Apr 25, 2013; Milwaukee, WI, USA; Miami Heat forward LeBron James passes off the ball against the Milwaukee Bucks during game three of the first round of the 2013 NBA playoffs at BMO Harris Bradley Center. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports

LeBron James is not your unanimous MVP everybody. Some idiot gave Carmelo Anthony a vote.

LeBron ended up with 120 of a possible 121 first-place votes to win his fourth MVP. Only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell and Michael Jordan have won at least four MVP’s in their career.

Kevin Durant finished second in the MVP voting while Anthony came in third-place.

Durant received 93 second-place votes, 21 third-place votes, two fourth-place votes and three fifth-place votes. Anthony finished with 16 second-place votes, 51 third-place votes, 27 fourth-place votes and 17 fifth-place.

Chris Paul finished fourth in the MVP voting and Kobe Bryant finished fifth. Tony Parker and Tim Duncan came in sixth and seventh place followed by James Harden in eighth place.

Russell Westbrook came in ninth place receiving just one fourth-place vote and six for fifth-place.

Obviously, LeBron winning the award was an easy choice. It’s very surprising that it wasn’t unanimous and if anyone should have received any first-place votes, it’s Durant and not Anthony.

Durant had one of the best seasons in NBA history as well. He nearly led the league in scoring for the fourth straight season while also shooting 50-40-90 and becoming just the seventh player in NBA history to do so.

Unfortunately, it looks like Durant won’t be going after the scoring title tonight when the Oklahoma City Thunder take on the Milwaukee Bucks.

Durant would have needed 70 points tonight to pass Anthony as the NBA’s scoring leader. Durant joked after the Thunder’s last game that he would go for it if everyone wanted him to.

Scott Brooks said though that his main guys wouldn’t be playing very much tonight and then guaranteed that Durant wouldn’t score 70.

Dropping 70 was a very long shot but not impossible to think about for Durant. It would have been very cool for him to come out and try and get it tonight.

The Thunder clinched the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference with their win over the Sacramento Kings Monday night, which has made this game pretty much pointless for them.

Durant played in all 66 regular season games last year and in 2009-10, he played in all 82. He has never played less than 74 games in a season.

The real disappointment will simply be for any Thunder fans out there who are going to see their first game. If Durant really isn’t playing, it will be too bad for them.

Kevin Durant will tell you that he doesn’t care about it. But he has a chance to become just the third player ever to win the scoring title in four consecutive seasons if he does so this year.

Carmelo Anthony just took a big leap last night toward Durant’s league-leading 28.3 points per game when he dropped 50 points on the Miami Heat.

Anthony is now averaging 27.9 points per game and is really the only player with an actual chance to catch Durant in the scoring title race.

Anthony and the Knicks have nine games left this season. Durant and the Thunder will play eight more games.

The Knicks and Thunder still have a reason to play hard the rest of the season. The Knicks are currently tied with the Indiana Pacers for the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference and the Thunder are just a game back of the San Antonio Spurs for the top spot in the Western Conference.

The Thunder and Knicks will also play each other one last time this season this coming Sunday at 1 p.m. EST.

Both Durant and Anthony will have reason to play a lot of minutes down the stretch this season and therefore, score a lot more.

By the looks of it – and especially because of last night – Anthony may be in more of a scoring groove of late than Durant is.

We may be in store for another great finish in the scoring race this season between two players that many call the two best scorers in the game (I know, go figure).

Thunder fans are definitely rooting big time for Durant to win this. His season has been very much overshadowed this year by LeBron James. If Durant can become the third player ever to win four straight scoring titles (and do so by taking less shots per game than Russell Westbrook) and become just the seventh player ever to shoot join to 50-40-90 club then it will be a great consolation prize for him and the Thunder faithful.

Feb 17, 2013; Houston, TX, USA; Western Conference forward Kevin Durant (35) of the Oklahoma City Thunder reacts with Eastern Conference forward Carmelo Anthony (7) of the New York Knicks and guard Dwyane Wade (3) of the Miami Heat in the second quarter of the 2013 NBA all star game at the Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports

The Oklahoma City Thunder will travel to play the New York Knicks tonight which means two of the best pure scorers in the NBA will be facing off.

Kevin Durant and Carmelo Anthony are each playing the best basketball of their respective careers this season and have their teams as legitimate title contenders.

Whenever the debate comes up about who is the best pure scorer in the NBA, Durant and Anthony are talked about the most.

To try and decipher this debate, let’s break down scoring into these categories: outside shooting, off the dribble and back to the basket.

Outside shooting

This is Durant’s bread and butter. He has earned a reputation as not just one of the best outside shooters in today’s game, but of all-time as well. Durant’s shot is essentially unblockable because of his height and length and his range is unlimited.

Anthony can heat up as quickly as any player in the league and he’s shooting a career-high 38.3 percent from three this season. He seemed to have carried over the momentum he had this past summer with Team USA into this season where he was such a deadly outside shooter.

Anthony can’t match Durant’s prowess in this area. Durant is shooting 42.1 percent from three this season which is also a career-high. Durant is 10th in the NBA scoring 1.31 points per possession (PPP) on spot-up plays while Anthony is just 66th in the league scoring 1.11 PPP on those plays.

Advantage: Kevin Durant

Off the dribble

Durant has come a long way this season scoring off the dribble. He’s always had an alarmingly skilled handle for his size and this year he has done a great job cutting down on the turnovers and becoming more efficient.

Anthony is also very good off the dribble. When he puts his head down and gets into the paint, he becomes one of the toughest things to stop in this league.

Durant is 20th in the league scoring 0.90 PPP on plays where he is the pick-and-roll ball handler. Anthony ranks 4th scoring 1.04 PPP on those plays. On isolation plays, Durant is 14th scoring 0.97 PPP while Anthony is 43rd scoring 0.87 PPP.

This one is close but you have to give the nod to Durant here again.

Advantage: Kevin Durant

Back to the basket

Durant has been trying to play more with his back to the basket the longer he has been in the league. Since he can shoot over anybody, the closer he gets to the basket the more deadly he will become.

Anthony is really known as one of the best players in the post in the league. He is relentless inside and gets a lot of buckets from offensive rebounds. He is so quick with his first step and has a fantastic spin move that he can pull off in traffic.

Durant is 5th in the NBA scoring 1.06 PPP on post-up plays this season. Anthony is 11th in the NBA scoring 0.98 PPP on those plays. Anthony does post up more though and scores more on putbacks.

Advantage: Carmelo Anthony

Conclusion

Durant takes home the title of best pure scorer in the NBA. You might have been able to make a case for Anthony in the past but what Durant is doing this season is truly special. He has improved in all facets of his game and become an unmatched efficient scoring machine.

Tonight we will hopefully get to see the two leading scorers in the league go head-to-head. Anthony missed last night’s game with a knee injury and is still questionable for tonight.

Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports

We are a little more than a quarter of the way finished with the NBA season now. The Oklahoma City Thunder are currently the hottest team in the league with the best record and on an 11-game win streak.

The New York Knicks still hold the top spot in the Eastern Conference just a game and a half ahead of the Miami Heat. The Los Angeles Clippers and San Antonio Spurs are two games back each of the Thunder.

A few disappointments so far have been the Boston Celtics and Denver Nuggets who each would barely make the playoffs if they started today. But no team has been more disappointing than the Los Angeles Lakers so far.

Team success has a lot to do with MVP candidacy. Now let’s look at the players who are in the running for the award so far this year.

1. Kevin Durant, Oklahoma City Thunder

Durant still deserves the top spot here with the Thunder rolling the way that they are. Durant is putting up career numbers in terms of PER and true shooting percentage as he has a shot at joining the 50-40-90 club. His improvement from last season will be a big reason why he is considered the MVP so far this season especially with James Harden’s departure.

2. Carmelo Anthony, New York Knicks

The Knicks just keep winning while Anthony is playing the best basketball of his career. He really seems to have carried over his Olympic play to the NBA season and it has been perfect for this Knicks team. The veterans surrounding Anthony are only helping to lift him to another level this season too.

3. LeBron James, Miami Heat

You can’t drop LeBron too far down the MVP ladder. He’s still leading the league in PER and putting up better all-around numbers than anyone. The Heat just haven’t been winning quite as much as you’d expect. All it’s going to take is a big month or two from LeBron and the Heat for him to get back in poll position of this race.

4. Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers

What Kobe is doing at this age and leading the league in scoring as efficiently as he’s ever been is remarkable. The issue is the Lakers aren’t winning, at all. Once they do and most people still believe they will eventually get their act together, Kobe will be right up there in the MVP discussion.

5. Chris Paul, Los Angeles Clippers

The Clippers are quietly on a winning streak just as impressive as the Thunder’s. Paul is 5th in the NBA in PER behind only the four players ahead of him in these Power Rankings. The Clippers look much better than a season ago, more prepared to make a deep run in the playoffs. Their depth has been a big reason for their success though so it’s not all Paul which is why he ranks only 5th.

