Pre-Game Primer: USA vs. Tunisia

Olympic Basketball Arena
London, England

Time: Tuesday, 5:15 p.m. EDT

TV: NBC Sports Network

With a convincing win over France safely in their back pocket, Team USA will be able to breathe a little easier on Tuesday. Instead of facing down an opponent with four or five NBA-caliber players in the starting lineup, they'll be squaring off with Tunisia — a country that, if we're going to be honest, wasn't even supposed to be here in the first place. Prior to 2011, the Tunisians hadn't made it to the final round of the FIBA African Championship since 1965. However, they made a storybook run last August and ultimately pulled off a stunning upset of heavily favored Angola in the finals to qualify for London. It's a wonderful story and all, but the United States should win this game by at least 40 points, if not more. Remember how the Dream Team steamrolled the competition by 50-plus every night? They were playing the Tunisias of the world — because in 1992, everyone else was essentially like present-day Tunisia from a basketball perspective. Things are different now, of course, and Team USA faced more NBA players on Sunday against France than their dreamy predecessors did in their entire Olympic run combined. Nevertheless, if this iteration wants to make a statement and begin shaping their legacy, they have to start by absolutely decimating the teams they should decimate.

Report Card: USA 98, France 71

USA

98

Final

71

France

STARTERS

	Chris Paul, G 2-4 FG | 1-2 3PT | 0-0 FT | 1 REB | 2 AST | 5 PTS Maybe this is just who CP3 is going to be for Team USA. He played fine, but he still wasn't the guy we see in the NBA who always has the game in the palm of his hand. He plays good perimeter D and makes smart decisions, but he's not in charge here.
	Kobe Bryant, G 2-6 FG | 2-5 3PT | 4-4 FT | 1 REB | 0 AST | 10 PTS For the first time in his career, Kobe is a third option on this team — his role is to provide another scoring outlet after LeBron and KD and take his shots when they come. He did that well today, playing within the flow of the game and getting to the line.
	Kevin Durant, F 6-13 FG | 3-5 3PT | 7-7 FT | 9 REB | 2 AST | 22 PTS Now that's what we call an Olympic debut. Durant attacked relentlessly, shot well from deep, and lived at the stripe. He also came up big in the paint, pulling down 9 boards and registering 2 blocks. He did it all, and France simply didn't have an answer.
	LeBron James, F 4-6 FG | 1-2 3PT | 0-0 FT | 5 REB | 8 AST | 9 PTS Team USA's undisputed floor leader. He does it all — handles the ball, initiates the offense, sets the tone on D, and sets up his teammates. He may not have scored much today, but he did throw a wicked 50-foot bounce pass that made me scream with joy.
	Tyson Chandler, C 3-5 FG | 0-0 3PT | 2-5 FT | 9 REB | 3 AST | 8 PTS A nice bounce-back game from Tyson. He still didn't play much, but it wasn't because of foul trouble. He was aggressive on both ends, and he scored, passed, rebounded, and defended beautifully. Imagine what he could have done with more than 11 minutes...