USA vs. Dominican Republic: Start Time, Live Stream, TV Info, Preview & More

The USA Men’s national basketball team just finalized the roster on Saturday, and this group of players will get their first taste of international competition together on Thursday when they take on the Dominican Republic.

This battle against the Dominican, and their famous head coach John Calipari, will be the first of five exhibition matches that the team has scheduled leading up to the 2012 Olympic Games in London.

Team USA will also be facing off against Brazil, Great Britain, Argentina and Spain over the next weeks. The full exhibition schedule can be found here.

Let’s take a closer look at this impending matchup.

Where: Thomas & Mack Center, Las Vegas, Nevada

When: Thursday, July 12 at 9:00 p.m. ET

Watch: ESPN

Live Stream: ESPN3

Final Team USA Roster

F Carmelo Anthony, New York Knicks

G Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers

C Tyson Chandler, New York Knicks

F Kevin Durant, Oklahoma City Thunder

F Blake Griffin, Los Angeles Clippers

G James Harden, Oklahoma City Thunder

G/F Andre Iguodala, Philadelphia 76ers

F LeBron James, Miami Heat

F Kevin Love, Minnesota Timberwolves

G Chris Paul, Los Angeles Clippers

G Russell Westbrook, Oklahoma City Thunder

G Deron Williams, Brooklyn Nets

Most Important Player to Watch: LeBron James

LeBron is most likely going to carry this team to another Olympic gold medal. He’s the best player alive right now and proved it with another MVP season in the NBA and by winning his first championship ring.

However, there is a chance that the fatigue from back-to-back Finals runs, along with the sheer amount of minutes played over the course of his career, will impact King James’ play on the international court.

We will see how he is holding up on Thursday evening when he starts against the Dominican Republic.

Key Matchup: Al Horford, Dominican Republic vs. Tyson Chandler, USA

The lack of size on Team USA is the one glaring problem with the roster. Injuries to Dwight Howard, Anthony Davis and Chris Bosh severely limited the amount of bigs on the team, which leaves Chandler as the only true center on the roster.

He’ll have his hands full against Al Horford, the Atlanta Hawks center that is capable of scoring, rebounding and dominating the paint at will.

The only way the Dominicans even have a remote chance to pull the upset is if Horford plays the game of his life and continually attacks the rim from the paint.

Prediction

USA 101, DR 80