The United States won gold for the second straight Olympics beating Spain 107-100 in the gold medal game and unsurprisingly remain atop the FIBA rankings.

The top five on the rankings are still the same, in order USA, Spain, Argentina, Greece and Lithuania.

Russia jumped five spots to the No. 6 spot replacing Turkey who slides back to No. 7. Russia had a very impressive Olympics finishing first in their group and beating Brazil and Spain in the process. They would go on to lose to Spain in the semifinal round however but did beat Argentina in the bronze medal game.

France and Brazil who each fared well in the Olympics as well moved up four spots each to No. 8 and 9, respectively. Australia will round out the top 10.

Great Britain made the greatest leap moving up 20 spots on the rankings to No. 23. Great Britain played in the Olympics only because they were the host country and were led by a very valiant performance by Luol Deng in the Games.

Tunisia also moved up quite a bit getting 10 spots higher to No. 22 after also participating in the Olympics.

The Republic of Congo, Liberia and Togo remain unchanged in the rankings, all tied for last in the world.

There is talk from NBA commissioner David Stern about putting together a Basketball World Cup that would resemble what soccer has and essentially be competition for Olympic basketball.

So that may be on the horizon as well as the discussed 23-and-under age-limit that may be put on American players but that is not expected to come in to effect until 2020 at the earliest.

Shved made 6-of-11 threes in the game after struggling with his shot for most of the Olympics and also had seven assists and five boards. Kirilenko made 8-of-12 shots in the game to go with eight rebounds and two blocks.

Shved and Kirilenko will both be coming to the NBA next season to play with the Minnesota Timberwolves and did a great job here in London leading their team to the bronze medal.

Argentina’s loss here signifies the end of an era. Argentina was the one team that challenged the United States more than anyone in basketball and even won the gold medal back in 2004.

This will surely be the last Olympics for veterans Manu Ginobili, Luis Scola and Carlos Delfino. Ginobili scored 21 points and made four threes in the loss. Scola had 11 points and Delfino played the entire game and scored 15.

Andres Nocioni, who also may be playing in his last Olympics for his country, had 16 points.

It wasn’t enough though for Argentina who just wasn’t quite what they once were in these Olympics. They made 13-of-33 threes in the game but didn’t do enough on defense as Russia shot 50.9 percent for the game.

Vitaliy Fridzon came off the bench and was huge for Russia scoring 19 points. Fridzon was also instrumental earlier in the Olympics with 24 points off the bench when Russia upset Spain in pool play.

Russia’s win here caps off an impressive run for them in the Olympics. Led by head coach David Blatt Russia looks like a country that will be around the top of international basketball play for years to come.

Argentina will have to reload but it’s hard to see where that talent will be coming from.

The United States and Spain will play in the gold medal game at 10 a.m. EST on NBC this morning.

USA vs. Spain is the gold medal matchup everyone wanted to see. The United States are of course the favorites to bring home gold while Spain has always been considered their greatest competition.

Team USA has won all seven of its games in the Olympics so far by an average margin of 35.7 points per game. Spain has been far less impressive losing twice in pool play and looking weak in each of their last two games in the medal round.

The United States has passed some tests so far, beating Argentina twice and surviving a close scare vs. Lithuania but Spain should still be their toughest battle yet.

Here are five reasons why Spain might upset the United States in the gold medal game.

Spain is bigger

Let’s start with the most obvious one here. Spain has a significant size advantage over the U.S. and they intend to take advantage of it as much as possible. Spain starts the Gasol brothers and then brings Serge Ibaka and Felipe Reyes off the bench.

The U.S. will start Tyson Chandler as their only big and use Kevin Love too but mostly plays LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Carmelo Anthony at power forward. The U.S. has outrebounded their opponents by over 10 boards per game in the Olympics but that is mostly because they are shooting a far higher percentage.

The U.S. is definitely weak inside as we saw in their games vs. Lithuania and Argentina, when they play without a rim protector their opponent will get a lot of relatively easy looks at the rim.

Spain will pound it inside on offense and pack in their zone on defense. This is closer to the international style and they will have an advantage. Mismatches do go both ways though and Team USA will have to make sure they take advantage by featuring their more skilled forwards in positions where they can be effective against slower, bigger defenders.

3-point shooting

Team USA has lived by the three and they’ve won by it so far in the Olympics. They are attempting 36.6 threes per game and making .445 percent of them. That’s off the charts but there is always a chance even for Team USA to go cold from behind the line tomorrow morning.

Durant and Anthony become very important in this regard as they have led Team USA in 3-point shooting. Durant is shooting .558 percent from three in the Olympics and Anthony .525. They are Team USA’s two leading scorers as well.

Spain has been on the opposite end in terms of 3-point shooting success in the Olympics. They’re shooting just .328 percent as a team with some of their best guys really struggling.

Rudy Fernandez is third on the team in scoring and shooting .367 percent. Juan Carlos Navarro is shooting .333 percent and Jose Calderon .348 percent. Even Pau Gasol has been shooting the three for them, making just 5-for-15 in total.

Spain is fully capable though of heating up from three in any game as they showed in the second half of their semifinal game vs. Russia. They will need to do that and pray that Team USA has an off shooting night to pull off the upset.

40-minute game

The games in these Olympics are eight minutes shorter than NBA games. That means there is greater chance for an upset and less time to erase mistakes made early in the game. Spain is more experience playing this style and will surely try and take advantage of it to the fullest mostly by controlling the pace of the game.

Fortunately for Team USA, Spain hasn’t been getting off to great starts lately and will definitely need to if they plan to win the gold medal. Spain should be up for this game more than any other though and we should see a more concentrated effort from them. Pau Gasol admitted himself that Spain has been looking ahead too much in the Olympics so far. That won’t be the case tomorrow.

Team USA has consistently seen teams play their best games against them, at least for spurts. With the game obviously being close early, Spain should show us their best game from the start. We’ve seen Argentina unable to sustain this for 40 minutes but Spain may be able to.

Officiating

The officials haven’t exactly been on the side of Team USA in these Olympics as per usual. The rules are a little different and there are some things that Team USA will simply never get used to. We’ve seen a lot of Team USA players called for traveling or called for very questionable fouls.

You only get five fouls before fouling out in international play and that could play a huge factor. Chandler will be more important than ever in this matchup vs. Spain but he has in every game gotten into some sort of foul trouble. One would expect that to happen again vs. Spain and that could be very bad news for Team USA.

Team USA players don’t get star treatment either overseas. LeBron and Durant will be asked to defend Spain’s post players some and will be vulnerable to some easy foul calls. If one or both of them has to sit on the bench more than normal, Spain will have that much better of a chance to pull off the upset.

Kobe

Kobe is probably Spain’s best chance for beating Team USA. Kobe has been for the most part pretty horrible in the Olympics although he has been better in the last two games. We know that Kobe will be shooting in the gold medal game and if he’s not hitting, that will put Team USA in a tough spot.

Coach K will more than likely play Kobe at least half of the game and probably more and he will have him out there during crunch time, if there is one. Kobe has the potential to shoot Team USA out of the game or Spain into the game if he looks like the Kobe we saw in pool play.

The same goes for Anthony as well. Both he and Kobe are going to take shots, probably a lot of bad ones, and if they’re not falling, Spain will be that much closer to Team USA.

The margin for error will be the smallest for Team USA tomorrow morning. They’ve been able to overcome their imperfections so far but Spain is the real test.

Team USA went on to beat Argentina 109-83 to comfortably advance to the gold medal game where Spain awaits them.

“Hopefully he’s fine,” Kevin Durant said in a sideline interview after the game. “Russell bounces back quick from injury, so hopefully this one isn’t any different. … He ran off. It didn’t seem like it was too bad. Hopefully he’s all right.”

Sources told Yahoo! Sports that Westbrook is fine and will play in the gold medal game vs. Spain.

Westbrook is averaging 9.3 points per game in 14.4 minutes per game for Team USA. He has attempted the most free throws on the team at 25 in that amount of time.

Westbrook’s greatest contribution has come on the defensive end pressuring opposing ball handlers in the back court. No other country has anyone who can come close to the athlete Westbrook is on the floor.

