to contend with the likes of a Gasol on the blocks but for an entire game it is not an ideal matchup for Team USA. LeBron expending that kind of energy on defense will maybe wear him down on offense too, although that shouldn’t be too big of a deal when Durant is on the floor.

The United States has been able to overcome a lack of size by being superior at the wing and guard positions. Their ball pressure on opposing guards is a huge strength although the experience of Spain’s guards, Calderon and Juan Carlos Navarro, should hinder that advantage.

The attention USA will have to pay to the interior on defense may open up more outside shooting looks for Spain too. Not many players are as prepared to pull the trigger on treys as Fernandez and Navarro and if they are hitting, Spain could pull off the upset.

We will learn a lot about Team USA today and see just how big of an issue their lack of size is. Spain will want to win but international teams understand that this is just an exhibition and they sometimes play accordingly, not going all out or showing their entire game plan.

Bob Donnan-US PRESSWIRE

The United States beat Argentina yesterday 86-80 and are now 4-0 in their exhibition games leading up to the 2012 London Olympics.

Kevin Durant had 27 points, six assists and made seven 3-pointers in the game and LeBron James had 15 points, five assists and seven rebounds.

“We started off pretty well, got a couple of shots,” Durant said after the game. “Argentina did a great job of slowing the game down, making the right passes and penetrating and executing. So, it was a good game for us. We learned a lot tonight. We just have to keep getting better for the Olympics and our guys did a good job of playing through everything, playing hard, playing together.”

Durant and LeBron have emerged as the two best players in the NBA and the two best on this team. Believe it or not, Team USA is at its best with them on the floor together.

Team USA has outscored its opponents by 65 points in the 76 minutes Durant and LeBron have played together in the four exhibition games. Team USA won two of the games in blowout fashion but they’re still not dominating in all facets of the game.

The United States are small and they’ve had issues trying to go to smaller lineups. In the 58 minutes of action playing without any true big (Tyson Chandler, Kevin Love or Anthony Davis), the U.S. has been outscored 116-115.

Head coach Mike Krzyzewski has often gone with very small lineups featuring a combination of Durant, LeBron and Carmelo Anthony playing the four and five positions. This looks cool but it really puts the United States at a disadvantage.

This was more common in the first two exhibition games when Krzyzewski brought Durant off the bench. The first sub for Team USA in each game has been taking Chandler out. He was replacing him with Durant at center in the first two games, a move that leaves the United States vulnerable inside.

Krzyzewski will continue to play these small lineups although he should try and limit their time on the floor the most when Team USA plays a team like Spain. One way to make sure Team USA is still in good shape when these lineups occur is to start Durant so he can be out there with LeBron.

Durant is the perfect international player with his ability to easily shoot the shorter three over defenders. He’s a shooter that likes to get shots up early in a game too so coming off the bench doesn’t suit him the best.

LeBron compliments Durant perfectly especially at the start of games where LeBron prefers the distributor role as he feels out the game.

Krzyzewski has started Durant over Anthony in the last two exhibition games but did not in the first two. He has also said that this team essentially has seven starters and it doesn’t matter who he starts.

Durant and LeBron make for the perfect zone buster as well. Durant is the best catch-and-shoot player in the world and LeBron the best skip passer and ball mover in the world. When the United States has LeBron at the free throw line making decisions against the 2-3 zone and Durant is spotting up, good luck world.

It’s not rocket science that Team USA would be better with LeBron and Durant out there together but it’s also not impossible for Krzyzewski to fathom a rotation where the two aren’t necessarily playing together that much.

We’ve just seen exhibition games so far and Krzyzewski is likely to condense the rotation and play Durant and LeBron more minutes when the Olympics start this Friday.

The fact still remains though that Team USA will be at a disadvantage a lot during these Olympic Games. Going small is something we will see a lot of from them and when that happens, they’re not necessarily the best team in the world anymore.

The next test will be their last exhibition vs. Spain Tuesday at 4:30 p.m. EST on ESPN2. No team has better size than Spain and more potential to upset mighty Team USA.

“It’s going to be a tough game,” Durant said. “They’re on their homecourt. Those guys are big but I think we come out and play hard, play together, we’ll be fine. It will be fun playing against my teammate but on Tuesday, he’s not my teammate , he’s not my friend. I’m going to go out there and give it all for my group of guys and it should be fun.”

