Olympic Basketball Highlights 2012

Huge surprise, the men's national team is 2-0 to begin the 2012 Olympics. 

Team USA has not disappointed so far against both France and Tunisia. Each victory has been a landslide for the US despite letting teams hang around in the first quarter. 

In this two game span, the world has seen its fair share of lobs, ferocious dunks and nasty blocks from the 2012 US squad. And as expected, the excellent showmen have yet to meet their match in this tournament. 

At this point, the obvious question isn't who's going to beat Team USA—the main query is, what country is going to at least keep it interesting for the US?

USA Beat France to Open Olympics, 98-71

France's starting lineup made up of four current NBA players seemed to be just the type of squad that could take down Team USA.

After the first quarter, France trailed by just one point, but Tony Parker and his hipster glasses failed to push forward. Team USA's somewhat sluggish start didn't hurt the team as America outscored France 56-30 in the second and third quarter combined.

After it was all said and done the US clearly outclassed the Frenchmen in every major category. Kevin Durant led all scorers with 22 points, while LeBron James led both teams with eight assists. 

USA Trounced Tunisia, 110-63

Tunisia kept the score somewhat respectable in the first quarter by scrounging up 15 points and holding the US to 21 points.

However, that was the extent of Tunisia's power. Even though Macram Ben Romdhane put up 22 points and 11 rebounds, he was only a minor nuisance to Team USA.

In the second half alone USA outscored Tunisia 64-30, and the starters didn't even break a sweat.

Team USA's second unit carried this squad to an easy victory. The bench combined for 80 points on 31-44 shooting while the starters sat back and enjoyed the show like the rest of us. 

Kobe Bryant Signed Autographed Sneakers for Opponent

The Kobe System was in full effect against Tunisia even though he only had four points.

While he wasn't his regular dominating self, his opponents were still in awe. Tunisia’s Mohamed Hdidane in particular was enthralled to share the same court with the Kobe Bryant.

Some could say that Hdidane looked like a fan boy that's just going to flip the shoes on eBay. However, others can argue that this encounter seemed to be more genuine.

It seemed similar to soccer players exchanging jerseys after a game. 

Shockingly Bryant didn't ask for his signature in return. He must not have been aware of how valuable an autographed rookie Hdidane card goes for these days. 

Kevin Love Has Started off Strong

Even though Kevin Love wasn't huge factor in the exhibition games for Team USA, he has been proving his worth when it matters.

Love has started off strong for the US and hasn't showed any signs of slowing down. He posted 14 points in 14 minutes against France and he still managed to top himself in the next game. Against Tunisia Love had 16 points and six rebounds.

So far he's been a great backup and change of pace behind Tyson Chandler. 

Anthony Davis Came out of His Shell

The seldom used Anthony Davis was finally given the opportunity to show case his talents in the tournament.

Davis proved that he wasn't the Christian Laettner of the bunch by exploding for 12 in just 14 minutes. He was also perfect from the field after shooting 5-5 for the night. Besides Carmelo Antony, he was the only player in the game to not miss a shot.  

While he isn't a full-fledged star like most of his teammates, his length and defensive prowess is a valuable asset for Team USA going forward.