Westbrook has never missed a game of basketball in his life. Literally, since high school Westbrook has yet to miss a game with an injury.

Tip-off for the gold medal game will be 10 a.m. EST Sunday on NBC.

Team USA led 47-40 at halftime after Manu Ginobili hit a three to end the first half. Ginobili came out strong from the start but slowed down late, finishing with 18 points in the game.

The U.S. shot 53.1 percent from the field and made 18-of-42 threes. They pulled away from Argentina again much like their last meeting with a big third quarter led by LeBron James and Kevin Durant.

Spain beat Russia in their semifinal earlier today and hasn’t looked great so far in these Olympics but still should be considered the toughest test yet for Team USA.

Here are grades for the U.S. players:

LeBron James – 29 minutes, 18 points, 7 assists, 7 rebounds – A

LeBron played another brilliant game doing a little bit of everything. Coming off the first triple-double in U.S. Olympic history in the quarterfinals vs. Australia, LeBron flirted with another one today. He went 8-of-12 from the field and was excellent finding open shooters all game long.

Kevin Durant – 27 minutes, 19 points, 4 rebounds, 2 blocks – B+

Durant led the U.S. in scoring thanks to his five 3-pointers, four of which came in the third quarter. Durant was better again with his interior defense and picked up a few blocks. He really didn’t look to be shooting well early in the game before getting a few to go down in a row in the third.

Carmelo Anthony – 22 minutes, 18 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists – B+

It was Anthony’s turn to put on the 3-point show in the second half of this game. He hit a few in a row and then a really deep one reminiscent of Durant’s the last time Team USA played Argentina. He made a few nice extra passes that he normally doesn’t which resulted in a little more balanced of a game in this one.

Kobe Bryant – 19 minutes, 13 points, 4 rebounds, 2 steals – B+

Kobe did his work at the beginning of this game after doing it in the second half of the last one. He came out hot making three 3-pointers in the first half and was pretty quiet after that. You know Kobe is going to take shots no matter what. He’s good when they’re going down but has been terrible when they’re not.

Chris Paul – 26 minutes, 10 points, 7 assists, 4 rebounds – A

Paul just plays so good every game. He went 2-of-3 from deep and that’s just gravy with him. He had a pretty high assist total too as he always makes the smart play.

Deron Williams – 20 minutes, 6 points, 6 assists – B

Williams only shot 2-of-7 from deep which puts him well below Team USA’s average shooting percentage on threes. Coach K tried to use him more as Argentina played a lot of zone and Williams didn’t do anything special. The six assists were nice though.

Russell Westbrook – 9 minutes, 7 points, 1 turnover – B

Westbrook played with good energy again and was a little more under control in this one. All three of his baskets were nice. The first came on a good drive in the first half. Then he hit a three in the second half and got one of his patented pull-up jumpers to go down too. He came up lame with what appeared to be a leg injury late in the fourth. It didn’t look too serious and for a guy who has never missed a basketball game in his life, it’s hard to get worried.

Kevin Love – 16 minutes, 9 points, 9 rebounds, 1 block – A

Love was very big today especially with his work on the glass getting four offensive rebounds. As Team USA continued to shoot the three when seeing zone, Love was there to help get them second shot opportunities whenever he was in. He was 0-for-2 shooting the three himself but his impact was hard not to notice.

Tyson Chandler – 12 minutes, 4 points, 3 rebounds – B

Chandler didn’t play much again but did just fine while he was out there. He had a nice slam in the second half from a Paul feed and was his usual solid self on defense. Picked up three fouls though.

Andre Iguodala – 11 minutes, 2 points, 1 assist – B

Iguodala found out last night he was being traded to the Denver Nuggets so maybe he felt a little weird for the game. He played fine while he was out there though and had a nice highlight reel alley-oop finish from Paul late in the game.

James Harden – 5 minutes, 3 points, 1 steal – B

I could have sworn Harden hit two threes in this game. One of them rolled around the rim some and may have been credited to Love for a tip-in. His shot looked good and he even had a nice block in transition from behind on a player.

Anthony Davis – 4 minutes, 1 rebound – C

Just very little garbage time for Davis again and he didn’t touch the ball.

The U.S. most recently beat Argentina 119-86 in the final game of pool play. In that game, Team USA led just 60-59 at halftime before putting together an incredible third quarter as they pulled away for the blowout win.

Argentina is still fully capable of beating the U.S. though. Argentina got past Brazil 82-77 in the quarterfinal behind 17 points from Luis Scola and 16 from Manu Ginobili and Carlos Delfino.

Those three players will have to be big again against the U.S. if Argentina has plans to upset Team USA. Ginobili led Argentina with 16 points the last time they played the U.S. with 14 of those points coming in the first half.

Scola played just 18 minutes vs. the U.S. in that game and had 11 points. Delfino had 13 and was 2-of-7 shooting from three while Andres Nocioni had 12 and made 2-of-4 threes.

Argentina went 10-for-26 from three in that game and will have to do better today. The U.S. led by Kevin Durant’s eight threes, hit 20-of-39 in that game.

The case can be made that Argentina wouldn’t have benefitted from beating Team USA on that day and, as international teams often think, would rather save themselves to try and beat the U.S. in the game that matters today.

We can expect a spirited effort from Argentina in this one as they should play more of a complete game, unless the U.S. goes into that unbeatable mode they’ve shown a few times in these Olympics.

The game should be a chippy one as well. Argentina always seems to get under the skin of the U.S. and did again in the last game in particular when Facundo Campazzo gave Carmelo Anthony a little tap below the belt on his way down after shooting a three to end the third quarter.

Pablo Prigioni, Argentina’s starting point guard, did not play in the last game vs. Team USA either and will surely make a big difference for them today. Prigioni was instrumental in Argentina’s win over Brazil leading the team with six assists.

Durant emerged as the unfair player to contend with for Argentina in the last game scoring 28 points and making eight threes. We have seen multiple players step up in that role for the U.S. in these Olympics, whether it’s Durant, Anthony, LeBron James or Kobe Bryant, who made six threes in Team USA’s quarterfinal win over Australia.

Team USA’s reliance on the 3-point shot is one of the things that could lead to their downfall in this tournament. They are attempting 35.7 threes per game and making .449 percent of them but if they fall to a realistic percentage under 40, they could be vulnerable to being upset.

The U.S.’s continued struggling interior defense could also be an issue today, especially dealing with Scola who is averaging 19.7 points per game in the Olympics to lead Argentina. Team USA has been better lately with their defensive intensity and LeBron and Durant have been decent containing other teams’ bigs but Scola will again be a big challenge today.

The U.S. will be favored today and rightfully so. They have shown throughout these Olympics that despite some of their flaws, they are talented enough to beat anyone at any time. Their familiarity with Argentina should benefit the U.S. too as the element of surprise in a 40-minute game can sometimes be a big factor contributing to an upset.

The other semifinal game today will be between Russia and Spain at noon EST.

The United States is 6-0 so far in these Olympics winning games by an average margin of 37.3 points per game. They have been dominant but not perfect or without flaws.

The Team USA roster isn’t exactly the one envisioned by Jerry Colangelo and Mike Krzyzewski. They are small without Dwight Howard, Chris Bosh or LaMarcus Aldridge and also missing a few other stars in Dwyane Wade and Derrick Rose.

The only three bigs on the roster for Team USA are Tyson Chandler, Kevin Love and Anthony Davis. Chandler has been barely playing largely due to foul trouble, Love has emerged of late and Davis only sees the floor in garbage time.

It has resulted in a lot of Team USA’s players playing out of position, mainly LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Carmelo Anthony who are playing the four and five positions primarily.

We’ve seen a lot of different lineups and rotations so far from Coach K as he still sometimes seems to be looking for the right grouping of five guys.

Team USA has done fine despite this so far and has won games because of their superior depth and talent. Now in the semifinals and playing Argentina for the third time in as many weeks, and Spain or Russia looming as a gold medal matchup, the United States may need to shrink their rotation some and find their best lineup.

What is the best 5-man lineup for Team USA?