6. Zach Randolph, Memphis Grizzlies

The Grizzlies have gotten off to a great start this season thanks mostly to Randolph. Randolph isn’t near the top of the league in PER but his averages of 17.2 points and 12.7 rebounds per game will not go unnoticed by MVP voters. Memphis has shown that they are as tough as anyone in the league to match up with and Randolph being their power forward is the biggest reason why.

7. Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors

Curry has led the Warriors to the fifth best record in the Western Conference so far this season. The key has simply been his health. He’s averaging 19.7 points, 6.5 assists and 4.1 rebounds per game. His shooting numbers have not been their best either so expect those to rise as the season goes on. The Warriors have been one of the biggest surprises of the year playing this well so early. If they can keep it up, Curry will deserve some MVP attention.

8. Josh Smith, Atlanta Hawks

Smith and the Hawks have also surprised the NBA in their first season after Joe Johnson currently holding the third best record in the Eastern Conference. They have many impressive wins including against the Thunder in OKC. Smith is averaging 16.6 points, 8.1 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game to lead the Hawks.

9. Rajon Rondo, Boston Celtics

Rondo is still leading the league in assists by far and if the Celtics can get their act together and move up the standings in the Eastern Confernce, he will keep moving up in the MVP Power Rankings. He’s averaging 12.9 points, 12.7 assists and 5.3 rebounds per game this year as he looks to be playing the best ball of his career.

10. Russell Westbrook, Oklahoma City Thunder

Westbrook will never win the NBA because he is on the same team as Kevin Durant but he still deserves to be ahead of others in the MVP Power Rankings. Like Durant, Westbrook is also having a career year passing the ball better than ever and playing defense at the highest level we’ve ever seen from him. The Thunder needed Durant and Westbrook to step up and fill the Harden void this year and both have done exactly that.

Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

Kobe Bryant recently came out and called Carmelo Anthony his greatest personal defensive challenge, even more so than LeBron James.

The conversation became which player is the toughest to guard in the NBA. Quite a few feel Anthony is just that.

Two players obviously getting a slight here are LeBron and the 3-time defending scoring champion Kevin Durant.

The question here isn’t who is harder for a team to stop. That title would belong to LeBron for obvious reasons. It’s about defending someone one-on-one and that’s why Anthony leads the debate along with Durant.

Between Anthony and Durant, who is the tougher cover?

It’s hard to argue with the fact that Durant has led the league in scoring for each of the past three seasons and shoots a much higher percentage from the field than Anthony. But the way Anthony is playing this year, at an MVP-level, he is looking like one of the toughest players to match up with in the NBA.

Anthony’s biggest advantage over Durant is his work inside. He has a much more polished post-up game and gets a lot of buckets on the offensive glass. He is described as a bull in how he goes about scoring at times. Combine this with the way Anthony is shooting the ball from the outside this season and we have pretty complete scorer.

Durant goes about scoring differently mainly because of his frame. He is 3-4 inches taller and much thinner. He will shoot over you, get to the line with awkwardness and finesse his way to 30 points.

If you look at how each player is described, you can see why Kobe would say Anthony is tougher to cover. The perception of how Anthony scores comes with more effort than Durant, who does everything so effortlessly.

But that doesn’t necessarily make Anthony tougher to cover just because of perception.

Durant has been more efficient this season scoring 1.10 points per possession on the year compared to 1.06 PPP for Anthony. Durant is the better isolation scorer at 0.99 PPP compared to 0.90 for Anthony.

Anthony has been lights out in the pick-and-roll this year scoring 1.10 PPP as the pick-and-roll ball handler while Durant has struggled mightily in that depart at 0.60 PPP.

In the post, Anthony does it more but Durant has been more efficient scoring 1.17 PPP compared to 1.03 PPP for Anthony. Anthony has scored much more on putbacks however.

Durant and Anthony have each been great spot-up shooters this season with Durant scoring 1.32 PPP on spot-up plays and Anthony 1.25 PPP.

We see that Durant has been more efficient this season but Anthony takes more shots so that doesn’t necessarily tell the whole story.

It really comes down to a matter of taste. Is Anthony’s bull-like offensive approach where he is super physical tougher to cover or does Durant getting his so easily make him more unstoppable?

At the end of the day, if someone is dropping 40 on you without sweating, that makes them a tougher cover. Because just imagine what happens when you make them start sweating.

There has already been a lot of talk regarding the future of USA Basketball. We know that Mike Krzyzewski will not be the head coach although he plans to remain involved with the program to some extent. Doc Rivers, Gregg Popovich and Doug Collins are a few of the names rumored as possible replacements.

A lot of the players from the 2012 team are likely to not return in 2016. Kobe Bryant said that this was his last Olympics and a few others may not be back either. Four years is a long time and players like LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony and Chris Paul will all be in their 30’s in 2016.

There has also been some talk of the NBA implementing a 23-under age-limit for future United States basketball teams. It is unlikely though that will come into effect until 2020.

If we look at the 2012 roster, there are a few players who are good candidates to be on the team again in 2016: Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, James Harden, Kevin Love and Anthony Davis seem the most likely. LeBron and Anthony might be the old guys who decide to give it one more run in what would be their fourth Olympics.

That leaves at least five more roster spots assuming no one else returns. Derrick Rose and Blake Griffin are two of the youngest players who would have been playing on this team. They both missed these Olympics due to injury. If chronic injuries become a growing concern for either, they might not be options in 2016 either. Dwight Howard will still be young enough to be an option as well.

A couple of point guards from the Select Team seem like good options in Kyrie Irving and John Wall. Both were former No. 1 picks which often are invited to the team.

Some other hopefuls from the select team include Kawhi Leonard, Greg Monroe and Paul George. Rookies Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Bradley Beal and Harrison Barnes are likely to be candidates as well.

There is also a very high likelihood that there will be a few players to make the 2016 team that aren’t in the NBA just yet. Some names that come to mind are top recruits Nerlens Noel, Shabazz Muhammad and Jabari Parker.

It’s really hard to tell at this point what the roster may look like in four years but here is what I am projecting:

Point guards: Russell Westbrook, Derrick Rose, Kyrie Irving
Shooting guards: James Harden, Paul George
Small forwards: Kevin Durant, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Kawhi Leonard
Power forwards: Kevin Love, Blake Griffin
Centers: Anthony Davis, Greg Monroe

I think in 2016, we will make sure to send over a team that has more size than the 2012 team had. Love, Griffin, Davis and Monroe will be a good foursome to have banging down low. Of course, Durant can play a lot of the four as well.

Rose and Westbrook will probably start in the backcourt. Irving is going to be a monster by 2016 and Harden will be in the conversation for best shooting guard in the NBA with George right behind him.

MKG will be the Iguodala of the team. MKG is going to be a very well-liked player at this point and considered a kind of glue guy for this team.

Leonard seems like another guy who a lot of people are high on. He was impressive in his rookie season with San Antonio and is expected to increase his role with them going forward.

Kevin Durant led the way scoring 30 points and grabbing nine rebounds in the game. Durant set a U.S. record for most points scored in a single Olympics in the game and also had the most points ever by a U.S. player in a gold medal game.

LeBron James added 19 points becoming just the second player ever along with Michael Jordan to win an MVP, NBA title and gold medal in the same year.

Team USA was pretty dominant for most of the Olympics but Spain made them work for gold, trailing by just one entering the final quarter. Team USA came out hot in the final quarter and would make the big plays when they needed them down the stretch.

Here are the final grades for each Team USA player:

LeBron James – 13.3 PPG, 5.6 APG, 5.6 RPG, 60 FG%, 30 3PT%, 75 FT% – A

LeBron looked like the best player in the world when he wanted to in these Olympics. He came up huge down the stretch of Team USA’s two closest games vs. Lithuania in pool play and Spain in the gold medal game. He silenced any critics with everything he did and has to feel pretty good right now. LeBron showed us nothing new in the Olympics except maybe an overwhelming sense of confidence in everything he did on the floor. He was arguably the most valuable player on the team leading everyone in assists and defending much bigger players for most of the tournament.

Kevin Durant – 19.5 PPG, 2.6 APG, 5.8 RPG, 49 FG%, 52 3PT%, 89 FT% – A

Durant not surprisingly led the U.S. in scoring. He was huge for them in the gold medal game and without his 30, could have easily lost to Spain. His display shooting the shorter three in these games was remarkable. He seemed the most unfair of the Team USA players vs. the international competition. Durant most importantly stepped up his defense as the tournament went on. His length really seemed to bother the international players a lot who aren’t used to seeing someone his size move so agile. Durant produced more consistently than any other player on Team USA in every game and that’s why he deserves just as much as LeBron to be recognized as the team’s MVP.

