Tracking the 2012 Team USA vs. Dream Team Comparison Debate

Coming into the XXX Summer Olympics in London, the Team USA basketball squad was an overwhelming 1/8 favorite to repeat as gold medalists (via Vegas Insider).

The United States' 27-point drubbing of the French national team in Game 1 of preliminary-round play set an unmistakable tone and sent a message to the rest of the world that this incarnation of Team USA shouldn't be taken lightly. The subsequent 47-point victory against Tunisia hammered that point home.

But it was the eye-popping 156-73 schooling of Nigeria in the third preliminary game that has thus far made the strongest statement of all. It was a statement not only to would-be Gold Medal contenders, but also to anyone of the belief that 1992's original Dream Team was superior to today's squad.

Most agree that the Americans have more individual star power than every other team in London. Team USA is led by LeBron James and Kevin Durant, the world's two best individual players, and coach Mike Krzyzewski, who returns to defend his gold medal from Beijing. 

More than individual talent, it's paramount that Team USA plays with cohesion instead of as individuals.

If Kobe Bryant truly ever wants the 2012 squad to be mentioned in the same breath as 1992's Dream Team, then team play is the key.

There can be no close calls. No alpha-dog controversies. And nothing less than a gold-medal outcome.

So follow us as we track Team USA's run for Dream Team glory. Included in this slideshow is a breakdown of each Team USA game and previews of each upcoming game in London.

Team USA 107, Spain 100

Update by Tim Keeney

Spain gave the Americans a run for their money, becoming the first team in the knockout stage to come within single digits (second in the tournament after Lithuania) of the 2012 version of the Dream Team, but Kevin Durant and LeBron James were just too good. 

Durant became the first United States player to ever score 30 points in a gold medal game as he finished with exactly 30 on eight-of-18 shooting. He knocked down five three-pointers and went nine-of-10 from the line. 

LeBron James, as his normal do-everything self, chipped in 19 points, seven rebounds, four assists and two steals in the win. 

After a dominant 35-27 first quarter, it appeared as though the Americans were going to coast to yet another huge victory, but Spain, behind none other than Juan Carlos Navarro, kept it interesting.

The Barcelona guard poured in 19 first-half points to cut the halftime margin to one. 

It remained a one-point lead after three quarters (83-82), but USA was able to hold off Spain in the fourth, pulling out the 107-100 win. 

Pau Gasol led Spain with 24 points, Navarro finished with 21, Marc Gasol had 17, Rudy Fernandez had 14 and Serge Ibaka had 12. 

Kobe Bryant chipped in 17 for the Americans while Chris Paul had 11.

This was easily the most entertaining game of the tournament and closest for the Americans. For comparison, although it is like comparing apples and oranges, the original Dream Team of 1992 won its gold medal game by 32 points over Croatia.

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Team USA 109, Argentina 83

Updated -- Steven Cook

In a trend that we're getting accustomed to in these Olympics, the U.S. turned around a slow first half and put their foot down on the opponent down the stretch as they toppled Argentina in the semifinals, 109-83. 

The Argentinians hung around with the USA throughout the first half, as Manu Ginobili, Luis Scola and others kept their team in it with a halftime score of 47-40. Ginobili hit a three at the buzzer to cut the lead to single digits and give the underdogs a boost heading into the locker room.

However, it was a different group of Americans that came out in the second half as their suffocating defense prevailed and three-point shooting heated up. 

Kevin Durant was the difference in the third quarter as the U.S. pulled away, as he notched double-digit scoring in the quarter. His 5/10 shooting from long range makes him 17/29 from deep in the last three games, just an outstanding statistic for the team's best pure shooter.

Kobe Bryant waited until late against Australia to get hot, but he didn't have the same problem Friday. He had 11 points in fewer than five minutes and finished with 13 points, while his defense was a big difference-maker. 

However, it wasn't all good for the USA in the second half. Scrappy point guard Russell Westbrook went down with an apparent leg injury late in the fourth quarter and went immediately to the locker room. 

As always, keep up with B/R for news on the Westbrook injury as well as many other headlines following USA Basketball and the Olympics. 

Team USA 119, Australia 86

Update by Ryan Rudnansky

Australia hung around against the United States through three quarters on Wednesday in the quarterfinals, but the underdogs never really got close to the undeniable favorites.