We know it’s not the starting five of Paul-Kobe-LeBron-Durant-Chandler. They’ve gotten off to a few slow starts and with Chandler barely playing and Kobe’s struggles, this surely hasn’t been their strongest group.

The first sub is always Anthony coming in for Chandler as Team USA immediately goes small. This isn’t their best lineup either because Kobe, who hasn’t gelled well with this team at all, is still out there.

It’s usually Deron Williams and Russell Westbrook who enter next for Paul and Kobe. Now we’re getting warmer. Williams is arguably the better international point guard than Paul and Westbrook has been an upgrade from Kobe in a lot of instances as well.

But Team USA is still pretty vulnerable inside when Anthony and Durant are out there together and it’s not as if they work so great together on offense either. You probably only need one of them on the floor at a time, simply to focus more on defense.

Love is the final piece here and next sub in. He usually comes for Durant or LeBron at this point but Team USA’s best lineup definitely involves Durant and LeBron on the floor together.

Of the lineups that have played a good amount of minutes together so far in these Olympics, Team USA’s best is Paul-Williams-LeBron-Durant-Love.

The combining of Paul and Williams works well and Paul simply is playing at a higher level than Westbrook right now, fitting in more with the team too. Love has been a beast on the glass of late too, really establishing himself as a force down low while LeBron and Durant are good enough to hold their own on bigger defenders as well.

That is the best lineup we will see from Team USA going forward. The challenge for Coach K will be seamlessly removing Kobe from the floor to go with a lineup like this in crunch time. It probably won’t happen and Kobe and/or Anthony will be on the floor instead of Williams or Love.

The best lineup for Team USA is perhaps one we will never see and is totally different from the identity they’ve shown so far in the Olympics. It involves and basically highlights Davis in at center.

Davis has been a monster in the little time he has played swatting shots like nothing and rebounding very well too. He has also really meshed with Paul and the other guards, rolling to the rim and finishing alley-oops.

Team USA would be at their best going Williams-LeBron-Anthony-Durant-Davis. They’d have plenty of size and could use Williams running the point as well as LeBron. This would free up LeBron a little more to get out and run on the wings, really maximizing the potential of Team USA’s transition game.

It’s fun to think about different lineups with Team USA and this one in particular, but we probably won’t see it at all, even if it might be their best look. Instead, Team USA will have to try and win gold not with, but despite someone like Kobe, while more deserving players in Love and Davis watch from the sidelines.

The United States did not come out looking their best but were very impressive in the fourth quarter, going on one of their signature runs outscoring Australia 35-16 in the period.

The U.S. took 46 threes in the game and made 19, which is the third-most 3-point makes they’ve had in a game in the Olympics.

Australia hung around due to another big game from point guard Patty Mills who scored 26 points and made four threes.

Here are the grades for each Team USA player:

LeBron James – 30 minutes, 11 points, 12 assists, 14 rebounds – A+

LeBron had maybe his best game of the Olympics so far getting the triple-double and doing a little bit of everything for Team USA. He has really played well in these past three games after coasting in the first three. His 12 assists ties Michael Jordan and a few others for the most ever in a U.S. Olympic basketball game.

Kevin Durant – 25 minutes, 14 points, 5 rebounds, 2 steals – B

Durant was mainly just a spot-up shooter in this game making 4-of-9 threes. Shooting 44 percent from three is fine but for Durant, it felt like he struggled. He missed a few shots driving and didn’t get to the line at all. His defense was better again getting two steals and some deflections as well.

Carmelo Anthony – 20 minutes, 17 points, 4 rebounds – B

Anthony played a pretty normal game for him. He was nothing special from deep going 2-of-7 and has really just become a guy who does nothing but try and score when the ball finds him. There’s nothing wrong with that because it’s his role on this team.

Kobe Bryant – 20 minutes, 20 points, 3 assists, 2 steals – B+

Kobe continued his awful play in the first half going 0-for-3 with zero points. You started to feel bad for him as it seemed he couldn’t do anything right. Then he really heated up in the second half, making six threes and finishing with 20 points. His threes come with a grain of salt though which requires him to take the 25-foot, contested heat check whenever he hits one or two. Team USA will need him at least making his jump shot going forward in the medal round.

Chris Paul – 27 minutes, 7 points, 3 assists, 4 steals – B

Paul didn’t do too much in this one partly because LeBron really dominated as the team’s distributor. Paul was only 1-for-4 from deep too and didn’t exactly lock up Australia’s guards on the other end the way he is capable of.

Deron Williams – 22 minutes, 18 points, 3 rebounds – A

Williams came up big in the first half for the U.S. scoring 13 points. Tonight he was the example of Team USA’s depth showing that they have so many players who can get it going scoring. With Paul not hitting his shot so much, it was nice for Williams to step up.

Russell Westbrook – 11 minutes, 6 points, 1 assist, 4 fouls – C

Westbrook got in foul trouble and didn’t play much. He was out of control for the most part again and not in any kind of rhythm. When he has space and can show off his athleticism, he is at his best and in the international game, there’s less room for him. The foul trouble limited his effectiveness in being one of Team USA’s best on-ball defenders.

Kevin Love – 21 minutes, 10 points, 11 rebounds – A

Love was great again and with Chandler not doing much, he is becoming very key for this team. His work on the glass was relentless as always but he did not hit any threes. He should continue to see more minutes especially if Team USA sees Spain in the gold medal game.

Tyson Chandler – 9 minutes, 6 points, 2 rebounds – C+

Chandler barely played again because of some foul trouble and was his usual self while on the floor. He caught a few nice lobs which were pretty but that’s about it.

Andre Iguodala – 8 minutes, 3 points, 1 rebound – C+

Iguodala didn’t play much either which was a little surprising coming off a very good game vs. Argentina. He hit a three while he was in and probably would have played more if Williams didn’t have the hot hand or if Kobe never got going. Team USA’s defense wasn’t great again and having Iguodala on the floor would help that out some.

James Harden – 4 minutes, 7 points, 1 assist – A+

Harden couldn’t have been better in four minutes, finishing on the break with two highlight slams and making a stepback three as well. It would have been nice to see him get more minutes with this team but it’s just not going to happen except in blowouts.

Anthony Davis – 3 minutes, 0 points, 3 rebounds – C

Davis just played a few minutes in garbage time and went 0-for-3 from the field. Come on bro.

Leandro Barbosa made a 3-pointer with 1:46 remaining to cut Argentina’s lead to just three. Brazil had nothing else left in the tank though as Argentina made their free throws down the stretch and a few desperation threes did not fall.

Barbosa scored 22 points for Brazil and made four 3-pointers. Point guard Marcelinho Huertas came out firing for Brazil as well notching 22 points to go with four assists.

Luis Scola continued his strong play for Argentina leading them with 17 points. Carlos Delfino was on the mark with his jumper making three 3-pointers and totaling 16 points.

The game was controlled by the point guards and while Huertas finished with more points, Argentina’s Pablo Prigioni played big minutes for Argentina and led them with six assists. Prigioni did not play in Argentina’s last game when they lost to Team USA.

The game was close in almost every facet but where Brazil came up short was in taking advantage of their size. Nene had seven points and 12 rebounds, Tiago Splitter had just six points and Anderson Varejao four.

Brazil also shot only 50 percent from the free throw line and was outrebounded by Argentina.

Argentina advances to the semifinal round and will await the winner of the United States and Australia quarterfinal matchup today.

Team USA is heavily favored to win and if they do, will play Argentina for the third time in the past few weeks. The U.S. beat Argentina by six in an exhibition game before the Olympics then ran away in their last game of pool play vs. Argentina.

The winner of Argentina-Brazil will go on to play the winner of USA-Australia in the semifinal round on Friday.

Brazil is the 2-seed from Pool B and Argentina the 3-seed from Pool A in this matchup. Brazil lost to Russia in pool play then beat Spain in the final game of pool play in a game that no one wanted to win.

Argentina was upset by France early in pool play and then lost their final game of pool play vs. the U.S.

Each of these two South American teams has a large cast of NBA talent on their rosters. Argentina is led by Manu Ginobili, Luis Scola and Carlos Delfino and Brazil Nene, Anderson Varejao and Leandro Barbosa.