Bob Donnan-US PRESSWIRE

USA Basketball improved to 4-0 in exhibition play beating Argentina 86-80 Sunday afternoon in Barcelona, Spain.

Kevin Durant led the United States with 27 points and made seven 3-pointers in the game including a dagger with 2:40 left to put the U.S. up 81-74.

Manu Ginobili came right back down with a driving layup after that. Ginobili led Argentina with 23 points in the game.

Chris Paul dribbled down the clock on the next possession then hit another three for the United States sealing the deal on an Argentina team that refused to go away.

The U.S. got out to a huge lead early jumping ahead 16-1 to start the game behind some hot shooting from Durant and Kobe Bryant. Durant made four of his seven threes in the first quarter and Kobe also hit a pair.

Team USA perhaps fell in love with the three a little too much (13-for-34 in the game) allowing Argentina to get back into the game but the end result was never really in question. Team USA has too many options to allow a team to come back on them.

The United States backcourt pressure prowess was less of a factor against a pretty talented Argentina squad that featured some NBA talent in their backcourt. Argentina wasn’t talented enough with their bigs though to really exploit the United States’ lack of size.

Luis Scola scored 14 points for Argentina and Team USA had little trouble containing him although the pesky Scola did get into a little altercation bumping chests with Durant while LeBron James separated the two.

Frustration was high for Scola and Argentina who was playing in just their second exhibition game so far, previously getting blown out by Spain by 20 points a few days ago.

The game was tight enough though that James Harden and Anthony Davis did not play at all for the United States.

Argentina has a history of performing well against the United States in international hoops but that is just history now. This is not the best Argentina team of all-time and they’re not on the same level as Team USA.

Argentina will be in the same pool as Team USA when the Olympics start and is considered their biggest competition in the group.

Team USA will play Spain in their fifth and final exhibition game before the Olympics start Tuesday at 4:30 p.m. EST on ESPN2. Spain is without question Team USA’s biggest obstacle in winning Gold and the game should be as competitive as any we have seen yet for the United States.

Joe Toth-US PRESSWIRE

Team USA Basketball will play its fourth exhibition game today at 3:30 p.m. EST vs. Argentina in preparation for the 2012 London Olympics.

The United States are 3-0 so far in exhibition games beating the Dominican Republic, Brazil and most recently Great Britain.

Argentina will certainly be the bigger test of the bunch so far as they are ranked 3rd in the world by FIBA behind only the United States and Spain. Argentina won Gold in the 2004 Olympics and then Bronze in the 2008 Olympics.

Argentina is led by a familiar cast of NBA players like Manu Ginobili, Luis Scola, Andres Nocioni and Carlos Delfino. While that doesn’t compare to the NBA players on the U.S.’s roster, it will still be tougher than anything Team USA has seen so far.

The United States looked great in their first exhibition game killing the Dominican Republic then they struggled against Brazil winning just 80-69. Brazil had a big time size advantage in the paint and they gave the U.S. trouble.

Argentina is coming off a 105-85 loss to Spain a few days ago in an exhibition of their own. Ginobili scored 19 points in that game and Scola added 18. Spain was led by Pau Gasol who had 17 and Juan Carlos Navarro who had 16.

LeBron James and Kevin Durant will lead Team USA but they have to do it on this team in a somewhat different way than you’d expect. They are both essentially playing out of position at power forward and even center on this roster.

LeBron and Durant are two of the best players in the world and are thus very versatile but we will see them at a disadvantage at times, especially on defense with Team USA. LeBron and Durant have been fine on offense though averaging 17.7 and 16.0 points per game, respectively, to lead the team.

Tyson Chandler is the only big man that has been getting significant run for the U.S. and that has made things difficult for them. Kevin Love and Anthony Davis have only played big minutes in the two blowouts.

The strength of Team USA is at the guard and wing positions. They have had a lot of success pressing their opponents forcing an average of 26.0 turnovers per game so far in their exhibition play. This was easy to do against D.R. and G.B. but Argentina will not be as weak protecting the ball.

When the United States played Brazil, we saw Brazil not show their entire hand as they played no zone throughout the entire game. Argentina may do the same as so many international coaches choose to do. Playing zone against the U.S. is the best way to beat them as they are weakest shooting from the perimeter and passing the ball around a zone.