After defeating Argentina, 126-97, to end Group A play, the United States kept its pedal to the metal against Australia, ultimately coming away with a 119-86 victory.

After struggling throughout the Summer Games, Kobe Bryant finally caught on fire for the U.S. on Wednesday, dropping 20 points, all in the second half.

Bryant was 6-for-13 from the field, all his shots falling beyond the three-point line.

Deron Williams had 18 points, Carmelo Anthony added 17 points and Kevin Durant had a relatively quiet game by his standards with 14 points and five rebounds.

Australia shot 45 percent from the floor, but the Americans once again blasted through their competition due to their rebounding advantage and ability to create turnovers. They outrebounded Australia, 45-39, and forced 18 turnovers. They also continued to shoot well from beyond the arc (19-for-46).

Joe Ingles led Australia with 19 points, seven rebounds and five assists on 6-of-8 shooting.

Team USA will now face Argentina again in the semifinals of the 2012 London Olympics.

Team USA 126, Argentina 97

Update by Eric Ball

The U.S. slept walk through the entire first half of their final Group A matchup, and still cruised to a 19-point win over Argentina on Monday.

With only a 60-59 lead at the half, the Americans proceeded to light it up behind the arc in route to outscoring Argentina 42-17 in the third quarter. It was by far the big difference in a game that had little impact on the race for gold.

Another day, another star to catch fire for the Americans as Kevin Durant shot a blistering 8 of 10 from three-point land in route to scoring 28 points and securing five rebounds. Manu Ginobili led Argentina with 16 points, six rebounds and six assists.

As a team the U.S. was 20 of 40 from three-point land. Once again they seem to be relying on three’s, but as long as they keep making them at such a prolific rate it’s hard to criticize them.  

LeBron James finished with 18 points and five assists, Chris Paul had 17 points and six assists while Kevin Love and Andre Iguodala each scored 13 and grabbed nine boards.

There was a moment late in the third quarter that had both sides incredibly fired up. With the Americans blowing the game open, Facundo Campazzo of Argentina punched Carmelo Anthony in the groin, instantly knocking him to the ground after taking a shot.

It looked to be a retaliation move after Paul had knocked the wind out of Campazzo earlier in the game.

The team is still experiencing lapses defensively at times, but if they concentrate on that aspect of the game they’ll be able to endure a horrific shooting performance and still win comfortably. But it’s hard to deny that they’ve allowed 196 points in their last two games, which equates to 117.6 points in a 48 minute contest (via ESPN’s Tom Haberstroh).

Next up is a quarterfinals matchup against Australia on Wednesday. The knockout stage has officially begun. 

Team USA 99, Lithuania 94

Update -- Maxwell Ogden

It certainly wasn't pretty, but the job got done.

Riding on the heels of an 83 point victory, many expected Team USA to continue their dominance of Group A. Instead, the Americans had their worst defensive performance since coming together and shot the ball at an absolutely awful rate.

10-of-33 from distance and 19-of-31 from the charity stripe speaks for itself.

Linas Kleiza dominated this game for the Lithuanians, consistently taking Kevin Durant off of the dribble and finishing with 25 points. Martynas Pocius' quickness and craftiness led to 14 points, seven rebounds and six assists of his own while Sarunas Jasikevicius finished with six dimes.

To put it bluntly, the United States had no answer for Lithuania on D.

Fortunately, Carmelo Anthony continued to shoot the lights out. Anthony was 7-of-13 from the floor and finished with 20 points, while LeBron James came back from a weak first half to also put up 20.

The rest of Team USA just didn't get the memo that shooting well played a role in victory.

Kevin Durant was beyond inconsistent, shooting 5-of-12 and getting exposed on defense countless times. He did finish with 16 points, however, and made four key three-pointers.

Deron Williams, Chris Paul and Kobe Bryant combined to shoot 8-of-28 for 25 points.

This was the gut check that Team USA needed, and they certainly passed the test. Although Lithuania had a fourth quarter lead, the Americans turned it on once the final minutes struck. LeBron James was in attack mode, while Chris Paul and Deron Williams orchestrated magnificent offense.

The defense also showed up late, thus leading Team USA to the W.