Argentina has had more success in international play in the past, winning the gold medal in the 2004 Olympics and beating the United States in the process. Brazil is yet to have that kind of success but this may be their year as they are as talented as ever.

Both teams play a similar style reliant on the pick-and-roll game to get most of their offense. Brazil’s point guard Marcelinho Huertas is a magician in the pick-and-roll and combined with Brazil’s size advantage should have a nice game today.

Brazil will have trouble matching up with Ginobili and Argentina is the better outside shooting team, which they will need to rely on to win this one.

Scola has been a monster in the Olympics so far averaging 20.2 points per game to lead Argentina and he will need to be big vs. Brazil. Brazil has the bodies to contend with Scola but he is good enough to get them in some foul trouble and still have a big game.

If Argentina can get hot from deep it will open up the lane some where they can hurt Brazil with their great interior passing and Scola’s ability to finish with crafty shots in the paint.

Brazil would also like to shoot well from three and Barbosa is the most likely man to do it. He is shooting just .348 percent from three so far in the Olympics but is capable of a much better night at any time.

This game will be as good as any we’ve seen in the Olympics so far. It’s a rivalry with two teams who are playing pretty good basketball right now.

The edge in experience may go to Argentina but Brazil is more than capable of winning this one and it should go down to the wire.

Team USA was played very close by Argentina in the first half and led by only one point at halftime.

Team USA came out much stronger in the third quarter and ran away with the game behind a spirited performance by LeBron James and Kevin Durant who combined for 26 points in the third quarter alone.

Durant scored 28 points in the game and made 8-of-10 threes including this one to beat the buzzer in the first quarter.

Durant’s defense in the third quarter was most impressive though. He was all over the floor making deflections and getting steals that led to a lot of offense for Team USA. Here he makes a nasty steal and LeBron finds rewards Durant with the sweet dish for a dunk on the fast break.

Russell Westbrook would put the finishing touches on this win with this ridiculous slam dunk over Argentina big man Leo Gutierrez. The dunk was reminiscent of what Vince Carter did 12 years ago in the Sydney Olympics vs. France.

Team USA begins play in the medal round today vs. Australia in the quarterfinals. The game will tip at 5:15 p.m. EST and will air on the NBC Sports Network.

The United States looked great in their first three games then were brought back down to reality after that. Their 83-point win over Nigeria may have made them relax a little too much and it showed in a lack of defensive intensity vs. Lithuania and in the first half vs. Argentina.

The U.S. would beat Argentina in their last game of pool play after leading 60-59 at half time. They came out in the second half a different team on defense, much more active with a lot of energy and blew out Argentina in the third quarter, 42-17.

Team USA’s last two games served as a wakeup call for them and we should see the more focused team that dominated Argentina in the second half going forward in the medal round.

Australia is led by San Antonio Spurs point guard Patty Mills who averaged 20.2 points per game in pool play. He has been a kind of one man show for Australia though and took a lot of shots to get those points.

Mills hit one of the biggest shots in Australian basketball history in their last game, drilling a buzzer-beating 3-pointer vs. Russia to give Australia the upset 82-80 win.

Beyond Mills, Australia will have a very tough time matching up with the U.S. They are without Andrew Bogut who suffered an injury last year in the NBA. They feature no other familiar NBA names on the roster.

Kevin Durant led Team USA in scoring in pool play averaging 18.6 points per game to go with 5.6 rebounds and 3.8 assists. He shot .606 percent from downtown as well including going 8-of-10 vs. Argentina.

Carmelo Anthony was second on the team averaging 17.4 points per game and shot .600 percent from three. Anthony was highlighted of course by his U.S. Olympic record 37-point performance vs. Nigeria.

LeBron James essentially coasted in Team USA’s first three games before turning it on in the last two. LeBron came alive late vs. Lithuania, scoring nine of Team USA’s final 12 points to finish with 20. LeBron then scored 18 vs. Argentina and had a huge third quarter.

The likes of Durant, Anthony and LeBron will be impossible for Australia to match up with. Team USA should do a very good job containing Mills as well with Chris Paul, Deron Williams and Russell Westbrook.

Australia has surprised somewhat in the Olympics so far so don’t expect them to roll over and die. They will fight hard against the U.S. but it’s hard to imagine it mattering much at all.

If the U.S. wins, they will play the winner of Argentina and Brazil who play before them at 3:00 p.m. EST.

The U.S. was challenged in the first half vs. Argentina and only led 60-59 at halftime. Then in the third quarter Team USA came out a different team especially on the defensive side of the ball and outscored Argentina 42-17 in the third alone.

LeBron James and Kevin Durant led the United States in that period. LeBron became more assertive on offense scoring nine quick points then Durant took over, reigning in the threes for 17 points to get him to his game-high 28.

“Anybody in their right mind, when [Durant] gets to shooting the ball like that, there’s only one play,” Chris Paul told the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. “Get the ball to him.”

Durant has definitely stood out in the Olympics so far averaging 18.6 points per game to lead Team USA while shooting .606 percent from downtown. But has he been Team USA’s MVP so far? There are a few other players who’d like to make their case.

LeBron James – 11.6 PPG, 4.4 APG, 3.4 RPG (61 FG%, 33 3PT%, 80 FT%)

LeBron hasn’t had to do much for Team USA thus far in the Olympics. But in the last two games against Lithuania and Argentina he stepped up and made his presence known as one of the leaders of this team. He scored nine of Team USA’s final 12 points vs. Lithuania as they won that game 99-95 and he led a spirited third quarter charge vs. Argentina. Through pool play though he hasn’t consistently been Team USA’s best player, even though that was probably by choice. We can definitely expect LeBron to continue to step up once the medal round starts though.

Carmelo Anthony – 17.4 PPG, 0.8 APG, 4.6 RPG (59 FG%, 60 3PT%, 80 FT%)

Anthony had the biggest game of the Olympics so far during Team USA’s 83-point blowout vs. Nigeria, he set a U.S. Olympic record with 37 points and went 10-of-12 from deep in the game. Anthony has been great in his instant offense role off the bench and hasn’t been shy about jacking up shots. Anthony wasn’t on the floor late vs. Lithuania though because of his defense. On this team he has been asked to guard bigger players and hasn’t exactly done the best job. He’s been pretty one-dimensional for Team USA and that’s why he isn’t their MVP so far.

Chris Paul – 7.6 PPG, 5.8 APG, 3.0 RPG (52 FG%, 47 3PT%, 0 FT%)

Paul has gone under the radar for the most part in these Olympics but really played well in Team USA’s last two games which were so close. There was a belief before the Olympics began that maybe Deron Williams was the better international point guard for this team but Paul has definitely separated from him. He’s shooting great from 3-point land as well and has come up big in some clutch moments. But it hasn’t been enough to outshine the MVP of Team USA so far…

Kevin Durant – 18.6 PPG, 3.8 APG, 5.6 RPG (52 FG%, 61 3PT%, 88 FT%)

It’s close but Durant is my pick for the MVP of Team USA in pool play. He has been the most consistent scorer and his 3-point shooting has been off the charts even for him. The 3-point shooting is magnified even more because of Team USA’s reliance on the shot. His defense has been pretty good too, especially in the third quarter vs. Argentina when he was all over the floor making deflections left and right. Durant’s length has really bothered Team USA’s opponents making him just fine to have on the floor late as a reliable defender. If not for LeBron’s chill play in the first few games, maybe he would have emerged as Team USA’s MVP so far but you can’t overlook how Durant has played so far.

No one wanted to win that game despite what the players had to say.

“No. Never,” Spain point guard Jose Calderon told ESPN.com when asked if Spain wanted to lose. “This is not our team, this is not the way we play, this is not the way. We’ve been together since I don’t know how many years, and we always play to win. Always.”

By the time the game was ready to start, it was known exactly who each team would play if they won or lost. The winner would move on as the 2-seed to a bracket that included Team USA as the 1-seed and Argentina as the 3-seed. The loser went to the side with Russia as the 1-seed and France as the 2-seed.

It’s not hard to see which bracket was more desirable to be in.

