No Comparison: Today's USA Basketball Team Superior to 2004 Squad

With the Olympics fast approaching, the team under the most pressure to bring home a gold medal would have to be the US men's basketball team.

America was untouchable in past Olympics, running over competition with superior talent.

But that was then and this is now. The rest of the world has caught up to the Americans, and after a disappointing bronze medal in 2004 it's either gold medal or bust this year.

But is it really fair to compare this team to the Athens team of four years ago? In reality, it's not. Four years ago key players LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, and Carmelo Anthony had no experience in foreign competition—let alone much experience in the NBA.

Also, four years ago, the Americans couldn't put the ball in the ocean if they wanted to. Their three-point shooting was terrible—and with a foreign game that is perimeter-oriented, it set the Americans up for failure.

Probably the most important position on the hardwood would have to be the point guard. Four years ago, the Americans were lead by Stephon Marbury and Allen Iverson. While both are tremendous talents, so far Chris Paul and Deron Williams look like much better fits for the up-tempo style of foreign basketball.

To put this much pressure on this year's team is unfair. This team has been together now for years, and definitely has a better understanding the foreign game. The team four years ago was inexperienced and almost thrown together.

Plus, new coach Mike Krzyzweski comes new optimism that this year's team will bring energy to the defensive end of the court like Krzyzweski's Duke teams do every year.

Overall, there should be no comparison between the 2004 team and the team that's playing right now. With solid preformances in the exhibition games leading up to the Games, this team can have Americans seeing gold.