Carmelo Anthony – 16.3 PPG, 1.3 APG, 4.8 RPG, 54 FG%, 50 3PT%, 79 FT% – A

Anthony made the most noise on this team in their record-setting pool play win over Nigeria. He set a U.S. Olympic scoring record in that game with 37 points and made 10-of-12 threes. It is often said how perfectly Anthony fits into the international game and that was definitely evident again in these Olympics. His shot was on in almost every game as he was less of the isolation player we see him as in the NBA and more of just a catch-and-shoot guy. He came off the bench as Durant started every game but it did not faze him as he embraced the role. Team USA really couldn’t have asked for much more from Anthony.

Kobe Bryant – 12.1 PPG, 1.3 APG, 1.8 RPG, 43 FG%, 44 3PT%, 91 FT% – C

Kobe looked really bad in these Olympics until the medal round when he kind of came alive. Other than Deron Williams, Kobe had the lowest field goal percentage on the team and was a liability on defense as well. He was the old man of this team and that’s exactly what it looked like. He rarely kept up with his teammates on the fast break, never made the right pass when leading a fast break and simply made you start feeling a little sorry for him a lot of the time. Kobe did step up and play better in the medal round and that’s why he isn’t getting an F grade here. The truth is that Team USA would have been much better without Kobe than they were with him.

Chris Paul – 8.3 PPG, 5.1 APG, 2.5 RPG, 51 FG%, 46 3PT%, 50 FT% – A

Paul underratedly had a pretty fantastic Olympics. It was no surprise that he did a good job setting up his teammates in every game and played great defense on opposing point guards, but it was his shooting that really stood out. Paul is a very capable shooter in the NBA but really came through in the Olympics too with his 3-point shot. Deron Williams is considered possibly the better international style point guard but Paul made it clear that Williams is not in his league with his play in these Olympics. Another great job by Paul was that way he let LeBron be the playmaker while on the floor with him, something he is not used to doing in the NBA.

Deron Williams – 9.0 PPG, 4.6 APG, 1.5 RPG, 39 FG%, 40 3PT %, 77 FT% – C+

Williams had a pretty disappointing Olympics for the most part. He was never terrible in the way Kobe was but he definitely underperformed. He could have seen a lot more playing time had he been hitting his shot a little more often. As a result, he ended up barely playing in the gold medal game.

Russell Westbrook – 8.5 PPG, 1.6 APG, 1.6 RPG, 48 FG%, 33 3PT%, 74 FT% – B-

There were some pretty high expectations for Westbrook coming into these Olympics as Kobe and a few others, mentioned that he could play the role Dwyane Wade did back in 2008. Westbrook didn’t do that and playing behind Paul and Williams, he didn’t get a lot of playing time in general. His game is not made for the international style and he didn’t look like he fit in too much. He wasn’t playing point and had the ball much less than he does in the NBA. He made a lot of bad turnovers and didn’t have many assists either. He could have easily played at a level where he demanded more minutes than Kobe but he just didn’t. His greatest value to the team was the pressure defense he put on opposing guards, especially from the weaker teams.

Kevin Love – 11.6 PPG, 0.4 APG, 7.6 RPG, 63 FG%, 36 3PT%, 57 FT% – B+

Love really came on late in the Olympics for Team USA and basically became part of their crunch time lineup. There weren’t many bigs on the roster so the opportunity to find minutes wasn’t hard for Love. All he had to do was rebound, which he did better than anyone else on the team, and make shots, which he struggled with a little. Love clearly didn’t love the FIBA ball and it showed with his low shooting percentages. He still made himself an invaluable part of the team with his rebounding.

Tyson Chandler – 4.0 PPG, 0.4 APG, 4.0 RPG, 70 FG%, 33 FT% – C-

Chandler started every game but only averaged 11.3 minutes per game. He got in a lot of foul trouble and was never anything special on defense either. He was never a liability while on the floor but he definitely underperformed. Even against Spain, when Team USA needed him more than ever to compete with their size, he only played nine minutes. It’s safe to say, Chandler was a huge downgrade from Dwight Howard.

Andre Iguodala – 4.3 PPG, 1.4 APG, 2.8 RPG, 70 FG%, 56 3PT%, 50 FT% – B-

Iguodala didn’t play much either in these Olympics but did a pretty good job while he was out there, you just didn’t notice him much. He shot a high percentage from three but out of a small sample size. He could have been used more in lieu of Kobe for his defense but that was a tough decision Coach K chose to avoid.

James Harden – 5.5 PPG, 0.8 APG, 0.6 RPG, 50 FG%, 30 3PT%, 57 FT% – B-

Harden wasn’t going to play a lot in these Olympics and really didn’t do too good of job in the little time he did play. Whenever he came in, he was going to take a few threes but he only shot 30 percent on them. He had a few really nice dunks but that was about it. With Durant and Anthony shooting so well from distance, there was never a moment for Coach K to look to Harden to come in and provide some outside shooting in a close game.

Anthony Davis – 3.7 PPG, 0.0 APG, 2.7 RPG, 65 FG%, 67 FT% – A

Davis was one of the biggest winners of these Olympics. He got to piggy back on to a team filled with the best talent in the NBA before ever even playing in the NBA, and comes home with a gold medal. Davis was impressive when he was on the floor too. His defensive presence was maybe the best of anyone on Team USA and he clicked very nicely on some lobs with the point guards. He will be a very good NBA player, that’s how you come away feeling about him after watching him play in London.

Mike Krzyzewski gets to ride off into the sunset from his Olympic coaching career, getting his second gold medal and finishing his career as Team USA’s coach with a 62-1 record.

The game was very reminiscent of the 2008 gold medal game. Spain came out playing better than they had all Olympics and trailed by just one point entering the fourth quarter.

Team USA came out great in the fourth though scoring seven quick points. Then LeBron James picked up his fourth foul, came out of the game and Spain remained within striking distance.

When LeBron came back in, he made a backbreaking 3-pointer over Marc Gasol in the same way Kobe Bryant made a huge three four years ago.

LeBron James caps off an amazing year for him that included an MVP, NBA title and now gold medal making him the first player since Michael Jordan in 1992 to do that.

Pau Gasol led Spain with 24 points, eight rebounds and five assists in the game.

The U.S. made the plays they needed to down the stretch. It wasn’t the prettiest win. Each team committed 27 fouls in the game and Spain also battled foul trouble with Marc Gasol picking up four in the first half and sitting the entire third quarter.

The U.S. made 15-of-37 threes in the game while Spain wasn’t as good at 7-for-19. Team USA also held their own on the boards outrebounding Spain and getting 12 offensive rebounds.

With the win, the United States capture their 14th gold medal in Olympic basketball history.

Here are grades for all of the players:

LeBron James – 30 minutes, 19 points, 3 assists, 7 rebounds – B+

It wasn’t LeBron’s best game but he came up big when Team USA needed him scoring five points in the final three minutes. The zone Spain mostly played limited what LeBron did on offense as less of Team USA’s offense ran through him. When he picked up his fourth foul late in the game and had to come out, it looked like Team USA might be in some trouble but they survived.

Kevin Durant – 38 minutes, 30 points, 9 rebounds, 1 assist – A

Durant passed Spencer Haywood as the all-time U.S. leading scorer in a single Olympics in this game. Getting 30 from him was huge and very necessary for Team USA to pull out the win. By his standards he was a little off on his shot making 5-of-13 threes in the game. He was better scoring all around in this one and got to the line 10 times, making nine. His defense remained solid as well as he got many deflections and held his own down low.

Carmelo Anthony – 21 minutes, 8 points, 3 assists, 5 rebounds – C+

Anthony was nothing special in this game making just 2-of-6 threes. He also got into foul trouble and with him not scoring much, Team USA became really dependant on Durant and Kobe to fill it up, which they did. Anthony was great rebounding on defense in the fourth quarter though while matched up with bigger players.

Kobe Bryant – 27 minutes, 17 points, 2 assists, 2 rebounds – A

Kobe had been bad for a lot of these Olympics but really looked pretty good in the medal round, including this game. He hit some big shots early and late and shot a solid percentage. He had a few bad turnovers but luckily that didn’t cost the U.S. the game.

Chris Paul – 33 minutes, 11 points, 2 assists, 3 steals – B+

Paul was a little too passive in this game and could have looked for his shot a little more late. He still hit a big three in the third quarter and made a huge driving layup with 53 seconds left to put Team USA up 104-93.

Deron Williams – 10 minutes, 6 points, 1 assist – C+

Team USA could have used another player to step up and hit some outside shots. Williams made both of his 3-point attempts but didn’t do much else. He didn’t play as much as he had been either with the game pretty close in the second half.