Before the game began it was announced that Brazil’s starting center Nene would sit out the game with plantar fasciitis. In a must-win game, Nene never would have missed a game vs. Spain especially because Brazil would need all the help they could get on the frontline.

Spain responded to Nene’s absence by playing their big guns few minutes. Pau Gasol played 24 minutes and Marc Gasol played 25. The brothers combined to score 45 points on 16-of-21 shooting.

Spain led 66-57 after three quarters but then was outscored 31-16 in the fourth to ultimately lose 88-82.

Rudy Fernandez only played 15 minutes and missed his only shot attempt. Jose Calderon played just 14 minutes while Serge Ibaka, who hadn’t been playing much all Olympics, logged 21 minutes and scored 14 points with six rebounds and three blocks.

Leandro Barbosa would lead Brazil with 23 points before sitting during the final minutes.

The game was clearly trying to be lost and by both teams. That’s not exactly what Olympic competition is all about right? Maybe it is.

The goal is to win a gold medal. Losing this game has put Spain in a better position to do so. It’s no guarantee or anything but there’s no question that Russia/France is weaker competition than USA/Argentina.

The problem, if there is one, is with the system or the amount of competition out there. There is a clear-cut difference in talent between Argentina and France despite France beating Argentina in pool play. Spain would never choose to play Argentina instead of France if they could, not to mention try and avoid the U.S. at all costs.

There is no real incentive to acquire a higher seed either because there’s no homecourt advantage. This will of course never be the case in the Olympics and this is really what we get with pool play.

Pool play is fair because it fairly seeds teams but since it is not a straight up elimination tournament, tanking will sometimes be beneficial. The only way to stop this would be to change the system.

Until then, Spain played it smart and Brazil will be left shaking their heads in the coming days as they try and get past Argentina and the U.S. to make it to a gold medal game.

The United States as expected went 5-0 in their pool and will move into the medal round as the favorites to bring home gold. They were extremely impressive in some games then stumbled more recently.

The surprise of pool play was Spain losing two games and finishing as the 3-seed from Pool B. They pretty much threw their final game vs. Brazil though so as to avoid Team USA until a potential gold medal game.

Here is the schedule of the medal round:

Quarterfinals – Wednesday, Aug. 8

B1 Russia (4-1) vs. A4 Lithuania (2-3) – 9:00 a.m. EST

Russia was the surprise team of the Olympics starting out 4-0 and beating Brazil and Spain in the process. Led by Andrei Kirilenko and Alexey Shved they earned the top seed in their pool despite losing to Australia on a last-second buzzer-beater by Patty Mills. Lithuania was a little bit of a disappointment but did play Team USA very close. This game should be a close one but Russia has earned the right to be favored and picked to win.

A2 France (4-1) vs. B3 Spain (3-2) – 11:15 a.m. EST

After losing their first game of pool play vs. Team USA, France won their next four to earn the 2-seed from the pool, including a big upset win over Argentina in the process. France is led by some NBA talent, most notably Tony Parker, and should give Spain a good game here. Spain is the favorite in this matchup despite being the lower seed. They wanted to lose their final game vs. Brazil to get this seed and it was smart because now they avoid Team USA and Argentina. Spain is much more balanced and will have a huge advantage inside with the Gasol brothers which should be too much for France to handle. But expect a big game from Parker who will be tough for Spain to stop with their guards.

B2 Brazil (4-1) vs. A3 Argentina (3-2) – 3:00 p.m. EST

Brazil didn’t want to lose as bad as Spain did and now draws Argentina and possibly the U.S. if they win here. Brazil has a little more size than Argentina and a great backcourt in Marcelinho Huertas and Leandro Barbosa. Argentina will have the best player on the floor and maybe the second best in Manu Ginobili and Luis Scola. Argentina has been less consistent than usual in these Olympics but expect them to turn it on a little more now that we’re in the medal round. The edge goes to Argentina here in a close one.

A1 USA (5-0) vs. B4 Australia (3-2) – 5:15 p.m. EST

Team USA should have no trouble disposing of Australia here, who is probably the weakest team that advanced to the medal round. They will be a pesky opponent though that won’t back down led by their point guard Mills. They haven’t showed enough in pool play to be taken seriously against the U.S. Team USA has been lax of late but finally got their act together in the second half of their last game vs. Argentina. They really turned up the defense and looked like the gold medal favorites they should be. The tough tests will resume for Team USA after they beat Australia.

Semifinals – Friday, Aug. 10

Winner of France/Spain vs. Winner of Russia/Lithuania – 12:00 p.m. EST
Winner of Brazil/Argentina vs. Winner of USA/Australia – 4:00 p.m. EST

Finals – Sunday, Aug. 12

Bronze Medal Game – 3:00 a.m. EST
Gold Medal Game – 10:00 a.m. EST

The U.S. led by just one at halftime 60-59 as Argentina was doing a lot of what Lithuania did to the U.S. in the first half.

Manu Ginobili was on a tear scoring 16 points on just five shots as Argentina shot 56 percent from the field.

In the third quarter, Team USA came out a different team especially on the defensive side of the ball. LeBron James had a look in his eye scoring nine quick points then Kevin Durant took over.

Durant hit five threes in the third quarter and scored 17 points as the U.S. outscored Argentina 42-17 as a team. Durant capped off his memorable third quarter performance with a three from about 32-feet that was very reminiscent of Rucker Park.

Team USA again looked vulnerable at times but when they turned it on in the second half they showed why they are the team to beat in these Olympics.

Here are the grades:

LeBron James – 21 minutes, 18 points, 5 assists, 3 rebounds – A

LeBron was quiet in the first half as not a lot of the offense was running through him but he really asserted himself in the third quarter. He has taken over when he has needed to for this team in these Olympics and did it again today. He had to sit though midway through the third after picking up his fourth foul. He got called on a few really bad fouls in the game.

Kevin Durant – 22 minutes, 28 points, 3 assists, 5 rebounds, 3 steals – A

Durant was magnificent in the third quarter not only by hitting five treys but on the defensive end he was as active as he ever has been. That led to a lot of Team USA’s offense as they pulled away. Durant wasn’t too bad in the first half either scoring 11 points and hitting three 3-pointers. Durant’s shooting performance in the third quarter may have been more impressive than what Carmelo Anthony did vs. Nigeria.

Carmelo Anthony – 13 minutes, 5 points, 5 rebounds – C

Anthony didn’t have it tonight going just 1-for-6 from the field but his one make was a big three to end the third. He got a little cheap shot from Argentina point guard Campazzo after making the trey he was hit below the belt and it started a little scrum between the two teams.

Kobe Bryant – 21 minutes, 11 points, 1 assist – C-

Kobe just seems to not fit in much with this team. He randomly started pushing the ball down the court out of control twice in the third quarter and it just felt weird. He shot 3-of-10 in the game and is still struggling with the different ball it seems. The fact that he’s probably going to be on the court in crunch time of a close game may not be a good thing for Team USA going forward.

Chris Paul – 25 minutes, 17 points, 6 assists, 3 steals – A

Paul was great in the first half hitting four threes and did his job pretty much perfectly the rest of the game too. You can’t hardly ever complain about Paul and when he is making threes he is just that much better. He really hounded Campazzo on defense too who had to play most of the game with Prigionni missing the game with an injury.

Deron Williams – 15 minutes, 5 points, 3 assists – C

Nothing special from Williams tonight as he was 2-for-7 from the field. Paul played much better and got the bulk of the minutes. Team USA will need Williams to step up and shoot better from three as the games continue.

Russell Westbrook – 19 minutes, 4 points, 3 assists, 3 rebounds – B-

He would receive a C grade if not for his nasty dunk in the fourth quarter. Westbrook was out of control for the most part again going 1-for-8 from the field but his dunk was such a perfect exclamation mark on the game. His defense against Argentina’s weak guards was pretty good too.

Kevin Love – 15 minutes, 13 points, 9 rebounds – B+

Love quietly had a very nice game for Team USA going 5-for-7 from the field and grabbing four offensive boards as well. His confidence has grown of late and he is becoming a more integral part of this team which is good with Tyson Chandler not playing all that well.

