What Team USA's Tuneups Told Us About America's Chances for Gold

Team USA's five exhibition games may not have proven the squad entirely unbeatable, but they certainly put the rest of the world on notice.

Despite something of a scare from Argentina, the United States otherwise showed themselves to be more than capable of putting any game out of reach. Perhaps most impressively, they withstood an early first-quarter storm from Spain en route a 22-point blowout.

And the tune-ups against the Dominican Republic and Great Britain weren't even remotely close.

But what exactly can we glean from these games, and what do they actually tell us about about Team USA's gold-medal prospects?

After all, they didn't count for anything, and Spain's Marc Gasol wasn't even on the floor.

Yes, these games were but appetizers. But you don't have to look too closely to discern their implications for what's to come in London. The writing is on the wall at this point.

The most telling take-away is that Team USA's wing rotation is simply too long and talented for international competition to guard. The combination of LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Carmelo Anthony creates a three-headed match-up problem for even the most impressive competition.

It's hard to imagine an important game in which at least one of these standout forwards fails to make a significant impact.

And, should the unthinkable indeed happen, chances are someone like Kobe Bryant or Russell Westbrook will come to the rescue.

This team can score in a lot of different ways.

More importantly, they can also defend.

The United States' opposition averaged just 72.8 points through the five games, a far cry from the 99.4 that leading scorer LeBron James and his cohorts put up. Only Argentina managed to reach the 80-point mark.

Who needs a bevy of seven-foot shot-blockers anyway?

The undersized Team USA has thus far gotten by just fine on account of their athleticism, quickness and anticipation. An airtight perimeter defense more than makes up for whatever's lacking on the interior. 

This roster's greatest virtue, however, may be its versatility. You can imagine just how thoroughly it could exploit its full range of lineup options, and play-calls were there for additional opportunities to develop some chemistry.

James, Anthony and Durant can all line up at the 3 or 4, and second-unit options like Russell Westbrook and Andre Iguodala are themselves pretty multi-functional.

Whatever the world throws at Team USA, head coach Mike Krzyzewski should have an answer. He has thus far, and that probably won't change so long as that gold medal is within reach.