Pre-Game Primer: USA vs. Great Britain

Manchester Arena
Manchester, England

Time: 2:10 p.m. EDT

TV: ESPN2

Apologies for our absence before and after Team USA's last exhibition game against Brazil. A confluence of factors — a recent move left me without Internet access for the past few days, and Ben Wagner was on a plane and thus unable to see the game — conspired to prevent us from doing our due diligence in breaking down the contest. Nevertheless, we're here now and, in the time we were away, the team picked up and flew to England on us. They'll take on the British team this afternoon in Manchester — a game that, from a competitive standpoint, should be a bit of a snooze. However, as with all these exhibition games, that shouldn't prevent us from learning quite a bit about this team and where everything stands with the start of the Olympics only 10 days away.

The Statement Within The Statement Of The Statement Game

Photo: Fox Deportes

On Thursday night, Team USA's summer officially began as coach Mike Krzyzewski and the Americans met up with coach John Calipari and the Dominican Republic in an exhibition game in Las Vegas — with the red, white, and blue running the Dominicans out of the building, winning 113-59.

It was a definite statement game for Team USA. Much has been made about the Americans' lack of traditional big men, and Tyson Chandler remains the only true center on the roster. Chandler played limited minutes, getting into early foul trouble and forcing Krzyzewski to go small, using three forwards with LeBron James playing chunks of the game at center.

Once the Americans went small, they were relentless with their ball pressure, seriously disrupting the Dominicans' offense as they pressured the ball the full length of the court. Russell Westbrook was particularly impressive as his next-level athleticism wreaked havoc on Calipari's ball-handlers, who frequently were unable to start their offense until 15 seconds into the 24-second shot clock.

With so much being made about the Americans' lack of size, Coach K utilized this game to demonstrate that Team USA is so athletic that size may be irrelevant. The team's superior athleticism was awe-inspiring as they utilized that full-court press to ultimately score 38 points on 27 turnovers.

Pre-Game Primer: USA vs. Dominican Republic

Thomas & Mack Center
Las Vegas, NV

Time: 9:00 p.m. EST

TV: ESPN

It's here. Tonight, we will finally get our first (in-game) glimpse of the 2012 incarnation of Team USA when coach John Calipari's Dominican Republic squad visit the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas. As has become customary with this year's team, injuries continue to abound, so we may not be able to get a full picture of how the squad will fit together. Blake Griffin will be out (and maybe for awhile) after re-injuring his knee during practice yesterday, while Chris Paul may be limited as he continues to struggle with a sprained thumb. However, no matter who winds up on the court, keen observers should be able to begin gathering at least some insight as to how coach Mike Krzyzewski expects this team to operate in the weeks ahead. It should be fun.