Russell Westbrook – 9 minutes, 3 points, 1 rebound – C+

Westbrook did not play at all in the second half and didn’t make much of an impact in the first half either. Westbrook is a great NBA player but his game didn’t translate too well in these Olympics within this team.

Kevin Love – 19 minutes, 9 points, 9 rebounds – B

Love’s rebounding was huge and he had three offensive boards but his post defense was basically nonexistent. He couldn’t contain the Gasol brothers really at all and that was a big reason why the game was close.

Tyson Chandler – 9 minutes, 2 points, 1 rebound – C

Chandler hardly played again and didn’t even do a good job while he was in as Pau Gasol scored on him a few times. His impact was minimal.

Andre Iguodala – 2 minutes, 1 rebound, 1 turnover – C

Iguodala hardly played too. Even with LeBron in some foul trouble, Coach K went with Kobe playing more minutes instead of some Iguodala.

James Harden – 1 minute, 2 points – C

Harden came in with under a minute to play with the game pretty much in hand. He got fouled twice and went 2-for-4 from the line. Unacceptable.

Anthony Davis – 1 minute, 1 rebound – C

Davis pulled down the final rebound of the game. That has to count for something. Can’t wait to see him in Rio, and the NBA for that matter.

Bob Donnan-US PRESSWIRE

The United States will take on Spain in the gold medal game at 10 a.m. EST this morning. The U.S. and Spain are meeting in the Olympic gold medal game for the second straight Olympics with the U.S. winning in 2008 118-107.

Team USA and Spain were the two favorites in these Olympics and were expected to meet in this game. The United States rolled through their competition winning all seven games by an average of 35.7 points per game.

Things didn’t go quite as planned for Spain who lost twice in group play to Russia then intentionally to Brazil so as to avoid the United States until the gold medal game. That worked out well for Spain who beat France 66-59 in the quarterfinals then knocked off Russia 67-59 in the semis.

Spain is considered the greatest test for Team USA so far. They may not have looked their best so far in the Olympics but we can expect to see them play their best basketball today.

Pau Gasol is averaging 18.4 points per game to lead Spain while brother Marc is second on the team scoring 12.0 points per game.

Spain will have a significant size advantage vs. the U.S. as they also bring Serge Ibaka off the bench, who is only playing 14.1 minutes per game and averaging 7.4 points and 3.7 rebounds per game.

Team USA’s lack of size was supposed to be a big weakness for them entering the Olympics but they have made up for it with great 3-point shooting. As a team, the U.S. is shooting .445 percent from three in the Olympics and taking 36.6 threes per game.

Kevin Durant is leading the team averaging 18.0 points and shooting .558 percent from deep. Carmelo Anthony is second on the team at 17.4 points per game while shooting .525 percent from three.

LeBron James has also come on of late for the U.S. notching the first ever triple-double in U.S. Olympic history in the quarterfinals vs. Australia. He’s averaging 12.4 points, 5.4 rebounds and is leading the team with 5.9 assists per game.

Two big factors will decide this game: 3-point shooting and size. Spain is fully capable of outplaying the U.S. in both areas and will need to, to have a chance at winning.

We know they will have the size advantage but they will need to take advantage of it scoring from the post. That will open up the 3-point shot which Spain has struggled with these Olympics shooting it at just .328 percent.

They have some players who can heat up from deep though, most notably Rudy Fernandez and Juan Carlos Navarro. Spain should be able to nullify Team USA’s excellent ball pressure defense with their experienced guards, Jose Calderon and Sergio Rodriguez.

This is the game we have all been waiting for. It’s the only right way to decide the gold medal in basketball, having these two teams play a 40-minute game. The U.S. will be favored and rightfully so but Spain has as good a chance as anyone to pull off the upset.

This will also be the final game as head coach of Team USA for Mike Krzyzewski. Krzyzewski has led the United States to a 61-1 record under him since he took over in 2006 and was there when they won gold in Beijing four years ago. 61-2 would be considered a failure for Coach K.

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 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.

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.

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.

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.

Team USA had their first legitimate scare of the Olympic so far as Lithuania led the game in the fourth quarter with seven minutes to play.

The United States were coming off an 83-point victory vs. Nigeria two days ago and perhaps them not be challenged so far in the Olympics had something to do with this game being so close.

Now that the games are starting to get serious for Team USA, it’s time to seriously grade each player for them:

LeBron James – 35 minutes, 20 points, 5 rebounds, 0 assists – A

LeBron was quiet early in this one very much like he has been all Olympics so far. He hasn’t been needed to do much for Team USA so far but really stepped up in the fourth quarter vs. Lithuania. LeBron scored nine of Team USA’s final 12 points effectively shutting the door on any hopes Lithuania had of pulling off the upset. LeBron surprisingly didn’t have an assist in the game but that may have had a lot to do with the U.S. shooting so poorly from three in the game.

Kevin Durant – 28 minutes, 16 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists – C+

This wasn’t Durant’s best game and we are seeing him turn into more of a one-dimensional player on this team, becoming just a catch-and-shoot guy from behind the 3-point line. There’s not a lot wrong with that as he made 4-of-7 threes vs. Lithuania but he has kind of struggled scoring in other areas. Durant also was taken advantage of inside a few times by Lithuania and since he is being asked to play a lot of power forwards and centers that is not a good thing.

Carmelo Anthony – 25 minutes, 20 points, 3 rebounds – B

Anthony was coming off a fantastic game against Nigeria in which he set a U.S. Olympic record with 37 points and made 10-of-12 threes in the process. Anthony continued his hot shooting early in this one but then cooled off later. Much like Durant, Anthony has struggled with his defense inside and it was a weakness of this team that Lithuania revealed in this game. Overall it would be nice to see Anthony as committed on defense as he is on offense to get a better grade.

Kobe Bryant – 20 minutes, 6 points, 1 assist – C

Kobe really struggled shooting in this one going just 1-of-7 from the field and didn’t play very well on defense either. He often bit on pump fakes by Lithuania players at the 3-point line leaving the rest of the defense at a disadvantage. Sometimes Kobe just seems to not really fit in with this team being the old man of the group and the ball of course almost always stops when he gets his hands on it.

Chris Paul – 28 minutes, 7 points, 6 assists, 4 steals – A-

Paul was pretty good in this game and very good late. He was one of the most clutch players in the NBA last season and when he has the ball in his hands late with this team, good things always happen. He made a great play in transition late to find Durant for an easy dunk. He struggled a little from the field and was 1-for-4 on threes but other than that was great.

Deron Williams – 23 minutes, 12 points, 2 assists – B

Williams wasn’t the most efficient in this game ever but the 12 points he did contribute despite needing 12 shots to get them were valuable. With Team USA settling for so many threes in these Olympics, Williams is always a good guy to have on the floor and he made a pair of treys in this one.

Russell Westbrook – 14 minutes, 7 points, 2 rebounds – C

Westbrook was out of control and out of rhythm even more so than usual against Lithuania. Not being able to roam freely all over the floor like he does in OKC has made him very much less effective in the Olympics. He made some bad decisions on offense and defense in this one and really can play a lot better for this team. His strengths were not taken advantage of in this game and it made up seem like kind of a waste when he was in.

Kevin Love – 12 minutes, 7 points, 8 rebounds – C

Love really struggled from the free throw line going 3-of-8 and seems to not be in love with the FIBA basketball. He works so hard though and led the team with eight boards. Team USA needed him too in this one being one of the only actual big men on the roster. For Team USA to win gold and beat teams like Argentina and Spain, Love will have to play well and give them a little more than he did today.

Tyson Chandler – 8 minutes, 1 point, 1 rebound – D

Chandler has done very little for this team so far in the Olympics and hasn’t seen a lot of playing time despite starting every game. He went 1-for-4 from the free throw line in this one which makes him a liability to have on the floor on offense. Coach K has elected to go with smaller lineups and sacrifice the interior defense that he provides because of this. It would be nice to see him playing better and getting more minutes because Team USA may need him especially if they play Spain in the medal round.

James Harden – 4 minutes, 3 points, 1 steal – B

Harden barely played in this one and did make one very good play in his short time on the floor, making a steal and finishing at the rim with an and-1 layup. He won’t get a ton of minutes in close games for Team USA especially with him shooting not so great from three so far in the Olympics. He missed his only 3-point shot attempt today.

Andre Iguodala – 3 minutes, 1 rebound, 3 fouls – D

Iguodala got in early but picked up three very quick fouls and never came back in. Coach K likes him and will continue to use him in some spots. Team USA honestly could have used him more in this one since he is one of their best defenders on the perimeter and a good rebounder. Nothing much more to say about him vs. Lithuania though.

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.

This has yet to matter though as Team USA is 3-0 so far in Olympic play most recently dominating Nigeria to the fullest with an 83-point victory.

Team USA makes up for its lack of size with superior talent. In particular with three players, that are playing somewhat out of position than we’re used to seeing them in the NBA.