Tyson Chandler – 12 minutes, 3 points, 5 rebounds – B

Chandler wasn’t as bad as he has been lately in this one and was the only real defensive presence for Team USA in the first half. The defense Team USA played in the second half showed why they won’t need to rely on Chandler to play a lot of minutes in the future. Chandler was in foul trouble again though and mostly takes up space on offense.

Andre Iguodala – 20 minutes, 13 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists – A

Iguodala played his role perfectly today. He got some scoring on not a lot of shots, always made the right pass and rebounded. When he plays like this he will get minutes and deservedly so.

James Harden – 9 minutes, 7 points – C+

Harden didn’t play until garbage time in this one and was fine while he was out there. He hit 1-of-2 threes and went 3-for-5 from the field.

Anthony Davis – 8 minutes, 2 points, 2 rebounds, 1 block – C+

Davis also didn’t play until garbage time and had less alley-oop dunks than usual.

Things got chippy between Team USA and Argentina at the end of the third quarter then Russell Westbrook did this.

Westbrook might be the most exuberant dunker in the NBA and against Argentina gave us the best one of the 2012 London Olympics so far.

It was a dunk that was reminiscent of what Vince Carter did 12 years ago vs. France. Same kind of takeoff, almost the same kind of poster. The Argentina defender was just a little smarter.

The U.S. led 60-59 at halftime then really turned up the intensity in the third quarter and outscored Argentina 42-17 in the period. LeBron James got things started scoring nine quick points then Kevin Durant took over with 17 points and five threes in the quarter.

Team USA has played a little sloppy on defense the past few games. Perhaps they became to lax after their easy victories over Tunisia and Nigeria but they definitely looked better in the second half vs. Argentna.

The U.S. will finish pool play undefeated at 5-0 as the 1-seed and will see Australia in the quarterfinals of the medal round beginning Wednesday. Brazil and Argentina will be the 2- and 3-seeds in their bracket. The 1-4 seeds in the other bracket will be Russia, France, Spain and Lithuania in that order.

LeBron James scored nine of Team USA’s final 12 points as the United States passed the tough test Lithuania provided them in pool play, winning 99-94.

Team USA improved to 4-0 with the win and takes on Argentina today looking to win the pool with a perfect 5-0 record.

LeBron was quiet in the first three games of the Olympics for Team USA but stepped up when they needed him most in the fourth quarter vs. Lithuania. He finished with 20 points in the game but didn’t record an assist.

LeBron basically let know that he is still around as the best player in the world. He had an opportunity to pass to Kevin Durant on one of his late isolations and instead elected to keep the ball and play to score himself.

It was somewhat unlike LeBron to do this and the message was clear. He wasn’t going to let a team like Lithuania upset the U.S., especially looking across the court and who was matched up with him personally.

The games will continue to get tougher for Team USA as we near the medal round and it will start with a very strong Argentina squad this afternoon. LeBron will likely have to play more like how he did vs. Lithuania than in the first three games for the U.S. to keep winning.

Geoff Burke-US PRESSWIRE

Who wants to lose more?

Spain and Brazil will play today at 3 p.m. EST and neither team will be better off winning the game.

The winner of the game will come out of Pool B as the 2-seed in the same bracket where Team USA will likely be the 1-seed and Argentina the 3-seed. The loser will get to be in the bracket where Russia and France are the top seeds.

This game will be very interesting and don’t be surprised if players like Pau Gasol or Leandro Barbosa aren’t playing as many minutes as they could.

Spain and Brazil are both 3-1 in pool play so far with both losing close games to Russia. Spain and Brazil are two of the biggest threats to the United States in these Olympics and would both love to not see the mighty U.S. until a potential gold medal game.

A big reason why these teams matchup so well with Team USA is that they both have NBA size. Spain featured the Gasol brothers as well as Serge Ibaka and Felipe Reyes. Brazil has Nene, Anderson Varejao and Tiago Splitter in their corner.

The point guard position is a strength for both Spain and Brazil as well. Spain starts Jose Calderon and brings Juan Carlos Navarro off the bench. Brazil has maybe the best point guard not in the NBA in Marcelinho Huertas who is averaging 11.0 points and 6.2 assists per game in the Olympics.

This matchup is a very close one that is only hard to predict today because both teams could very well be trying to lose. If they both were trying to win however, Spain has to have the slight edge but it is real close.

Pau Gasol is averaging 19.5 points per game so far in the Olympics and looks very comfortable in his clear alpha dog role with Spain. Rudy Fernandez has played pretty well too averaging 10.8 points per game and Spain is just a little more balanced and experienced than Brazil.

Barbosa is leading Brazil averaging 13.0 points per game while Splitter is averaging 12.0. They don’t have quite the same outside shooting ability that Spain does which could very well be the difference in this matchup.

It’s kind of hard to say what to expect with this game later today. The Olympics are all about competition but we might not see that exactly today with this game. Ultimately every team wants to win a gold medal and if losing first betters those chances than there really shouldn’t be anything wrong with that.

The U.S. is undefeated at 4-0 in pool play after most recently beating Lithuania 99-94 in what was a very closely contested game.

Argentina was the favorite to come out of Pool A as the two seed but unexpectedly lost to France a few days back and is now more than likely going to come out as the three seed, unless they are able to upset the United States today.

Argentina will serve as the toughest test yet for Team USA. They are very experienced and feature some of the best international talent in these Olympics with Manu Ginobili, Luis Scola and Carlos Delfino.

Ginobili has been playing at a very high level for Argentina in pool play averaging 21.0 points, 6.3 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game. Ginobili is a tough cover for anyone including the U.S. and he will have to have a big all-around game for Argentina to pull off the upset.

Scola is leading the team in scoring at 22.5 points per game and will have a nice matchup vs. Team USA. Scola essentially starts at center for Argentina and the slower Tyson Chandler will have a lot of trouble covering him off the dribble.

Scola will see a lot of LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Carmelo Anthony too, all of which have struggled somewhat with their interior defense in the Olympics.

Team USA’s close win vs. Lithuania will serve as a wakeup call for the team, mostly on the defensive end of the floor. Lithuania got a lot of easy looks at the rim vs. the United States and shot 58.5 percent from the field for the game.

Lithuania executed their offense very nicely and was not intimidated at all playing Team USA. Argentina will present a similar challenge to Team USA except with more talent.

Playing small lineups finally caught up with the United States vs. Lithuania as LeBron, Durant and Anthony, who are less experienced playing defense down low, were exposed.

Team USA, who was coming off a record-setting game vs. Nigeria in which they made 29 3-pointers, was trigger-happy from downtown again vs. Lithuania but did not have the same success. They made just 10-of-33 threes and struggled from the free throw line as well making just 19-of-31 shots.

LeBron was the one who stepped up at the end of the game and saved the day for the U.S. vs. Lithuania. He scored nine of their last 12 points and finished with 20 in the game. The United States will need more than just a late push by LeBron to keep winning in these Olympics.

Durant has turned into more of just a spot-up shooter of late for Team USA and will be needed to do a lot more for them to get past tough tests such as Argentina. He scored 16 vs. Lithuania but may be needed to get up over 20 in a close game today.

If Argentina wins, there will be a tie atop Pool A with Argentina, Team USA and France. Team USA could end up finishing second in the pool via the tiebreaker if they lose.

We can expect a better effort from Team USA on defense today and that really should be enough for them to get by Argentina. It will be another close game though and we have seen why the United States are a team that is beatable.

Patty Milles made this buzzer-beating 3-pointer to lift Australia past Russia 82-80 in the final game of pool play. Mills finished with just 13 points on 5-of-16 shooting but may have hit the biggest shot in Australian basketball history.

Australia will finish pool play with a 3-2 record which will be good enough to advance to the medal round as the 4-seed and likely play the United States in their next game.

Despite the loss Russia will come out of Pool B as the 1-seed since they have beaten both Spain and Brazil, the only teams with a chance to finish pool play with the same record as them.

Andrei Kirilenko scored 13 points for Russia and Alexey Shved also had 13. Russia was the surprise of Olympic basketball so far after beating Spain but now may look like a team that has some weakness.

