USA Olympic Basketball Team: Power Ranking Pool A's Toughest Competition

Exhibition games are over, and the 2012 USA Olympic basketball team is finally ready to enter the official tournament in London.

Team USA has five scheduled opponents, all of which provide a different level of competition and can hurt LeBron James and company in a variety of different ways. Some opponents are solid top to bottom, while others have certain superstars that can hurt Team USA in a big way.

If Team USA is going to win a gold medal this year, the easiest path to doing so would be to sweep these five opponents. To do so, USA is going to have to realize which opponents are the most threatening to that goal.

Here is a ranking of the toughest opposition Team USA will face from Pool A.

5. Tunisia

Tunisia is one of the weaker teams the USA squad will encounter. The roster has no NBA talent to speak of, which would not necessarily be a horrible thing if it did not have to go up against Team USA.

Tyson Chandler, Kevin Love and Anthony Davis could have some issues with the 7’0” Salah Mejri, but other than that, the middle of the defense should be fine.

It is not to say that Tunisia is lacking in athleticism, but Team USA should have no issues running Tunisia up and down the court in a blowout. 

4. Nigeria

Nigeria is similar to the USA in that it lacks ideal size, which actually does Team USA a big favor. LeBron James and others can exploit this when cutting to the basket.

The notable NBA talent on the Nigeria squad is Al-Farouq Aminu, who is a solid player in his own right but will not be able to will his team past the USA on his own.

Team USA can afford to have a down game against Nigeria, but even that is unlikely considering the team should have a lot of momentum after playing two games before encountering Nigeria. 

3. Lithuania

Lithuania has the potential to give the USA some trouble when they meet up on August 4. Jonas Valanciunas is billed as a future NBA superstar, and his 7’0” frame could give USA a plethora of problems in the paint.

Linas Kleiza is a forward that has an ability to light up the scoreboard, so he and Valanciunas are going to have to be the focal point of Team USA’s defensive strategy.

Despite ideal size, the USA roster should be able to overcome Lithuania's size with a healthy rotation of Tyson Chandler, Kevin Love and Anthony Davis. Speed up and down the court should once again favor the USA. 

2. France

The first team USA has to encounter on the path to the gold medal is France, and it also happens to be one of the tougher matchups.

France is led by one of the NBA’s best point guards in Tony Parker, a player who will make the roster around him much better. Nicolas Batum is another NBA player that could give the USA fits because of his ability to score in bunches from anywhere on the court.

The combination of NBA big men Ronny Turiaf and Boris Diaw could cause USA some trouble as well if Tyson Chandler continues to get into foul trouble like he did in the exhibition games.

The USA should be able to beat France, but not easily. Parker and company are definitely one of the tougher opponents Team USA will encounter in London. 

1. Argentina

Argentina is far and away the best team the USA squad will have to beat in Pool A on the way to gold. The roster by itself could make a formidable NBA team.

Manu Ginobili is an elite scorer, and Luis Scola could give the USA fits down low. Carlos Delfino and Andres Nocioni are quality role players that could wear down the USA roster.

In an exhibition matchup, Team USA barely scraped by with an 86-80 victory. A better all-around effort is going to be needed for USA to notch a victory that counts.

Delfino, Nocioni and Ginobili combined for 52 of the 80 points in the exhibition matchup, and if that happens again, Team USA could be in some trouble.

If there is one team that has a legit chance to upset the United States, it would have to be Argentina.  

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