Kevin Durant, LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony have each assumed roles with this team where they are playing power forward and sometimes center. This is something that became necessary for Mike Krzyzewski to do once the likes of Dwight Howard and Chris Bosh weren’t going to be on the team and it has worked our just fine.

Playing the four isn’t a totally foreign concept for these three. In fact, you could argue that their NBA teams were most successful when each of these players played the four for them.

A big reason why the Miami Heat won the NBA title this season was because they went to a smaller lineup after Bosh got injured that featured LeBron at the four. It worked so well without Bosh that when he returned at the end of the Eastern Conference Finals, head coach Erik Spoelstra stuck with it all the way through the NBA Finals.

LeBron morphed into a version of Larry Bird using his distributor skills from the low block and posing mismatch problems even more so than usual with his new position.

While not as dramatic as LeBron changing positions, many argue that the Thunder are at their best when Durant plays the four. He stretches the floor as well as anyone in the league and has the length to contend with taller players inside.

The Thunder become more of an up-and-down team when he plays the four and Serge Ibaka is next to him at the five. They give up more on the defensive end with this lineup but their offense takes on a new form that is almost impossible to truly matchup with.

The Knicks too experienced some of their best success last season with Anthony at the four while Amare Stoudemire was out of the lineup. Anthony has showed in the past in the Olympics his ability to play the four and is doing it again this summer as he just set a U.S. Olympic record with 37 points vs. Nigeria.

This is what the future of the NBA will be. There was a time when teams liked their bigger lineups, ones that might prefer Anthony Mason or Robert Horry at the three. That was the 1990’s and the game is different now and perhaps ready to take an even more dramatic step forward in terms of positions.

There are more skilled athletes than ever in the NBA today. Players like LeBron and Durant are the best in the league largely because of what they can do with a basketball despite their huge frames.

Pat Riley has come out and said that the Heat will not necessarily be looking for a center for next season despite that being one of the obvious holes of their roster. They are committed to sticking with what worked last season in moving LeBron to the low block.

The Knicks too are considering this with their head coach Mike Woodson recently discussing smaller lineups with Ronnie Brewer.

The Thunder became more versatile this year with some of the pickups they made. Two new players that will likely crack their rotation this year are Eric Maynor who was injured last season after playing only nine games and rookie Perry Jones.

Jones matches the future direction of the NBA as well as anyone. Once he would have been considered a soft big who didn’t rebound enough or score enough from the block. Now he is a matchup nightmare because of his versatility. And lined up next to Durant will give the Thunder something that will be just about impossible for any team to match up with.

We will continue to try and find something about this 2012 U.S. Olympic team that will make them beatable. Spain and Brazil’s size is the one thing that looks like could give Team USA trouble.

But maybe that’s not the case at all. Maybe Team USA is better off with this lineup, becoming more versatile and being able to play the brand of basketball that will be displayed for years to come in the NBA.

Basketball is always evolving and Durant, LeBron and Melo are the next evolution.

The United States Olympic Basketball team made history two days ago in their 156-73 victory over Nigeria. It was the biggest margin of victory in U.S. Olympic history and they set a ton of records along the way.

The most notable record was the amount of threes they made. Team USA made 29-of-46 threes in the game, shattering their previous record of 13 made threes in a game back in 2008 vs. Spain.

It was a game where nothing looked like it could go wrong for the U.S. That was most evident in Carmelo Anthony’s play who scored a U.S. Olympic record 37 points including a special performance from three, making 10-of-12 in the game.

The U.S. played an unbeatable game against Nigeria, one that they will likely never repeat but nonetheless did show just how talented they are.

Things will get tougher for the United States beginning this morning as they take on Lithuania, hoping to improve to 4-0 in Olympic play and take a strangle hold in their pool.

Lithuania will be tougher than their last two opponents, Tunisia and Nigeria, but the U.S. should still easily come out on top. The Lithuanians are going to have an extremely hard time matching up with the athleticism of Team USA.

Lithuania will hope to slow the game down, execute their offense and force the U.S. to take a lot of threes over their zone. That may be the game plan to beat Team USA but they showed in their last game that forcing them to shoot a lot of threes may not be the greatest idea.

The last two games have been cakewalks for the U.S. playing Tunisia and Nigeria but the degree of difficulty will start to increase Saturday morning when Team USA takes on Lithuania at 9:30 a.m. EST.

Lithuania is just 1-2 so far in pool play losing to Argentina and most recently France. Lithuania is still a team with a lot of potential, maybe not to upset the U.S. but definitely give them a tough game.

Linas Kleiza is currently leading the team in scoring so far averaging 16.0 points and 6.7 rebounds per game for the Lithuanians. Kleiza has the potential to really heat up from beyond the 3-point line in any given game which will have to happen for Lithuania to hang with Team USA.

Lithuania also features another interesting NBA player in Jonas Valanciunas. Valanciunas hasn’t played much so far in the tournament averaging just 10.8 minutes per game but was a lottery selection by the Toronto Raptors a year ago and will be coming to the NBA next season.

Valanciunas will be the biggest player the U.S. has seen so far at the Olympics and should see an increase in workload in the game. He is still a very raw player and has been in a lot of foul trouble but his work on the interior is something that could give the U.S. trouble.

The United States have made us all forget about their one weakness having easily won all of their first three games. That will come more to the forefront starting with Lithuania and we will see if it ever becomes a big problem for them.

Carmelo Anthony has led the U.S. so far averaging 20.7 points per game heavily influenced by his U.S. Olympic record of 37 points vs. Nigeria. Anthony missed just three field goals total in the last two games for the U.S. and he made 10 threes against Nigeria.

Kevin Durant is second on the team averaging 16.3 points per game and he is the team’s leading rebounder at 6.7 per game.

One thing that could prevent Lithuania from pulling off the improbable upset is that they have not been very good shooting the three so far in the Olympics. A hot night from downtown is definitely necessary to compete with the U.S.

The U.S. on the other hand have been unreal with their 3-point shooting so far most recently making 29-of-46 threes vs. Nigeria. Team USA has not been shy about hoisting threes so far in this tournament and they should see a lot of zone from Lithuania which will lead to more of the same from three.

Ultimately the U.S. should cruise to another victory in this one. Lithuania is too weak in their backcourt and doesn’t have the shooting or athletes to pose a real threat to Team USA. This will not be a repeat of the Nigeria game though but a win is a win even if it’s by 25 instead of 83.

Carmelo Anthony led the way for the United States setting a U.S. Olympic record with 37 points and making 10-of-12 threes in the game. Stephon Marbury was the previous scoring record holder with 31 from back in 2004 against Spain.

The United States were ridiculously on fire from three in the game going 29-for-46 from beyond the arc in the game setting another U.S. record. The previous record for threes made in a game by the U.S. in the Olympics was 13 vs. Spain back in 2008. The U.S. made 14 threes in the first half today.

Russell Westbrook provided the best highlight of the game with a nasty alley-oop on a fast break late in the third quarter. Wetsbrook scored 21 points on 7-of-8 shooting in the game and actually looked like he wanted to catch Anthony in points but sat the entire fourth quarter.

Kevin Durant scored 14 points and made four threes for the U.S. James Harden had seven points and four assists off the bench.

The U.S. led 49-25 after the first quarter and you knew they were in for a special night. The U.S. would finish shooting 71.1 percent from the field and racking up 38 assists.

There was one kind of bright spot for Nigeria in Ike Diogu who scored 27 points for them. Nigeria turned the ball over 24 times in the game though and shot just 41.2 percent from the field.

Team USA will play their next game vs. Lithuania Saturday at 9:30 a.m. EST.

Bob Donnan-US PRESSWIRE

The United States will play their first Olympic Basketball game Sunday, July 29 at 9:30 a.m. EST against France.

The United States prepared for the Olympics with five exhibition games and won them all by an average of 26.6 points.

Kevin Durant averaged 17.6 points per game and shot .552 percent from three in those exhibition games. LeBron James led the team averaging 18.6 points to go along with 4.8 rebounds and 4.0 assists.

Team USA is the favorite to win the gold medal but France is one of the teams expected to give them a decent game.

France is led by San Antonio Spurs point guard Tony Parker who is coming off one of the best NBA seasons of his career in which he led the Spurs to the best record in the NBA and a Western Conference Finals appearance.

Parker is joined by a few other NBA products in Boris Diaw, Nicolas Batum, Kevin Seraphin and Nando De Colo who should make up the starting five for them.

France is ranked 12th in the world and the last time they played the U.S. in the Olympics was back in 2000 in Sydney for the gold medal game which the United States won 85-75.

The blatant weakness for Team USA is their lack of size. They start Tyson Chandler at center and then have only two other legit bigs on their bench in Kevin Love and Anthony Davis, each who didn’t play much at all in their exhibition games.