If Team USA beats Argentina today then Russia will be the 1-seed and avoid seeing the U.S. until a potential gold medal game. France will become the 2-seed on their side and the loser of Spain-Brazil will be the 3-seed. Lithuania will be the 4-seed.

It will be interesting to watch later today in the game between Spain and Brazil which team wants to lose more. The loser will avoid Team USA until the gold medal game and will also avoid Argentina as well.

The scouting report for Team USA is that they are not a very big team that likes to shoot a lot of 3-pointers. There are teams out there that can make life difficult for Team USA and maybe even pull off the unlikely upset.

Here is a look at the five teams with the best shot of doing so:

5. France (3-1)

Team USA easily beat France 98-71 in their opening game of the Olympics. There’s probably not five teams that have a chance to beat Team USA either. Since that opening game loss to the U.S., France has not lost and they should end up with the two seed in their pool. That means they can avoid Team USA until a potential gold medal game where anything could happen. France still has plenty of NBA talent and a point guard in Tony Parker who could have a monster game vs. Team USA in a rematch. But it is still very unlikely France could pull off the upset, or even see the United States again.

4. Brazil (2-2)

Brazil played the U.S. as tough as anyone before the Olympics started in an exhibition. They have great size in Nene, Anderson Varejao and Tiago Splitter and a fantastic point guard in Marcelinho Huertas. In a one game situation, Brazil definitely has the tools to pull off the upset vs. the U.S. Brazil and Spain will play their final game of pool play to determine the two seed of their pool. Whoever gets the two will possibly play Team USA in the semifinal of the medal round otherwise they would avoid them until the gold medal game if they get the three seed.

3. Russia (4-0)

Russia has been the surprise of the Olympics so far although they were definitely underrated coming in. They are undefeated and have wrapped up Pool B after upsetting Spain in their last game. Andrei Kirilenko is playing some of the best basketball of his career and Russia has a cast of guys with enough European flow to their game to possibly surprise the U.S. in an upset. Russia will also not see Team USA until a potential gold medal game where both teams would more than likely have to be undefeated at that point. Russia is fairly weak in their backcourt which would make it very hard for them to beat the U.S.

2. Argentina (3-1)

Argentina was upset by France in pool play and will play its final game of pool play vs. the United States on Monday. Team USA beat Argentina by six in an exhibition game before the Olympics but Argentina definitely showed that beating the U.S. is possible. Team USA’s defense has looked fairly weak of late and players like Manu Ginobili and Luis Scola could really slice it up. Argentina isn’t the biggest team though so Team USA won’t have the toughest time matching up with them even when they go small. Argentina is not scared at all of the U.S. and will likely have to see them in the semifinal of the medal round if they get there.

1. Spain (3-1)

Spain made a big stumble losing to Russia and losing their pool. Now they will have to see Team USA in the semifinal of the medal round unless they throw the Brazil game (which might happen). Spain has and still is the biggest threat to Team USA despite being upset by Russia. No international team has the balance and size upfront that Spain has. They also have very experienced guards and good enough shooting to pull off a big time 3-point shooting night which is very necessary to upset Team USA. Spain-USA will be the marquee matchup of the Olympics if we get to see it and if there will ever be a time for Team USA to lose, it will come vs. Spain.

Then LeBron James took over.

With the U.S. leading 87-86, LeBron hit a 3-pointer to put Team USA ahead 90-86 with 3:58 to play. LeBron would score nine of the final 12 points of the game for Team USA as they survived a very serious scare by Lithuania to win 99-94.

LeBron finished with 20 points in the game but uncharacteristically had zero assists. That was due to Team USA struggling with their 3-point shot going just 10-for-33, just one game removed from their record-setting 29-for-46 performance from downtown vs. Nigeria.

LeBron will make us forget about all of the things Team USA did wrong in this game. He took over when he needed to and reminded us why he is the best player in the game right now. But what Lithuania did isn’t going to be an anomaly, Team USA is vulnerable to a team who plays the way they did today and it could happen again.

Lithuania shot 58.5 percent from the field in the game. Team USA has been playing lineups with LeBron, Kevin Durant and Carmelo Anthony at the four and five positions and that makes them very weak with their interior defense and Lithuania took advantage.

Lithuania is a proud country and was not scared of the U.S. and this is what we saw today. Perhaps Team USA was a little too relaxed coming off two very dominant wins and has not practiced much in the last few days either but they are ultimately a team that is very beatable.

Durant scored 16 points in the game and made four threes but was just 1-for-5 on 2-point shots, an area where he has really kind of struggled in these Olympics.

Russell Westbrook didn’t play his best either scoring seven points and pressing too much with the ball in his hands.

Anthony who was coming off his U.S. Olympic record of 37 points vs. Nigeria came out hot again in this one then cooled down finishing with 20 points and going 2-of-6 from three.

The United States will have one more game to win to wrap up pool play and finish as the top seed from Pool A. They play Argentina Monday which will be the most talented team they have yet to play in the Olympics so far.

This game against Lithuania will serve as a wakeup call for Team USA. We can expect better defensive intensity and fundamentals against Argentina and they should still win.

Team USA will not walk their way to a gold medal. They will have to play very good basketball from this point on beginning with Argentina Monday.

Here is a look at the games from yesterday:

Russia 73, China 54

The Russians have been impressive so far and are now 2-0 in pool play. Andrei Kirirlenko was a monster in their first game and good again against China scoring 16 points to go with nine rebounds. Alexey Shved had another good game as well with 14 points and six assists. Yi Jianlian who scored 30 points against Spain on Sunday was held to just 16 against Russia. Russia is looking like they might be the biggest threat to Spain in Pool B.

Spain 82, Australia 70

The final score was closer than the game actually was as Spain led by 21 after three quarters. Spain played without their captain Juan Carlos Navarro who has a case of plantar fasciitis but it did not matter. Pau Gasol led the way with 20 points and Rudy Fernandez scored 17 points and made four threes. Serge Ibaka scored eight points off the bench in 17 minutes. Patty Mills had 11 points for Australia but again struggled from the field going 5-for-16. Spain is a little banged up but it still looks like they should win every game in pool play.

Nigeria 53, Lithuania 72

Nigeria got what probably will be their only win of the Olympics against Tunisia on Sunday. They really struggled against Lithuania shooting 24.2 percent from the field and making just 1-of-16 threes. Lithuania was led by Darius Songaila off the bench with 12 points and Linas Kleiza who scored 11 points. The Lithuanians were disappointing on Sunday when they lost to Argentina by so much but could still make some noise in this tournament as they are capable of beating anyone except maybe the U.S.

Brazil 67, Great Britain 62

The host country gave a great effort in this one led by Luol Deng who played the entire game and scored 12 points to go with seven assists and eight rebounds. It wasn’t enough though as the Brazilians got a great game from Tiago Splitter who scored 21 points on 9-of-11 shooting from the field. Marcelinho Huertas played well again for Brazil scoring 13 points to go with eight assists. Great Britain stayed in this game largely due to Brazil struggling from three making just 3-of-22 treys. Brazil and Russia should battle it out for the No. 2 spot in Pool B behind Spain.

Argentina 64, France 71

Argentina looked amazing in their opening game against Lithuania while France was blown out by the U.S. in theirs. France pulled off the upset in this one though led by Tony Parker who had 17 points and five assists. Nando De Colo and Mickael Gelabale both came up big for France as each made three 3-pointers. Manu Ginobili led Argentina with 26 points and Luis Scola had 16. Carlos Delfino who was so great from beyond the arc against Lithuania went very cold vs. France going 0-for-5 on threes and 1-for-8 from the field overall. Argentina still has a chance for the No. 2 seed in Pool A if Lithuania can take down France or if the Argentines upset the U.S.

United States 110, Tunisia 63

This was quite the cakewalk for the U.S. Tunisia is the only team in the field without an NBA player and it showed although they hung around early. Head coach Mike Krzyzewski played the U.S. bench a lot of minutes in this one and they played very well. Kevin Durant scored 13 points to go with 10 rebounds and five assists. Carmelo Anthony and Kevin Love led the U.S. with 16 points apiece. The U.S. will not be challenged in their next game either as they will play Nigeria. Tunisia likely will not win a game in these Olympics.