Head coach Mike Krzyzewski shuffled up the starting lineup in Team USA’s last game against Great Britain starting Durant and Deron Williams instead of Carmelo Anthony and Chris Paul. Krzyzewski says he has seven starters on this team and it doesn’t matter who he starts.

Durant is averaging the second-most minutes per game on the team so far despite coming off the bench in two of the games. It still feels like a waste not to start him as the team should try and play he and LeBron together as much as possible.

We have seen the United States continually gel and look better playing together with each exhibition game. Today is another chance to get better and they will need to if they plan to take home the Gold.

Joe Toth-US PRESSWIRE

Team USA Basketball won its third exhibition game yesterday defeating Great Britain 118-78 in a game played in England.

The game was never really closed as the United States continues to gel and look better the more time they spend together on the floor.

A key change to this game was head coach Mike Krzyzewski shuffling up the starting lineup. He started Kevin Durant and Deron Williams I this game instead of Chris Paul and Carmelo Anthony who started the first two games.

“I don’t necessarily think there is any permanence to our starting lineup,” Krzyzewski said after the game. “You basically have a group, a core group, of veterans, mostly from the Beijing Olympics that I think do need to be the core of this team because they’re older, they’ve been through the Olympics. Durant, talent-wise, is right there with any of them.”

The starting lineup may not matter for every game as the United States should roll past most countries but finding some consistency could be important to have by the time Team USA makes it into the medal round.

Starting Durant should be a no-brainer too. Durant is perhaps the best player in the NBA right now for international competition. With the shorter 3-point line and the fact that he will mostly be matched up with opposing fours makes him Team USA’ most potent weapon on offense.

It just feels like a waste to have LeBron James on the floor without Durant at the start of games. Anthony is probably better suited as a scorer to come off the bench than Durant too and looked comfortable doing so against Great Britain.

“Coach just wanted to switch it up a little bit tonight,” Anthony said. “They’re still trying to figure out not so much his lineups, but getting everybody a feel for playing with one another. Tonight he wanted to go with KD (Kevin Durant) and Deron (Williams) he brought me and CP (Chris Paul) off the bench. So, we’re just trying to figure it out in these games, putting everybody in a lot of positions out there.”

The same can be said for starting Williams instead of Paul. Paul may be the better NBA point guard but Williams has the edge in the international game mainly because he is a far superior shooter from the outside.

The starting lineup is still not set yet and Krzyzewski says he will simply continue to start some combination of the team’s top seven players.

Team USA will play their next exhibition game Sunday night at midnight EST vs. Argentina.

Joe Toth-US PRESSWIRE

USA Basketball improved to 3-0 in their exhibition games leading up to the London Olympics beating Great Britain 118-78 Thursday afternoon.

Carmelo Anthony and Deron Williams each scored 19 points to lead the U.S. to victory.

The United States forced Great Britain to turn the ball over 26 times and they scored 34 fast break points in the game.

Kevin Durant started for Team USA for the first time in replace of Anthony. Williams also started for the first time as well instead of Chris Paul. Durant scored 13 points in the game and was relatively quiet going 1-for-5 from three.

Russell Westbrook played a fantastic game scoring 15 points to go along with nine assists. James Harden also had his best game so far with 11 points and three assists.

Great Britain featured one NBA player in All-Star Luol Deng but it was not nearly enough. Deng did have a nice game though scoring 25 points for the home team.

Great Britain is ranked 43rd in the world by FIBA and qualified for the Olympics only because they are the host country. They will be in the same pool as the U.S.

The United States were challenged in their last exhibition game against Brazil but did pretty much whatever they wanted today.

The new starting lineup with Durant and Williams in looked a little better but it is not set in stone if head coach Mike Krzyzewski will continue with that starting five. Coach K says they have seven starters on the team and seems pretty willing to continue to mix it up especially before the Olympics officially start July 27.

The United States will play their fourth exhibition next Sunday night at midnight EST vs. Argentina.

LeBron James has proven himself as the best basketball player in the world. Kevin Durant has made it clear he is No. 2 and plans to eventually catch LeBron.

LeBron and Durant went at it in the NBA Finals this past season with the Heat getting the best of the Thunder and taking home the championship. Now the two rivals are playing together representing Team USA Basketball in the London Olympics.