Instead, head coach Mike Krzyzewski has elected to play smaller lineups consisting of LeBron and Durant at power forward and center a lot of times. This has its advantages on offense but disadvantages on defense. The consensus still is that the United States are talented enough that this size disadvantage shouldn’t stop them from winning gold.

France isn’t a particularly big team either so the United States should really have no trouble handling them. Parker will surely be the main point of emphasis for the U.S. defense which should be more than capable of slowing him down with Chris Paul, Russell Westbrook and Deron Williams in their backcourt.

In Pool A, France has a good shot at coming out of pool play as the 2-seed. Argentina and Lithuania will be the other two teams competing for that spot. Finishing pool play as the 2-seed would mean avoiding the U.S. in the medal round until a potential gold medal game.

France is often overrated and seems to underachieve in international competition. This will be revealed when they play the U.S. as the game has no business remaining close for too long.

The question only will be which U.S. player steps up and has a big game. We’ve seen Durant and LeBron do it consistently in the exhibition games as well as Kobe Bryant and Carmelo Anthony.

It will also be interesting to see if the U.S. struggles at all if they see any zone from France. That will be the main defensive tactic thrown at the United States by other countries and the U.S. could be contained to some degree playing against a 2-3 zone.

The United States attempted 27.6 threes per game in their five exhibition games so they aren’t shy to toss up treys at will. In the closest of those exhibition games against Brazil, the U.S. went just 6-for-24 on threes and shot just over 40 percent from the field in the game.

A cold shooting night from three is definitely a key ingredient for a potential upset against Team USA. Again though, it really shouldn’t matter against France. The United States are fully prepared to roll to a victory in their first Olympic game of 2012.

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.

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.”

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.

Kobe Bryant was asked if he thought the 2012 Olympic Team could beat the ’92 Dream Team and said, “I think we’d pull it out.” In describing the potential matchup, Kobe said the ’92 team would have an advantage inside but that their wings were a lot older.

Charles Barkley responded to Kobe’s comments a little more confidently.

“I just started laughing,” Barkley told The Mike Missanelli Show. “How old is Kobe Bryant? He’s 34? And he’s calling us old? At the time, we were only like 28, 29. Michael Jordan and me were the same age. We were both 29. Other than Kobe, LeBron (James) and Kevin Durant, I don’t think anybody else on that team makes our team.”

So what would happen if these two teams did played? How would each player do and which team would win?

The game would obviously be played with FIBA rules. These rules have affected the more recent U.S. Olympic teams and the rules would affect this game somewhat but it wouldn’t be as drastic since both teams are comprised of NBA players.

Both the ’92 team and this year’s team take advantage of their ability to pressure other countries’ guards in the backcourt. That wouldn’t happen in this matchup and the pace would resemble more closely an NBA game.

Let’s go through the matchups.

David Robinson, Patrick Ewing, Karl Malone vs. Tyson Chandler, Kevin Love, Blake Griffin

This is the most obvious advantage for the ’92 team. Their size advantage would be tremendous and it probably would prove impossible for this year’s team to overcome.

Looking at the rosters it feels like Chandler would have to try and play the entire game for the 2012 team. Love and Griffin would have no chance against Robinson-Ewing-Malone.

The ’92 team definitely gets a huge edge here and would get a ton of second-chance looks and be able to run much more of their offense in the post.

Clyde Drexler, Chris Mullin vs. Carmelo Anthony, Russell Westbrook

These are the backup wings that would get the most run. Let’s assume that Bird, Laettner, Iguodala and Harden don’t play much in this matchup.

This one is a little closer and maybe a tossup between the two teams. All four of these players should be effective in this game but not enough to swing the game either way.

Westbrook may have the most trouble because he will be playing the two-guard for the 2012 team and matching up with Drexler or Jordan will be very tough for him.

Carmelo could be effective on offense playing the four but would have trouble on defense and rebounding.

Mullin went 14-for-26 on threes in the ’92 Olympics so would be pretty automatic if left open. Drexler’s specialty would be an automatic two points on the fast break.

Magic Johnson, John Stockton vs. Chris Paul, Deron Williams

Magic was past his prime in ’92 but not by that much. Stockton was realizing his though so the ’92 team would have another advantage here.

Magic would be a huge mismatch problem of course and whenever Paul was on him he would probably take him into the post. This would be near impossible for the 2012 team to contend with.

If Magic has to try and guard Paul then that’s not a great thing for the ’92 team though.

Magic’s personality would win out though. When you envision this matchup you envision him dominating, talking trash throughout the game and picking up a ton of assists.

This one is close but an advantage again for the ’92 team.

Charles Barkley vs. Kevin Durant

Barkley and Durant won’t necessarily be guarding each other in this matchup but their effect in the game would be similar. Both would score a lot of points, possibly leading their team in that department.

Durant might be the best international style player ever and would be a really tough matchup for the ’92 team especially with the shortened 3-point line.

With the 2012 team’s lack of size, Barkley would feast on them down low. Barkley will struggle with whoever he has to guard though on the 2012 team.

This one is a tossup too. The point being that these two would both underrated-ly dominate in this game and score a ton.

Scottie Pippen vs. LeBron James

LeBron is obviously the better player but Pippen is probably the best shot at guarding him. In this setting, LeBron is not his usual dominant self and defers more than ever to teammates so Pippen should be able to do a decent job on him.

LeBron might be asked to do other things like guard Barkley or Malone or even Magic at times.

This one is closer than you think but the edge has to go to the 2012 team.

Michael Jordan vs. Kobe Bryant

This is really what this matchup would come down to. Not because they are the two best players but because you know if somehow these two were able to go at it like this, they wouldn’t hold anything back.

The matchup is really not close at all. Kobe is a shell of himself while MJ was at the peak of his powers in ’92. Even Kobe in his prime vs. this MJ would have no chance.

It would be the coolest part about this matchup though watching MJ and Kobe isolate on each other. Jordan would torch Kobe though and shut him down on the other end.

The 2012 team should probably put LeBron on Jordan but there’s no way Kobe would allow that by backing down from the challenge so get ready for Jordan doing pretty much whatever he wants while Kobe has a nice 6-for-19 shooting night or something.

This is where we stand. At the end of the day no one is beating the Dream Team. They are the best basketball team ever assembled and having the best player ever playing in his absolute prime is a big reason why.

We’ll never truly know what would happen though but it’s always fun to think about.

The 2012 team will kick off their exhibition games tonight at 9 p.m. EST on ESPN vs. the Dominican Republic. The London Olympics begin July 27.

James Harden, Blake Griffin and Andre Iguodala were the last three players to make the final cut for Team USA. Rudy Gay, Eric Gordon and Anthony Davis were the final three cut and will serve as alternates for the team.

Jerry Colangelo revealed that there were nine players who were locks to make the team a week ago: Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Chris Paul, Carmelo Anthony, Russell Westbrook, Deron Williams, Kevin Love and Tyson Chandler.

The Oklahoma City Thunder become the first NBA team ever to send three players from their roster to play for Team USA in the Olympics.

Harden made the final cut, beating out Gordon in what was a close decision.

“I think he surprised people,” USA Basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo said. “Two months ago he was on the radar screen, but not shining brightly necessarily. Given the opportunity, he finished so strongly this season, he gave us something to really sit back and think about. He has size, he has length at his position.

“Defensively, he’s more than adequate,” he continued. “He comes up with a lot of loose balls, a lot of steals and he is a scorer. And by the way, he can also shoot it. I think there’s a little bit of a difference between the two. Tough choice we had to make, Eric Gordon, James Harden. Harden deserved it for the reasons I mentioned and we expect him coming off the bench as he did and he’s accustomed to and to play whenever he’s called upon.”

Durant was an obvious choice for Team USA. Durant did not make the team four years ago and was one of the last cuts back then when he was only 19 years old.

“Well first of all, this young man was born to play the game. He’s a coach’s dream,” Colangelo of Durant. “He has great character, he has great passion for the game. And then his skills are off the charts. He plays with such enthusiasm that it’s difficult to keep him off the floor and in the World Championships he just rose to another level.”

Westbrook became a no-brainer when players like Derrick Rose and Dwyane Wade pulled out of the Olympics because of injury. Westbrook was a part of the 2010 World Championships team with Durant.

“No, there isn’t [a more explosive player],” head coach Mike Krzyzewski said. “I love Russell. It’s an honor to coach him. He is such a versatile player and as good an athlete as there is on this planet playing basketball. He plays with an abundance of energy and courage. I’m a big Russell Westbrook fan.”

The Miami Heat were the only other team that could have also had three players make the roster. Four years ago, LeBron, Wade and Chris Bosh were all on the team and that was when it was rumored they decided to all try and play together when the time came.

