Deng finished with 26 points, nine rebounds and eight assists for the host country which is now 0-3 so far in the Olympics.

Spain improved to 3-0 as Pau Gasol once again led the way with 17 points and four assists. Calderon scored 19 points and Marc Gasol chipped in with 12.

Serge Ibaka came off the bench to score five points to go with four rebounds and two blocks.

Deng got some help from teammate Joel Freeland who just recently signed a 3-year deal with the Portland Trailblazers. Freeland scored 25 points and had eight rebounds for Great Britain today.

A barrage of late threes by Great Britain in the final minutes kept hope alive for them until the final buzzer. Spain struggled from the perimeter on the other hand making just 4-of-17 in the game.

Spain also struggled from the free throw line going just 21-for-32.

Spain sits atop Pool B with a 3-0 record and will play Russia who is also 3-0 so far in their next game on Saturday.

Spain is considered the favorite in Pool B and the biggest threat to challenge the United States for the gold medal while Great Britain would probably not even be playing in these Olympics if it wasn’t for them being the host country.

Pau Gasol is playing as good as he ever has for Spain of late averaging 20.5 points and 7.5 rebounds per game for them. He is joined by brother Marc Gasol, Serge Ibaka and Felipe Reyes to makeup a very formidable front line.

Ibaka has been very solid for Spain coming off the bench averaging 12.5 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.0 blocks per game.

Spain is banged up with Marc Gasol nursing a shoulder injury and Rudy Fernandez getting roughed up in their last game. Team captain Juan Carlos Navarro missed the team’s last game against Australia with plantar fasciitis.

Spain beat China 97-81 in their first game after a scare early as China hung around led by Yi Jianlian who scored 30 points for them. Then Spain beat Australia 82-70 two days ago.

Great Britain lost to Russia by 20 in its opener then almost pulled off the upset vs. Brazil but lost 67-62.

Luol Deng is leading Great Britain averaging 19.0 points, 7.5 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game for them and has played 39.3 minutes per game.

Deng is getting little help though aside from Pops Mensah-Bonsu who is giving them 17.5 points and 10.5 rebounds per game. It’s a case of Deng trying to do everything and it’s just way too much for him to handle.

Spain will not make it easy for Great Britain as they will surely outclass them. Spain has been together for a long time with this group and their offense runs like clockwork.

Spain is not the best defensive team and that’s how Great Britain could gain some confidence against them. If they can get hot from the outside and keep it close early, they could potentially hang around until the end with an upset in question.

Spain is definitely expected to improve to 3-0 with a win today matching the U.S. with an undefeated record so far.

There will be a third undefeated team remaining after today as well which will be determined by the winner of the Brazil-Russia game. Both teams are threats to Spain to upset them and win the pool but it is a long shot.

Andrei Kirilenko has been playing at a very high level for an underrated Russian team while Brazil has NBA size up front and a master of a point guard in Marcelinho Huertas.

Spain will play Russia then Brazil in their last two games of pool play after Great Britain today.

Bob Donnan-US PRESSWIRE

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

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

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

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

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

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

Pool Play

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Quarterfinals

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

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

Semifinal

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

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

Gold Medal Game

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

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

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

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

Jerry Lai-US PRESSWIRE

The London Olympics are now upon us. The opening ceremonies will be held tomorrow July 27 and the basketball begins Sunday, July 29.

USA Basketball is the favorite to win gold but not as overwhelmingly as you would first think. Teams like Spain, Brazil and Argentina are fully capable of upsetting the mighty U.S.

Team USA is in Pool A which we previewed yesterday. Pool B is led by Spain who is the team everyone expects to meet the United States in a gold medal game. Here is a preview of all of the teams in Pool B:

Spain

Spain has emerged as the most likely team to upset the United States in the Olympics. They are led by Pau Gasol and Marc Gasol as well as Serge Ibaka, Jose Calderon, Rudy Fernandez and Juan Carlos Navarro. They will be without Ricky Rubio which will hurt but they are still fully capable of pulling off an upset. Spain has a lot of experience and size that will be tough for any team to deal with including the U.S.

While Spain is the favorite in this pool, they are not a shoo-in to beat every team. To ensure a meeting with the United States in the gold medal game, Spain will have to finish first in the pool.

Brazil

Brazil is maybe the team with the second-best chance to upset the U.S. at the Olympics. They played Team USA very close in an exhibition losing 80-69 and exploiting USA’s lack of size. They are comprised of NBA talents Anderson Varejao, Nene and Tiago Splitter down low as well as Leandro Barbosa on the wing. Perhaps their best weapon is point guard Marcelinho Huertas who is a Brazilian version of Steve Nash and looked the part against Team USA.

Brazil has an outside shot of winning the pool but is more likely to get a two or three seed. When Brazil and Spain play it should be one of the best games in pool play.

Russia

Russia is led by Andrei Kirilenko who is reportedly playing the best basketball of his career right now, fresh off a championship game appearance with CSKA Moscow in the Euroleague. The Russians are more talented than usual and also feature familiar NBA names in Timofey Mozgov, Viktor Khryapa and Alexey Shved. Their weakness is the guard position though and it will be an adventure for them to handle the pressure a team like the United States will put on them.

Russia should be very competitive with everyone in their pool though and even has some potential to knock off Spain. Kirilenko can take over a game in many ways at times and will have to do so for Russia to advance far in the medal round.

China

China is ranked 10th in the world surprisingly ahead of Brazil and Russia. They are led by Yi Jianlian and Chinese legend Wang Zhizhi. China has certainly improved over the years and Yi is a very talented player but they aren’t really threatening to win a medal in these Olympics.

Expect an unimpressive showing from China. This pool is pretty stacked and they seem the most likely team to disappoint.

Australia

Australia will be without the one player that could have put them into medal contention in Andrew Bogut. They too are also an improving nation with hoops though and will put a decent roster on the floor led by Spurs point guard Patty Mills. They are less international good and more not quite NBA good and that will be a problem. The more experienced countries in this pool should finish ahead of them.

Great Britain

Great Britain is the host country and that’s the only reason they will be playing. Don’t expect much from them despite the fact that they are led by NBA All-Star Luol Deng. They may have the chance to pull off a hometown upset over China or Australia but we shouldn’t expect to see very much good basketball from them.

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.

Geoff Burke-US PRESSWIRE

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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