The United States are the favorite in their pool and in the entire Olympics to win the gold. Spain is the favorite in the other pool to come out as the top seed.

There were a few teams who looked good and could pose a threat to the United States later on.

“A lot of teams,” James Harden told USABasketball.com when asked if any team was a threat to the U.S. “France was dangerous, Spain, every team. We can’t take our foot off the gas. Against each and every team we have to go out there and compete and play hard every time we step on the floor.”

Kevin Durant spoke about how close Team USA is to the finished product.

“We’re close,” Durant said. “We still have a lot of work to do, but that’s the beauty of it all. We’re all coming together in such a short time. We’re having fun playing. Guys don’t worry about points, rebounds, assists; we just want to play to win.”

Here are the results from the first day of games:

Tunisia 56, Nigeria 60

The two African teams would match up in the first game of the Olympics. They aren’t two of the better teams either while neither is expected to advance beyond pool play. The Nigerians got the best of Tunisia though winning a close one. Ike Diogu had 13 points and 10 rebounds for Nigeria and Al-Farouq Aminu had 15 points and nine rebounds. Tunisia turned the ball over 19 times in the game and will play USA in their next game where they can expect to be blown out.

Australia 71, Brazil 75

Australia proved they will be a tough team with this showing nearly knocking off Brazil who is one of the better teams in the tournament. Patty Mills scored 20 points on 9-of-24 shooting for Australia but was outdueled by Brazil’s point guard, Marcelinho Huertas who had 15 points and 10 assists. Leandro Barbosa led the Brazilians with 16 points while Anderson Varejao had 12 points and seven rebounds. Brazil passes a tough test here and is still considered the team with the best chance to upset Spain in Pool B.

France 71, United States 98

Team USA got off to a slow start but had no trouble dominating France in this one. Kevin Durant led the U.S. with 22 points and nine rebounds. LeBron James had nine points and eight assists. Tony Parker was easily contained and had just 10 points in the game. Team USA did what they were supposed to. There are a few teams with a chance to beat them in this tournament but France isn’t one of them. France is still looking to advance to the medal round with high hopes of finishing as the 2-seed from Pool A.

China 81, Spain 97

The Chinese gave Spain a scare in this one led by their lone NBA product, Yi Jianlian, who scored 30 points and had 12 rebounds. Spain is not the greatest defensive team but was on point with their offense. Pau Gasol led the way with 21 points and 11 rebounds. Serge Ibaka came off the bench to add 17 points and three blocks. Once Spain got their act together, they started looking like the favorite in Pool B. China may have a chance to make some noise in pool play if Yi continues to play at this level.

Great Britain 75, Russia 95

Russia is one of the more underrated teams in the Olympics this year and was impressive in this game. Andrei Kirilenko led the way with 35 points on 14-for-17 shooting while Alexey Shved added 16 points and 13 assists. The host country is basically a one man show in Luol Deng who scored 26 points on 8-of-27 shooting though.

Lithuania 79, Argentina 102

Argentina may have been the most impressive team of Day 1. They dominated a very good Lithuanian team and looked like real threats to the United States. Carlos Delfino got things going with a barrage of threes in the first half and finished with 20 points and six threes in the game. Manu Ginobili had 21 points, 10 rebounds and six assists. Luis Scola led the team with 32 points. Lithuania is a young teal still with a chance to go far in these Olympics. They were led by Linas Kleiza who had 20 points. Jonas Valanciunas played just 13 minutes and had six points and five rebounds.

Bob Donnan-US PRESSWIRE

The 2012 London Olympics are upon us with the opening ceremonies going on today. Olympic basketball will start Sunday, July 29.

The United States are coming in as the favorites to win the gold but the competition keeps getting tougher for them every four years. Team USA won gold back in the 2008 Beijing Olympics but did not in 2004 in Athens when Argentina won.

Team USA is full of NBA stars just like in 2008 but this time around they have a noticeable weakness that has the potential to be exploited by other countries. Team USA is small with only three true big men in Tyson Chandler, Kevin Love and Anthony Davis.

This has forced LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Carmelo Anthony to essentially play a lot of minutes at power forward and even center. Mismatches are a two-way street but given the way these international games are played, the U.S. could be in some trouble with this roster.

Twelve teams make it to the Olympics and they are split into two pools of six. Then each team in each pool plays each other once with the top four from each pool advancing to play in an 8-team, single-elimination tournament.

Team USA is in Pool A along with Argentina, Lithuania, France, Nigeria and Tunisia. Pool B consists of Spain, Brazil, Russia, Australia, China and Great Britain.

Pool Play

In pool play, expect the United States to pretty much dominate. France, Argentina and Lithuania all are considered to have a chance to possibly upset the U.S. but it is unlikely to happen before the medal round. Team USA should cruise winning every game in their pool and come out the 1-seed.

France, Argentina and Lithuania all have a legitimate shot at becoming the 2-seed. There is even a chance they could all finish with a 3-2 record in pool play to make things very interesting. France and Argentina are getting the most attention while Lithuania may have the better team of the three.

I think Lithuania emerges as the 2-seed in this pool followed by Argentina as the 3-seed and then France as the 4-seed.

Nigeria and Tunisia will battle it out for the irrelevant 5- and 6-seeds while neither should be able to beat any of the top four teams in this group. I predict Tunisia doesn’t win a game.

Spain is considered the heavy favorite to make it to the gold medal game against the United States. They should come out of this pool as the 1-seed but Brazil and Russia have an outside chance to finish ahead of them.

Ultimately Spain should come out as the 1-seed although there is some pressure to win every game in the pool and they definitely don’t want to finish as the 2-seed and be forced to play the United States before the gold medal game.

Brazil and Russia should be battling for the 2-seed or actually, the 3-seed. No one wants to get the 2-seed in this pool because then they would have to play the U.S. before the gold medal game. If Spain emerges as the definite 1-seed early in pool play, expect to see some interesting game plans from Russia and Brazil in an attempt to avoid Team USA.

I think that Brazil will finish as the 2-seed though as the final game of pool play will be between them and Spain. The winner of that game will determine who wins the pool as I think both will be undefeated up until that point.

Russia should get the 3-seed followed by Australia who I think narrowly edges out China for the 4-seed. Great Britain may not win a game except possibly against China.

Quarterfinals

Team USA should easily handle Australia and move on to the semifinal. They will play the winner of Brazil and Argentina which should be a very close game. I give Brazil the edge here but it really could go either way.

Spain should have no problem with France in their quarterfinal but it may be closer than people think. Lithuania and Russia should make for a very good game but I think Lithuania pulls it out.

Semifinal

Team USA was played very closely by Brazil in their exhibition game and I think this game will be possibly the closest one they play all Olympics. Brazil didn’t play any zone against the U.S. in that exhibition and still had a chance to win the game. They are much bigger too and have a great point guard in Marcelinho Huertas who gave the U.S. fits in the exhibition. It will be a close one but I’m not picking against the U.S. here.

Spain and Lithuania should be a good game too but Spain should definitely win. They are such a balanced team and may even win this game and have a 7-0 record in the Olympics after it. There will be a lot of talk about Spain having a real good chance of upsetting the U.S. after this point.

Gold Medal Game

It will come down to the two teams we all wanted to see play: USA vs. Spain. In their exhibition earlier this week Team USA won by 22 but Spain did not show all of their cards. Marc Gasol didn’t play at all and Pau Gasol and some of their other better players didn’t log heavy minutes.

This game will be as close as any in the Olympics and I truly believe it could go either way. Maybe what happens up to this point in the Olympics will change that feeling for me but from what I’ve seen from Team USA and Spain so far make me think this is a very even matchup.

I’m picking Team USA because of one man: Kevin Durant. For everything that is wrong with this Team USA roster, Durant fixes it by being the most unfair player in the tournament. It will be easy for him to rise to the challenge with the great talent around him especially aided by LeBron James.

The 2008 gold medal game was remembered as one of the best international basketball games ever played and I think the 2012 gold medal game will end up being right there with it. It will be another reminder that the world is catching up to the U.S. in hoops but that we are still the best because we have the very best, Durant and LeBron.

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.

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.