USA vs. Spain: Analysis of and Reaction to International Exhibition

With the final exhibition game in the books, Team USA can finally look towards the real competition, which starts Sunday against France. We, however can look back and analyze last night's 100-78 win over Spain. 

All in all, Team USA reacted very well to playing their fiercest competitors yet, and the ones they dispatched to win the 2008 Beijing Olympic gold. 

Despite trailing after one quarter and being locked in a tight eight-point game at the half, Team USA defeated Spain by 14 points in the second half. They finished their preview slate a perfect 5-0.

Size Was and Is Going to Be an Issue

Though not as much of one as some thought, the size will be an issue for Team USA moving forward.

With the already known size limitations of USA's frontcourt and the five-foul limit, it is imperative for Tyson Chandler to stay on the court for long stretches. He was unable to do so against Spain. He was only able to grab two rebounds, fouling out after just eight minutes of action. In the early going, this allowed Pau Gasol and Serge Ibaka to get on a roll.

The reason this did not affect the outcome of the game as much is partially LeBron James. James is able to guard all five spots on the floor with reasonable effectiveness. He was able to help down low while other reserves took over his duties on the wing.

This will continue to be an issue because Chandler bases his game on brute force. Spain and the other teams know this, and if they have a player of Gasol's talent, they can take advantage and render him useless for an entire game.

However, they will still have to counter the rest of Team USA, which can put up points like nobody else.

Team Is so Deep with Scoring Talent

Team USA boasts the best scorers in the world. If you took every player on their roster's points per game last season, it would add up to 250.7 points per game. That is an absurd number.

The most difficult thing about the scoring of the Americans is that it just does not stop. That is a key element of what they showed against Spain.

It has proved to be a savvy move by Coach K to move Carmelo Anthony into a reserve role. The Knicks forward connected on 10-of-15 shots, including 5-of-8 on threes, to score a game-high 27 points in 24 minutes off the bench.

When that type of scorer is playing with a team's second unit, there is no way your defense can hold up for that length of time.

The scariest thought for the rest of the teams in the Olympics: In a 22-point win, Kobe Bryant had just three field-goal attempts.

Turnovers Come in All Shapes and Sizes

The reason Team USA found themselves trailing after the first quarter was turnovers.

No matter how much they claimed to be prepared for this game and all the respect they had for the Spanish team, they were caught off-guard. In the early going, the Americans were overwhelmed by the speed, strength and athleticism of Spain.

The Spaniards forced five turnovers in the opening six minutes of the game. Those turnovers were everything from steals to offensive fouls. Team USA was whistled for 27 personal fouls in the game, with a decent number of them coming on the offensive end.

Whether fans like it or not, flopping is a part of the game, especially internationally, and this is how these games will be called. The USA must understand this and cut back on those turnovers, which they did in the second half and wound up only giving the ball back 16 times.

LeBron James Was Fully Invested

For Team USA to continue winning throughout the Olympics, they will need their best player to be invested.

LeBron James showed how much this all means to him last night. In a 20-point game with under four minutes to go, he was fouled on a drive to the basket. He turned around, made an intense face and started clapping hard for his teammates to join him. He was fully psyched and showed it throughout the game regardless of the score.

After winning his first NBA championship just one month ago, James could have coasted this summer and relaxed after a feverish run through the playoffs. Instead he has set his sights on the gold medal, and it appears that he will stop at nothing to get there.

In the final exhibition game, James shot 10-of-15 from the floor for 25 points in 28 minutes. That was not enough, though; he also led Team USA in assists with seven and registered two steals and three rebounds.

Anthony Davis Is a Necessary Spark

Anthony Davis will be playing a very limited role on this team; we all know that.

Still, he is a valuable piece to the present and, more importantly, the future of USA Basketball. The spark he can provide this team is undeniable. His stat line, one rebound and one block in four minutes, is very marginal but was great for the moral of the team.

Late in a blowout win, you could tell how much this whole team loves watching him play. His blocked shot, an absolute rejection swat into the stands, earned smiles and hollers from both the bench and players on the court.

Even if he doesn't play a meaningful minute, this experience will be beneficial to the team this year and in another four years.

Feverish Pace Works Well Internationally

It comes down to a matter of beating teams at their own game. International basketball is played sometimes at a freakishly fast pace. However, it is Team USA that has the most physically gifted athletes.

What this team lacks in size and strength on the interior, they make up for in speed on the fast break. The team has three of the top six point guards in the world on their roster along with three power forward bodies who run the court like shooting guards.

Team USA took 17 more shots than Spain in last night's exhibition. They were just plus-three in the turnover column, and they only shot two percent better from the field. That number comes from the insane pace with which they play the game.

Kevin Love's Importance

If Tyson Chandler is going to be targeted early on by opposing bigs, then Kevin Love's value is increased exponentially.

Because his defense is suspect at best, teams will have a harder time attacking him than Chandler. Since Chandler is so aggressive in the paint, teams can lure him into bad matchups where he must give fouls. Love is not as athletic and thus not as prone to making those mistakes.

Last night against Spain, though, Love may have been the most valuable player on the court for Team USA.

As detailed in the last slide, America out-shot Spain 70 to 53, but still only connected on 1.5 percent more of their shots. Therefore it was the 17 extra shots Team USA got that won the game for them. Without Love, roughly five to 10 of those extra shots don't happen.

He grabbed 10 rebounds in just 13 minutes of action, a shocking rate. While he went just 1-for-4 from the field for two points, his 10 boards gave America the extra possessions necessary to defeat Spain handily.