USA Olympic Basketball Team 2012: Biggest Tests Yet to Come for Team USA
The U.S. men's basketball team recently overcame a rough outing against Brazil and came away with the victory, but its toughest tests are yet to come against Argentina and Spain.
In between Brazil and Argentina, the Americans blasted Great Britain, but nobody expected anything less than that result. Great Britain is terrific at many sports, but basketball isn't one of them.
While it will certainly be a surprise if Team USA doesn't win Olympic gold, if any teams have a chance to knock them off their pedestal, it's Argentina and Spain. And while these exhibition games don't count for anything, they are important nonetheless.
Team USA has one glaring weakness amid a glorious display of strengths: It doesn't have enough size down low. Injuries to Dwight Howard, Chris Bosh and Blake Griffin depleted the team's size advantage, and now it heads into the 2012 Summer Games with only one center and two power forwards.
While Tyson Chandler, Kevin Love and Anthony Davis are all capable players in their own right, it was clear against Brazil that they aren't enough to stem the tide of players most other teams can throw out on the floor throughout the course of a game.
Now comes Argentina and Spain, both of which feature some big men with experience in international competition.
Spain are the stronger team, with Pau Gasol, Marc Gasol and Serge Ibaka, and they will provide the biggest test to the post game of America's trio. They also feature a strong backcourt, with Jose Calderon, Rudy Fernandez and Juan Carlos Navarro.
Argentina features some names you'll recognize if you're a fan of NBA basketball. Luis Scola, Manu Ginobili, Carlos Delfino and Andres Nocioni are just a few of the talented players on the roster.
These games will tell us how much of an issue size down low will matter going forward into the Olympics, and Team USA will need to play better than it did against Brazil if it hopes to come away victorious.