LeBron and Durant like each other. They have bonded before, last summer working out together and participating in charity basketball and flag football games. We see it again this summer with Team USA and in particular this video as LeBron teaches Durant his “unstoppable move.”

LeBron makes this ridiculous fake-right-handed-hook-shot-into-left-handed-hook-shot look incredibly easy. It’s just amazing how this looks like a routine move for him. Durant has some work to do with this move though and is unable to pull it off at all.

LeBron and Durant are far and away the two best players for Team USA Basketball this summer. Durant came off the bench in the team’s first two exhibition games but is starting against Great Britain today and should continue to do so going forward.

The versatility of Team USA is embodied the most with LeBron and Durant as they have shared the floor as the four and five for a lot of minutes so far with this team. The bread and butter for Team USA will be when the two stars work together and they’ll be the most deadliest when they run the pick-and-roll together.

Team USA may be at their best though just throwing it into LeBron in the post. This video is testament to just how far he has come as a post-up player as he has now truly developed the most unstoppable move in all of basketball.

Geoff Burke-US PRESSWIRE

Team USA Basketball will play its third exhibition game this afternoon in preparation for the London Olympics.

The U.S. won its first two routing the Dominican Republic then closely beating Brazil 80-69 Monday night.

Today it will be Great Britain led by Luol Deng and not much else. The first two exhibitions for the United States were played in America while this one will be in England so there might be some home court advantage factoring in.

Great Britain is not one of the better international teams despite Deng being on the roster. They are ranked just 43rd in the world. They have qualified for the Olympics though and will be in the same pool as the U.S.

They could be a tough team though. They played Spain and France earlier this month and lost the two games by only a combined nine points.

The United States are far from looking their best at this point too. The win against Brazil was an ugly one. They trailed by 10 after one quarter, got outrebounded and really only won because LeBron James scored 30 points and Brazil didn’t play any zone.

Brazil is one of the tougher matchups for the U.S. though mainly because of their size and NBA-experienced players. Great Britain will not be that today and we should see the United States get out to an early lead and run away with this one.

Kevin Durant scored just 11 points against Brazil after having 24 and five threes against the Dominican Republic. Durant came off the bench again too and played a lot of power forward and center which we should see again today.

One of the greatest strengths of this U.S. team is the pressure their guards can put on their opponents in the backcourt. Russell Westbrook is maybe the best at this and continues to force a lot of turnovers this way and will be at it again for sure against Great Britain.

James Harden didn’t get a lot of run against Brazil and since the game was close, Mike Krzyzewski went with a more concise lineup. Harden has yet to get hot from downtown and will start to play more if he can become a deadly spot-up shooter which he has the potential to do.

The game will be at 2:10 p.m. EST and will air on ESPN2 today.

Geoff Burke-US PRESSWIRE

David Stern and the NBA are interested in setting an age limit on who is allowed to represent Team USA Basketball in the Olympics. The proposed age limit would be 23 years old.

“I think we got a lot out of the Olympics,” Stern told the LA Times shortly after the NBA Finals. “We helped grow the game. The result has been extraordinary. But I think it’s appropriate to step back and take stock of where we’re going.”

The NBA and its teams don’t make a lot of money sending their veteran players to international competitions and it definitely doesn’t make up for the potential risk involved.

Kobe Bryant and Chris Paul, veterans now themselves, do not want to see an age limit restricting participants in Team USA Basketball.

“It’s a stupid idea, stupid,” Kobe told the New York Times. “It should be a (player’s) choice. The Olympics is really about putting the best athletes out there to compete against the best. That’s what it’s about, put the best out there. From a basketball standpoint, (an age limit) would lessen the Olympics, absolutely.”

Paul noted that he had one of his best seasons ever following the 2008 Olympics that he won Gold in.

“You see guys, when they come back from playing on a team like this, they go into the new (NBA) season with the ultimate confidence,” Paul said. “It’s better than being at home just working out and playing ball. You get to play against the best players in the world.”

We have seen the rest of the international field continually catch up to the United States in basketball. Despite the U.S. sending some of its best talent in recent years, they aren’t dominating quite like they used to anymore.

An age limit of 23 would make it just that much harder for the U.S. to continue winning Gold. They could maybe get away with it this year with Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and Kevin Love on the roster but neither of those players are even starting on this team.

Then you have Derrick Rose and Blake Griffin, who are two of the best players in the NBA under 23, missing these Olympics due to injury.