This victory will strengthen the team, but seriously weaken their argument for being greater than the '92 Dream Team. Trailing in the fourth quarter is something Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson and company never did. Fortunately, neither team has lost just yet.

For the first time, the shots weren't falling. For the first time, Team USA looked like they could actually be defeated.

Team USA 156, Nigeria 73

Team USA's first-quarter struggles ended in a big way against Nigeria, as the Americans dropped a whopping 49 points in the first quarter on the way to a record setting night.

Team USA used Nigeria's 24 turnovers to score an Olympic record 156 points as small forward Carmelo Anthony set his own U.S. record with 37 points, breaking the old mark held by Stephon Marbury.

It's also a bit of an understatement to say the U.S. also put their struggles from beyond the arc behind them. After shooting just 36 percent in their first two Olympic contests, Team USA made it rain against Nigeria. The team began the game 11-for-14 from beyond the arc to start the game on their way to a whopping 29 three-pointers—a mark over double the previous U.S. record of 13.

The team began their record-setting charge led by Kobe Bryant's 14 points as Team USA's suffocating defense prevented Nigeria from scoring in the game's first five and a half minutes. 

Team USA's wasn't as amazing in the second quarter, but the onslaught continued. The U.S. put up 29 points to go into the half ahead 78-45.

The third quarter will forever be known as Melo's quarter, as the Knicks small forward scorched the net for 18 of his 37 points in the quarter's first seven minutes. And as the game hit its third quartile, it became apparent that we were in the midst of a breathtaking night.

The final period amounted to little more than more rain-making from beyond the arc, points off turnovers and jaw-dropping alley-oops as the game mercifully came to its 156-73 end. 

If Team USA has one thing to work on, it's still defense in the low post. Ike Diogu scored 27 points and had his way even in the blowout loss.

Up next for Team USA is Lithuania, a team that looks massively weakened after losing 82-74 to France. Even so, there was no team (not even the Dream Team) that could beat Team USA 2012 when they play that well. 

Team USA 110, Tunisia 63

Team USA struggled mightily yet again in the first quarter against Tunisia, outscoring the first-time Olympians just 21-15 despite a 29.4 percent shooting performance from the opposition.

For their part, the United States shot 45 percent from the field including a paltry 0-for-8 first quarter from beyond the three-point line.

That streak ended with a Carmelo Anthony three-pointer to start the second quarter as Team USA went on an 8-2 opening run to ostensibly put down the Tunisians for good.

But the Cinderella Tunisians just wouldn't quit. They got within as few as six points with four minutes to go in the second quarter and went into halftime down just 46-33.

That moral victory ended for Tunisia in the second half.

Behind a brilliant performance from the Team USA bench mob, Team USA stormed ahead for 10 straight points to start the third quarter and never looked back.

Team USA wound up outscoring Tunisia 64-30 in the second half to come away with a 47-point victory over the scrappy squad.

Brilliant in the blowout were Kevin Durant (13 points, 10 rebounds, five assists) and Kevin Love (16 points, six rebounds).

With Nigeria up next, Team USA will have one last chance to rectify their first-quarter issues before getting to stiffer competition in Lithuania and Argentina in the coming days.

Team USA 98, France 71

After yet another patented slow start by Team USA put the team up just one point after the first quarter, it looked like Coach Krzyzewski's crew was headed for a close matchup with the Frenchmen.

But a plus-27 margin in quarters two and three put that all to rest as Team USA dismantled the French team led by Tony Parker and five other NBA players. 

Kevin Durant kept his scoring assault going, putting in 22 points and nine rebounds. LeBron James dropped eight dimes, scored nine points and grabbed five rebounds in an all-around performance that reminded the world why he's the game's best.

It wasn't all roses, though.

Team USA shot just 43.2 percent from the field, struggled with 14 turnovers and barely managed to keep their guys out of foul trouble. 

And the American stars know they're going to need better efforts in future contests.

Said LeBron James (via ESPN):

"

It wasn't perfect. We've still got room for improvement. We had too many turnovers, too many fouls and we had a couple of defensive rebounds we could have come up with. But overall, we played a pretty good game for as close to 40 minutes as possible.

"

Regardless, if Team USA's version of "not perfect" is a 28-point blowout over the world's No. 12 team, then they should reach the medal round with ease.