Team USA Basketball Schedule: Dates, TV Info and Latest 2014 FIBA Predictions
Team USA will attempt to once again cement its worldwide dominance on the hardwood during the 2014 FIBA World Cup.
Although not operating at full strength by the team's lofty standards, Mike Krzyzewski will employ an array of All-Stars in hopes of once again conquering the international circuit. The defending champions will receive a hearty dose of competition along the way, but the young team should make a deep run in Spain.
Here's a look at all the important dates to mark down for Team USA's journey through the FIBA World Cup.
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| Aug. 31 | Turkey | 3:30 p.m. | Group C | ESPN |
| Sept. 2 | New Zealand | 11:30 a.m | Group C | ESPN2 |
| Sept. 3 | Dominican Republic | 3:30 p.m. | Group C | ESPN2 |
| Sept. 4 | Ukraine | 11:30 a..m | Group C | ESPN2 |
Team USA Preview/Predictions
Team USA embarks on the 2014 FIBA World Cup as the runaway favorite despite the absence of its top superstars. LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Chris Paul will all sit out the tournament, leaving the Americans without a true alpha dog.
Who exactly is their top star? The baby-faced assassin Stephen Curry? The returning Derrick Rose? How about 21-year-old swatting machine Anthony Davis?
Not according to the man in charge of assembling the roster. In an interview with The Washington Post's Michael Lee, team chairman Jerry Colangelo raised some eyebrows by labeling James Harden the head honcho.
“Right now, I think I would look to Harden as that leader,” Colangelo said. “Harden is kind of a natural leader, and he seems to be willing to accept that role. And you can just kind of feel it and sense. He’s the one.”
Yes, this is the same Harden who notoriously refereed to everyone on the Houston Rockets other than him and Dwight Howard as "role players," per Joaquin Henson of The Philippine Star. The same lackluster defender whose indifference on that end of the court has become immortalized.
Yet his fluent offensive game is perfect for this type of event. Before his reputation started to slip as Houston's star, he was adored as the Oklahoma City Thunder's glue guy who kept the peace between Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant. Now he'll be tasked with facilitating a superbly talented offense filled with scoring-first point guards.
It's a fun debate, but Team USA hopes to avoid a game close enough to force it to pick a man tasked with taking the deciding shot. Instead, the team looks to pummel opponents the way it did Finland. The Americans held a 42-point lead behind an all-around effort, and that was just at halftime.
They'll face steeper challenges ahead—the steepest of which is likely to come against Spain in a potential championship showdown.
Spain is loaded with size, with Marc Gasol, Pau Gasol and Serge Ibaka manning the middle. That trio gives the team excellent scoring, passing and tremendous defense.
USA planned its roster ultimately with the goal of combating Spain, committing to Kenneth Faried and Mason Plumlee while passing on Damian Lillard and John Wall. Yet Sports Illustrated's Rob Mahoney still worries that the United States is vulnerable to the hosting nation.
"The very threat of playing this team altered the makeup of Team USA's roster, yet even specific preparation might not be enough to fully handle Spain's interior strength. Kenneth Faried is woefully undersized against either of the Gasols, but any move toward a bigger lineup (say, featuring Anthony Davis alongside one of DeMarcus Cousins, Andre Drummond or Mason Plumlee) could take away from the speed and energy that characteristically fuels USA Basketball's full-court attack. Spain, then, is the one opponent capable of putting the most talented squad in the tournament at a disadvantage: Team USA can try to adapt while betraying its own stylistic bent or stay true to its usual form while withstanding whatever bludgeoning the Gasols can muster. That choice could come to define the tournament.
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Spain, which gave the U.S. all it could handle in the 2012 Olympics, will once again present a stout challenge should the two teams meet with first place on the line. While experience is an issue, USA's assortment of young legs also makes the Americans faster and ready to run Spain to the ground.
Armed with a batch of second-tier superstars who are hungry to punch a ticket up to the first class, Team USA will run the gamut to solidify another championship over a worthy adversary in Spain.
Prediction: USA wins it all
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