An age limit seems logical in some ways but at 23 years old would be a little too strict. Setting one at 25 might work a little better and then the older veterans wouldn’t have to worry about playing, although Kobe and Paul are indicating they want to choose themselves.

USA Basketball is 2-0 in exhibition games so far leading up to the London Olympics. They will play their third exhibition Thursday night against Great Britain. The Olympics begin July 27.

Geoff Burke-US PRESSWIRE

USA Basketball won its second exhibition game in preparation for the Olympics against Brazil Monday night 80-69.

An 11-point win is fine but it wasn’t a pretty performance by the United States as Brazil revealed some of Team USA’s weaknesses, especially early on as they led 27-17 after the first quarter.

Brazil is a much bigger team than Team USA, sporting three bigs with NBA experience in Anderson Varejao, Nene and Tiago Splitter who helped outrebound the U.S. 38-30 in the game

The United States still won because they turned up the defensive intensity and forced 23 turnovers in the game. After trailing by 10 after one quarter, they allowed just five points in the second and led 37-32 at halftime.

“Our defense was great in the last three quarters, we just weren’t making all of our shots,” Kevin Durant said after the game. “We know we’re going to have some games where we start off slow, but we just have to keep up our defense and be more responsive. We had open shots off of the pick and rolls, we just have to work on making them.”

Offense was a struggle for the U.S. too as they shot just 40.8 percent in the game and went 6-for-24 from beyond the arc. Team USA made up for those numbers with some good hustle work with 12 offensive rebounds and shot 11 more free throws than Brazil.

Brazil didn’t even show their entire hand in this game as so many international teams do leading up to the Olympics. They didn’t play zone at all in the game when that is clearly the most effective way to play defense against the U.S.

LeBron James scored 30 points and far too often found himself single-covered by a Brazil big and took him off the dribble. This wouldn’t have happened in the Olympics.

The lack of size will be a big issue for the U.S. They’re not just going to easily stroll past teams with LeBron and Durant at the four and five no matter how cool those lineups seem. International basketball is too different and not being physical in the paint is something you can rarely afford to be.

It’s still early but head coach Mike Krzyzewski and his affinity for playing a ton of different types of lineups could cost the U.S. as well. Maybe he’s just trying things out now but he has a history of playing questionable lineups with Team USA.

“It’s great,” Russell Westbrook, who scored four points vs. Brazil, said of Team USA’s versatility. “That’s why they put this group of guys together. There are talented guys on this team that are capable of doing a lot of different things. On any given night one guy could score 30 or a lot of guys could score 10 or 12.”

The United States needs to lock down a rotation before the Olympics start though. It’s great that they are deep and have 12 players that can contribute but in a 40-minute game that can be too much and a more concise rotation would be better.

We saw Coach K kind of do this against Brazil playing nine players most of the minutes with Kevin Love and James Harden barely playing and Anthony Davis not at all.

“We have just been sticking with it,” Harden said. “Obviously, our shots didn’t fall in this particular game but fortunately we still able to win. We held them to five points in the second quarter which was good. Our chemistry continues to build with every game we play together.”

Fortunately for the United States they drew the easier group in London. Spain and Brazil, the two teams with the most size, will not play the U.S. until a potential Gold Medal game.

“Right now we’re just trying to focus on us and getting better,” Durant said. “When we start in London, then we will start focusing on how to beat those teams. We know it’s going to be tough but right now we just have to focus on us.”

Until then, the U.S. will continue with its preparation for the Olympics playing their third exhibition against Great Britain July 19 at 7:10 p.m. EST on ESPN2.

Geoff Burke-US PRESSWIRE

LeBron James led the United States with 30 points in an 80-69 victory over Brazil in the team’s second exhibition game in preparation for the London Olympics. The game was played in Washington, D.C. with President Obama and his family in attendance.

Team USA was tested much more against Brazil than they were in their first exhibition against the Dominican Republic. The Brazilians were big inside led by Nene, Anderson Varejao and Tiabo Splitter while the United States still played our small lineups.

LeBron took over after the United States got out to a slow start and trailed after the first quarter. He was too much to handle off the dribble most often guarded but the Brazilian bigs.

Kevin Durant who scored 24 points and made five 3-pointers against the Dominican Republic scored just 11 points against Brazil and once again came off the bench.