The Olympic Games begin July 27. The first game for Team USA will be July 29 against France. Team USA will play five exhibition games before the Olympics start with the first one being July 12 vs. the Dominican Republic.

Here is the final roster:

Over the past few months, potential hopefuls for the final roster have been dropping like flies. Derrick Rose, Dwight Howard, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh will all not be playing this year.

Team USA will still have a pretty good roster and will be the favorites to win the Gold Medal. Jerry Colangelo announced last week that nine of the 12 roster spots were already secured.

Those nine players are: Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Chris Paul, Carmelo Anthony, Russell Westbrook, Deron Williams, Kevin Love and Tyson Chandler.

According to ESPN’s Marc Stein, Blake Griffin is also a lock now to make the final roster leaving two spots to be fought over between four players: Rudy Gay, Andre Iguodala, Eric Gordon and James Harden.

It is likely that the final two spots will be determined by two position battles: Gay vs. Iguodala and Gordon vs. Harden.

Gay vs. Iguodala

Both played on the 2010 World Championships team. Gay played some center for that team while Iguodala was the perimeter defensive specialist.

Looking at the 10 locks for the roster now, 3-point shooting seems like something the team would want to add. Gay is a better 3-point shooter than Iguodala by far but the versatility that Iguodala brings might give him an edge too.

Gay has more size but it is not significant enough. I believe Iguodala will make the team instead of Gay because Colangelo and Mike Krzyzewski will want more versatility.

Gordon vs. Harden

This is a great battle between two of the best young shooting guards in the NBA. Gordon has had slightly better numbers throughout his career so far but Harden really came on last season.

Gordon didn’t play much last season and is dealing with some issues this offseason about wanting to leave New Orleans. Harden is working on an extension with the Thunder and would join Durant and Westbrook as the third representative from the Thunder, which could work against him since they like to spread out these kinds of honors.

I think Harden gets the nod at the end of the day. His game is really tailored to the international style and I think Colangelo is really partial to him.

If Harden makes it then the Thunder would be the only team in the NBA sending three players to represent Team USA. Serge Ibaka will also be representing Spain.

Here is my final prediction of the roster:

Derick E. Hingle-US PRESSWIRE

Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook will be representing their country in the 2012 Olympics this summer for Team USA Basketball. USA Basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo announced that nine of the 12 roster spots are secured.

Durant and Westbrook are among the nine along with LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul, Deron Williams, Kevin Love and Tyson Chandler.

That will leave three spots left for five players to compete for. The five players left are Blake Griffin, Andre Iguodala, Rudy Gay, Eric Gordon and James Harden.

Many potentials have dropped out from the team, most recently No. 1 overall pick Anthony Davis and Lamar Odom.

“We will not be adding anybody,” Colangelo told Fox Sports. “We feel good with what we have.”

When you look at the nine secured spots, only two of those players play the four or five in the NBA in Love and Chandler. LeBron, Durant and Anthony could each play the four in international play but one would still believe Team USA needs some more size.

Griffin should make the team because of this and possibly Gay as well, who has more size than Iguodala and is also a better perimeter shooter.

That will leave one last spot for Gordon, Iguodala and Harden to battle for. The roster needs a shooter which would make Gordon or Harden most appealing but since they will be so small, a player like Iguodala could also be a good choice.

Right now, Gordon is probably the better spot-up shooter than Harden and would most likely get the nod but people shouldn’t underestimate Harden. It’s easy to remember his play in the NBA Finals and forget what he did this season before that.

Harden really made a leap this year inserting himself into “Top 5 SG’s in the NBA” conversations. The fact that Durant and Westbrook are going too could make the choice of Harden more likely as well.

“I’m very confident with the roster we will have,” Colangelo said. “We have a few days now to decide if we want a shooter, you’ve got Harden. Do we want a defensive specialist? There’s Iguodala. And Rudy Gay is versatile. He played (center at times) for us in the World Championships. We have people who are versatile.”

The final roster will be revealed Saturday night at 7 p.m. EST on NBA TV.

Anthony Davis severely sprained his ankle in a workout with the Hornets and is now very unlikely to play for Team USA in the Olympics, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports.

Davis was added to the list of finalists for the Team USA roster along with James Harden in reaction to injuries to Dwight Howard, Derrick Rose and a few others.

Since the end of the playoffs, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh of the Miami Heat have said they will not be going to London to play in the Olympics as they try and recover from being banged up this past season.

Meanwhile, the Thunder still have three players who could compete for the U.S.: Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and Harden.

The injury to Wade opened up a potential spot for Harden and almost totally ensured that Westbrook would be playing. Durant is of course a shoo-in.

Team USA may be more thin up front now without Davis and Bosh but there aren’t a lot of replacements in terms of big men.

Tyson Chandler and Kevin Love seem like locks now while Blake Griffin might be the only other big for the U.S.

Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Chris Paul, Deron Williams, Carmelo Anthony, Andre Iguodala, Rudy Gay and Eric Gordon are the other main hopefuls for the team.

Harden may be able to make the roster since the team will also be short of 3-point shooters. Gordon suffered an injury last season so he may not be fully committed to going which would definitely open up the spot for Harden.

The NBA gave us a taste of the future of basketball in the NBA Finals as both the Heat and Thunder played a lot of small ball. Team USA will have to do that in the Olympics a lot too but the competition may be tougher especially from Spain.

Spain will strut out the Gasol brothers as well as Serge Ibaka and combine that with international rules and the United States will be at a disadvantage against them.

Team USA will begin training in Las Vegas, Nev. July 5-12. On Saturday, July 7, the 12 members of the final roster will be announced at 7 p.m. EST on NBA TV.

Steve Mitchell-US PRESSWIRE

New York Knicks forward Amare Stoudemire has been fined by the NBA league office for a direct message Tweet he sent a fan that contained a gay slur.

Stoudemire responded to a fan, identified as Brian Ferrelli by the New York Daily News, who Tweeted at Stoudemire to “make up for this past season.”

Direct messages on Twitter can only be seen by the person sending the message and the person receiving it. Ferrelli posted a screen shot of the message sent by Stoudemire.

There isn’t really a precedent for this with pro athletes and with Twitter. Being fined for Tweeting something that you know the entire world can see is one thing but when it is a direct message, the idea is that it isn’t public, even if you are a public figure.

A direct message is not very different from a text message which is something a professional athlete would never be fined for.

What Stoudemire did was out of line for sure but for the league to step in this way may also be crossing the line in a way.

Stoudemire just can’t seem to catch a break these days when he chooses to let his anger out. Whether it’s Tweeting or punching a fire extinguisher, luck is not on his side.

Stoudemire went from an MVP candidate and All-Star at the beginning of last season to something totally unrecognizable since the Knicks acquired Carmelo Anthony.

Good fortune is something Knicks fans are hoping for with this team and Stoudemire. It just doesn’t seem to be heading in that direction.

You can also download the podcast here.

Steve Mitchell-US PRESSWIRE

LeBron James and the Miami Heat beat the New York Knicks 106-94 Wednesday night to win the series 4-1.

LeBron led the Heat with 29 points, seven assists and eight rebounds. LeBron set the tone early getting to the line eight times in the first quarter and also dishing out five assists in the opening quarter.

LeBron covered Carmelo Anthony for most of the game but Anthony had it going and scored 35 points but needed 31 shots to get those points. LeBron was criticized much for not covering Anthony down the stretch of Game 4 in New York.

Anthony got little to no help though from his teammates. The entire Knicks team looked like quite a mess in Game 5 as it seemed every time down the floor it was nothing but isolation offense.

The Heat will move on to play the Indiana Pacers in Round 2 who beat the Orlando Magic in five games in the first round.

Miami took three out of four from the Pacers in the regular season and while Indiana seems like they could be a tough matchup for the Heat, Miami and LeBron just seem to have their number.

LeBron averaged 26.8 points, 6.5 assists, 8.5 rebounds and 10.0 free throw attempts per game against the Pacers in the regular season.

Spruce Derden-US PRESSWIRE

The Memphis Grizzlies staved off elimination beating the Los Angeles Clippers 92-80 Wednesday night.

The Grizzlies got out to a great start and big lead in the first half with the game feeling a lot like Game 1 when the Clippers came back from a 27-point deficit to win.

Memphis did not give up their lead this time however and relied on Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol to lead the way for them.

Randolph scored 19 points to go with 10 rebounds in the game and had 15 points and five rebounds in the first quarter.

Gasol scored 23 points to go with four rebounds and seven rebounds.

Chris Paul’s impact in the game was not its normal noticeable self. He scored just 19 points and dished out four assists.

Mo Williams led Los Angeles with 20 points in the game.

The Clippers still lead the series 3-2 and will host Game 6 Friday night.

Debby Wong-US PRESSWIRE

The New York Knicks will not be swept by the Miami Heat in the first round of these playoffs. The Knicks won Game 4 89-87 to send the series back to Miami.

