USA Olympic Basketball Schedule: How Lack of Rest Will Be Team USA's Downfall

Team USA will kick off its quest for gold on Sunday when it takes on France in the preliminary round.

While it might seem like a foregone conclusion that the US squad is unbeatable and certainly destined for gold, when digging deeper, it isn't that simple.

Let's take a look at Team USA's schedule for the 2012 Summer Olympics in London and how it affects the team moving forward.

The full schedule for Olympic basketball can be found on USABasketball.com.

All games will be televised on NBC and NBC Sports Network (Check local listings).

Note: BST stands for British Summer Time zone and is five hours ahead of EST.

Preliminary Round

Game 1: USA vs. France on Sunday, July 29 at 2:30 p.m. BST

Game 2: USA vs. Tunisia on Tuesday, July 31 at 10:15 p.m. BST

Game 3: USA vs. Nigeria on Thursday, August 2 at 10:15 p.m. BST

Game 4: USA vs. Lithuania on Saturday, August 4 at 2:30 p.m. BST

Game 5: USA vs. Argentina on Monday, August 6 at 10:15 p.m. BST

Quarterfinals

Session 1 (Two games): Wednesday, August 8 at 2:00 p.m. BST

Session 2 (Two games): Wednesday, August 8 at 8:00 p.m. BST

Semifinals

Game 1: Friday, August 10 at 5:00 p.m. BST

Game 2: Friday, August 10 at 9:00 p.m. BST

Finals

Gold medal game: Sunday, August 12 at 3:00 p.m. BST

What it Means

Throughout the entirety of the Olympic basketball tournament, Team USA will, like all other teams in the tourney, have only one day of rest between games.

Normally, that would seem like enough rest for this elite squad going up against lesser competition, but this year's Team USA might be a little different.

With the exception of Anthony Davis, every player on this year's roster participated in the NBA's compressed 66-game schedule, which gave far less rest than the normal 82-game season does. That was thanks to the prolonged lockout the NBA went though that carried over far too long, effectively pushing back the start of the season.

With that being the case, Team USA players come into this year's gold-medal bid with less pep in their step than in recent years.

The NBA season has only been over for a month and already Team USA's stars are back on the court. That could very well lead to opposing teams' players having fresher legs. Sure, some international squads have NBA stars on them, but Team USA is made up entirely of NBA stars.

That will give the other international squads a leg up in the energy department and that could make it tougher for Team USA to compete.

Will it certainly mean the end of Team USA's gold-medal hopes? Of course not, and to say such a thing would be foolish. However, it does give the rest of the world an advantage they wouldn't normally have and one that they so desperately need.

What to Expect

Look for Team USA's defense to suffer a bit as a result of such little rest. It takes a ton of energy to play defense on a normal basis, no matter who the opponent is, and it remains to be seen if Team USA can keep up on tired legs.

Head coach Mike Krzyzewski will need to shorten up his rotations as a result, hoping not to over-exert his players. He'll also have to empty out his entire bench, leaving all hands on deck to secure a gold medal for the US.

But sometimes even that scenario is difficult to come by. Tight games mean Team USA will need to have its best players on the floor, sometimes for grueling, long stretches of ballgames. Those types of games will certainly come thanks to greater international competition, and in the end, there may be nothing Krzyzewski can do but keep his best on the floor and hope they have enough gas in the tank to get it done.