Brazil was an expected tough test for Team USA but they won’t see them in their group play in the Olympics. Brazil is in Pool B along with Spain, Russia, China, Australia and Great Britain. The toughest teams in the United States’ pool are Argentina and France.

Team USA will play their third exhibition game July 19 vs. Great Britain. The game will be played in England and will be at 7:10 p.m. EST airing on ESPN2.

Gary A. Vasquez-US PRESSWIRE

The USA Men’s Olympic Basketball team will play its second exhibition game tonight vs. Brazil. The game will be played in Washington, D.C. at the Verizon Center at 8 p.m. EST and will be on ESPN2.

Team USA won its first exhibition game last Thursday when they beat the Dominican Republic 113-59.

Kevin Durant led the U.S. with 24 points and 10 rebounds off the bench in that game and made his first five 3-pointers. Andre Iguodala was also hot from deep making four treys of his own and scoring 18 points.

Russell Westbrook had six points and five rebounds and James Harden scored eight points.

The Dominican Republic was very close to qualifying for the Olympics but lost to Nigeria in the final Olympic Qualifying game in Venezuela last week. NBA players Al Horford and Francisco Garcia played for the Dominican Republic but were no match at all for the U.S.

Brazil will be a tougher matchup for Team USA and is ranked 13th in the world by FIBA. Brazil has a few NBA players on its roster including Nene, Tiago Splitter, Anderson Varejao and Leandro Barbosa.

The United States is without question more talented than Brazil but Brazil could pose a few tough matchups especially with their big men.

Team USA does not have a big roster and will be relying on its versatile wings and backcourt pressure to beat teams. Team USA played a lot of lineups with LeBron James and Durant playing the four and five which will put them at a disadvantage against a team like Brazil where Nene and Splitter can score efficiently out of the low post.

The United States’ ability to pressure ball handlers may also be lessened going up against an NBA-experienced point in Barbosa.

The game changes under FIBA rules and the United States looks less like a collection of NBA players in the process. In their first exhibition match, they fired 33 3-pointers and made 13 of them, thanks to Durant and Iguodala. Team USA doesn’t have a lot of great 3-point shooters however especially considering some of the lineups head coach Mike Krzyzewski plays involving average outside shooters like LeBron and Chris Paul.

The name of the game for Team USA will always be their defense in the backcourt, scoring on the break and moving the ball well on offense. They looked expectedly rusty against the Dominican Republic often over-passing in a game they knew they’d easily win. They also didn’t do the best job of team rebounding, something Coach K has emphasized with this team and something that will be very important against bigger teams like Brazil.

Team USA needs to find a more defined role for all of their players if they are going to hit their potential and win a Gold Medal in London.

Brazil is a perfect test before the Olympics to get the United States into shape. The game should be much closer than the game against the Dominican Republic which should force Team USA to play their appropriate best lineups.

Brazil has always played the United States tough in international basketball and is coming off an impressive 91-75 win over Argentina who is ranked 3rd in the world right now.

Team USA should still win tonight but we can expect ugly basketball in the process.

Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE/Getty Images

The USA Olympic Basketball team played in front of a crowd of thousands U.S. soldiers and their families Saturday in Washington, D.C.

The team put on a show scrimmaging each other in the Hoops for Troops event as they continue to prepare for the London Olympic Games which begin July 27.

“It was very touching to see so many people who sacrificed their lives for us to walk freely and do what we like to do,” Durant said. “It’s hard to really comment on it because you can’t repay them in any way but it’s truly a blessing to walk through and see that because they’ve done so much for us.”

After the game yesterday the team gathered to pay their respects at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington Cemetery. It’s a cool scene seeing the players lined up with their heads down during the moment of silence.

USA Basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and Kevin Durant had the honor of placing a wreath at the tomb.

“Words can’t describe how excited I was to get that opportunity (presenting the wreath),” Durant said. “Not too many people get that. Also, being from here, that was my first time experiencing that. It really puts everything in perspective for you, how much people sacrificed – that you don’t even know – for your lives and that’s big.”

These are the kinds of things that really will bring this team together for the right reasons. This is why it is such an invaluable experience to represent your country in the Olympics.

The team will play their second exhibition game Monday night at 8 p.m. EST on ESPN2 against Brazil. Durant led the team with 24 points and 10 rebounds in their first exhibition win over the Dominican Republic last Thursday night.