Carmelo Anthony scored 41 points in the game and was 15-for-29 from the field.

LeBron James led Miami with 27 but went 9-for-21 from the floor.

Amare Stoudemire returned to the Knicks starting lineup after missing Game 3 because of the fire extinguisher incident. He looked good despite wearing a pretty large bandage on his left hand and scored 20 points to go with 10 rebounds in the game.

The Heat haven’t looked their best in the last two games in New York in this series and that’s kind of been their thing this year playing much worse on the road.

You can’t imagine the Heat losing a Game 5 at home but if they do and they have to go back to Madison Square Garden the series will become interesting if nothing else.

Howard Smith-US PRESSWIRE

The Chicago Bulls are missing Derrick Rose. A lot.

The Philadelphia 76ers beat the Bulls 89-82 in Game 4 Sunday to take a commanding 3-1 series lead over the team with the best regular season record in the conference. After losing Game 1 in which Rose played, the 76ers have gone on to win the next three games.

They’re doing it with defense too. The Bulls scored 103 points in Game 1 but scored just 92 in the Game 2 blowout, then 74 and 82 in Games 3 and 4 in Philadelphia.

Luol Deng was the player who needed to step up the most in Rose’s absence but has scored just 24 total points in the last three games of the series.

Rose’s greatest value that he brings to this Chicago team is being able to create his own offense and in the regular season that’s not as important but it evidently is huge in the postseason for this team.

Matthew Emmons-US PRESSWIRE

The Oklahoma City Thunder are so far the only team to sweep their opponent in the first round this year as they did so last night in Dallas behind a huge fourth quarter from James Harden.

The Thunder are certainly playing excellent basketball right now and look as much like title contenders right now as they ever have.

Harden has really taken his game to another level and that’s what was going to need to happen for the Thunder to take that next step as a team.

The Spurs are up 3-0 in their series against the Jazz and look like they will sweep Utah by all accounts. The Spurs still seem to pose the greatest threat to the Thunder in the Western Conference.

The Lakers are up 2-1 against the Nuggets and lost Game 3 in Denver. Los Angeles should still win the series and if they do so, Metta World Peace will be returning to the lineup in Oklahoma City.

That should be interesting.

I take a look at the Game 2′s last night and give my thought on Rajon Rondo’s suspension and Amare Stoudemire’s injury. I break down if the Knicks have a chance to comeback in their series and how the Thunder have done so far against the Mavericks.

You can also download the podcast here.

Dennis Wierzbicki-US PRESSWIRE

Derrick Rose injured his knee late in the fourth quarter of the Chicago Bulls’ 103-91 Game 1 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers Saturday.

Rose scored 23 points on 23 shots in 37 minutes before the injury and this is now the sixth injury Rose has suffered this season. Rose will have an MRI on the knee today.

It is amazing how good the Bulls have been despite Rose’s injuries this season but if they are to lose him in the playoffs, they would surely fall short of their expectations which are to win an NBA championship.

When you look at the injury it does look similar to those that result in ACL and MCL tears. An injury that sever would leave Rose sidelined for the rest of the year.

Considering the force and torque that Rose plays with, I have a feeling the injury will be a bad one. I lump Rose into the same class as Blake Griffin and Tiger Woods: they can do incredible things athletically but the wear and tear from playing the way they do makes it seem like injuries are inevitable.

The Bulls win Game 1 nonetheless and with or without Rose should have enough to get by the 76ers in this series.

Update: Rose now done for the season with torn ACL

It has been confirmed now that Rose is done for the year. The Bulls still played great this season without him and finished with one of the best records in the league but they definitely will need him to get past Miami in the playoffs and Boston.

It is very unfortunate that a great season by the Bulls and a team that had the potential to win an NBA title with their star healthy may now be wasted.

The road for Miami just got a lot easier.

Steve Mitchell-US PRESSWIRE

The Miami Heat led by LeBron James destroyed the New York Knicks 100-67 in Game 1 of that series.

LeBron played some of the best basketball he has in awhile scoring 32 points in 32 minutes, going 10-of-14 from the field and 11-of-14 at the line and the Heat were plus-35 when he was in the game.

Carmelo Anthony was the complete opposite of LeBron shooting 3-for-15 in the game and scoring only 11 points.

Shane Battier did the most impressive job in the first half denying Anthony the ball when the Knicks tried repeatedly to get it into him in the post.

The defense overall was very impressive by Miami and the Knicks simply were not ready to match the intensity combined with execution.

I do feel that the blowout loss isn’t as bad as it looks for the Knicks in this series. Sometimes I feel that it can be more demoralizing to lose a close game than a blowout. Now, this was a huge blowout and I don’t feel the Knicks have a good chance of coming back in this series but I do think it can still go six games.

Tyson Chandler was noticeably not himself and had flu-like symptoms before the game. He is as crucial as any Knicks player to beating this Heat team.

With the Rose injury and Knicks no-show, the road to the Finals looks as bright as ever today after the first two NBA Playoff games of 2012.

If I had to rank the best chances that the Heat do not make it to the Finals this year it’d go something like this:

1. They meet Boston in the ECF and Rajon Rondo goes to another level and completely dominates four games of the series.

2. LeBron or Wade gets seriously hurt.

I think that’s it…

I was always afraid that by joining forces in Miami, LeBron and Wade would have too easy a time of making it to the Finals and winning championships. They had to go through a lot last year beating Boston and then Chicago but this year it may become a much easier path.

Jayne Kamin-Oncea-US PRESSWIRE

The Thunder will cap off the first day of playoff games tonight when they host Dallas for their Game 1.

We’ve seen some potentially severe injuries so far today so hopefully that can be fully avoided tonight.

We’ve also seen the style of play picked up a notch by the top teams, Miami and Chicago. Oklahoma City needs to replicate this and send a statement to Dallas tonight. That is their next step to becoming a great team.

James Harden and his health will also be very interesting to see when he checks in roughly six minutes into the game.

You can read my preview of the Dallas series here. Also check out Pippen Ain’t Easy for the latest on the Rose injury and All U Can Heat and Buckets Over Broadway for more analysis on the Heat-Knicks series.

The best players weren’t excited to represent their countries back then and it resulted in a third-place finish in 2004. The culture has since changed and getting the best NBA players to play has been as important as anything.

The 2012 team is expected to be maybe the best basketball team ever assembled – even rivaling the 1992 Dream Team. On June 1, Colangelo will finalize the roster and while there are some obvious selections, there will also be some tough omissions.

Colangelo says that the team will be a blend of the 2008 Gold Medal team and 2010 World Championship squad. In 2008, we saw a team of LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Carmelo Anthony and Dwyane Wade. Those players did not play in 2010 on the squad led by Kevin Durant, Derrick Rose and Russell Westbrook.

“Most people would say you need shooters because of the zone defenses,” Colangelo said to Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated. “And to some degree that is true. But we’re not varying from our concept. Basketball is the ultimate team game. We need players willing to sacrifice their own games. [In 2010] Coach K went with a seven or eight-man rotation. With this roster, in my opinion, he can go with all 12 if he chooses. He and I have had this conversation over and over: Players may be used different this time around.

“Size is still an issue. Without being specific, we have to figure out if we carry three centers or two. With the type of wing players out there, defenders are really important, too. But there is so much talent. Guys have worked really hard to improve. Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, Derrick Rose, Kevin Love — they have moved to a whole other level.”

These are all problems that any country would love to have. Do I start Chris Paul or Derrick Rose?

Colangelo does bring up a good point of bringing on players who are willing to play less minutes and be productive while on the court for shorter periods of time.

Here is the starting lineup we could be looking at: Derrick Rose, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Kevin Durant, and Dwight Howard. With Dwyane Wade, Chris Paul, Kevin Love, Carmelo Anthony, Russell Westbrook, Andre Iguodala and Tyson Chandler off the bench.

That snubs Deron Williams, Eric Gordon, Chauncey Billups, Blake Griffin, Rudy Gay, LaMarcus Aldridge, Chris Bosh and Lamar Odom.

While Durant is a lock, Westbrook may not even make the team despite a possible First Team All-NBA selection this season. Rose and Paul are likely going to be the first two point guards selected. That leaves Colangelo to choose between Westbrook, Williams, Gordon and Billups. He will likely only take one of those four.

The selection will be made on June 1 and Team USA will hold training camps starting July 6.

In the first ever FanSided NBA Podcast I interview our very own editor of Sir Charles in Charge Chris Walder. Chris came on to give his thoughts on Dwight Howard and his fallout with the Orlando Magic, the chances of Boston and New York making playoff runs, who the MVP of the NBA is so far this season and who the favorites are to win the NBA title.

Be sure to listen to the podcast here or you can also download the podcast.

Follow Chris on Twitter @WalderSports