Team USA Seeks Gold in Upcoming Olympics

The extremely debated  2008 Beijing Olympics is less than 2 weeks away and many people in the basketball, including the team themselves, think Team USA will bring home the gold. Lebron James (sprained ankle and all) has already guaranteed U.S. gold.

Over the past few years, Team USA struggled to hold the claim as the best in the world. Four years ago at the 2004 games in Athens, the team brought home a mere bronze medal after losing in the semifinals against Argentina. They had the same result in the FIBA World Championships taking home the bronze after losing in the semi finals to European power Greece.

This time around the U.S. will look for gold with a very talented starting line-up which includes: veteran point guard Jason Kidd, phenoms Dwight Howard, Lebron James, and Carmelo Anthony, and don't forget to leave out Kobe, fresh off a loss in the NBA finals to the Celtics. The range from starters to bench players isn’t very large as Team USA boasts the likes of Dwayne Wade, Chris Paul, Michael Redd, and Carlos Boozer.

The Olympic run for the Americans opens up against the host China on August 10. The Chinese post a problem for the U.S. with two 7+ footers in Yi and Yao.

The next game for the Americans will be on August 12 as they take on African power house Angola. Angola, though, hasn’t been much of a challenge for Team USA as they have never come within 35 points of beating the U.S.

The next game is a big one for the U.S. as they take on Greece who took them down two years ago in the FIBA World Championships.

Next on August 18, the biggest test for the Americans in pool play will be against Spain. The Spaniards also posses a problem in 7 footer Pau Gasol.

The last game in pool play will see the Americans will take on a pretty tough German team, who will rely on Dirk Nowitski throughout the game.

If Team USA were to advance from pool play they would play teams from Group A which includes: Argentina, Australia, Croatia, Iran, Lithuania, and Russia.