Team USA Primer V: T-Minus Three Weeks Remaining

Photo from Timothy A. Clary/AFP/Getty Images.

With all Olympic berths now decided, the two groups have taken shape. Here's how the Beijing landscape is looking at the moment:

(Bad joke, I know.)

OK, for realz:
(edit: I'm having some formatting issues with the tables, so I'll just have to list them for you)

Group A: Croatia, Iran, Lithuania, Argentina, Russia, Australia
Group B: China, Greece, Germany, Angola, Spain, USA

The newest additions to the Olympic party are Croatia (after defeating Germany), Greece (after defeating Puerto Rico), and Germany (after defeating Puerto Rico in the bronze-medal game. And congrats to Dirk for his first ever Olympic experience). Greece, who is undoubtedly the best team of the three, has been placed along with Germany in Group B to battle the Americans. In other words, Group B just became pretty tough.Aside from Angola, that makes five competitive teams in Group B, including the two favorites to win it all (USA and Spain). Greece can be an absolute force (some think they have the best chance of winning outside of the USA, Spain, and Argentina. I do not agree.), Germany is pretty solid, and China, though completely overrated, is still strong. After playing each team in their group once, the top four teams from each group will advance to the quarterfinals. Here is how I anticipate the final standings will pan out:

Group A:

1. Argentina
2. Russia
3. Lithuania
4. Croatia
5. Australia
6. Iran

Group B:

1. USA
2. Spain
3. Greece
4. Germany
5. China
6. Angola

There could be some jockeying (particularly at the 2-3 spot in Group A and the 1-2 spot in Group B), but I'm very confident in the top four selections for both groups. The announcement of Manu Ginobili's inclusion for Argentina cements their place at the top of Group A. And just to put things in perspective for the bottom-tier Olympic teams, the Mavs summer league team beat the Iranian national team by 17 points...and that's including a half-assed 10-point fourth quarter.
The good news about being in Group B with Spain is that the two likely will not meet in the elimination rounds until the finals, supposing both make it that far. If that means we have to play Argentina or whoever wins Group A that should be fine; not to say that the other teams aren't worthy, but Spain is definitely the biggest fish to fry.

A bit more locally, Team USA's final preparations begin with their pre-Olympic camp tomorrow. While we're ready for the ball to begin rolling in China, Team USA should be pretty busy in the coming weeks. From AP:

There's plenty to be done. The starting five is set with Anthony, James, Howard, Kobe Bryant and Jason Kidd, but coach Mike Krzyzewski needs to settle on a rotation
beyond that. The Americans had a strong bench in last year's Olympic qualifying
tournament, but Chauncey Billups and Amare Stoudemire, two top reserves, aren't
back this summer.

Paul and Deron Williams will begin their battle to see who gets the early lead on the backup point guard spot behind Kidd. Either Bosh or Carlos Boozer will emerge as the undersized No. 2 center after Howard.

"It's a work in progress still," Bryant said. "We have to tighten up some things,
fine-tune some things and that's when we start building our rhythm, and come
Aug. 10 we should be ready."

Headlining the camp is the scrimmaging between the team and the "Select Team", which has almost been finalized. As of now, the roster consists of:

G - Derrick Rose
G - Kevin Martin
G - Rodney Stuckey
G - O.J. Mayo
G - Luther Head
G - Jerryd Bayless
G-F - Andre Iguodala
G-F - Kevin Durant
F - Jeff Green
F-C - LaMarcus Aldridge
F-C - Robin Lopez
F-C - Al Horford
F-C - Kevin Love

Man, that's a lot of G's. The main concern I have with the select team is in its usefulness as a scout team. If the Team USA brass simply assembles these guys, gives them some practice time together, and then scrimmages against the real team, I'm not sure how much it actually helps. No one doubts the Americans' ability to play against other Americans. The biggest challenge is competing against unfamiliar systems and different playing styles. Can this roster effectively simulate other teams? I think the lack of size is a definite issue. But we'll see; maybe K, D'Antoni, and McMillan can get creative. Joe Freeman of The Oregonian (via Oregon Live) has me optimistic:

Blazers coach Nate McMillan, who is an assistant coach on the Olympic team, said Bayless was selected by the USA coaching staff because his slashing, aggressive style will emulate some of the international players that Team USA will face in Beijing. The experience, which will include opportunities to compete head-to-head against talented point guards such as Chris Paul of New Orleans and Deron Williams of Utah, will only help Bayless prepare for his rookie season.

There was a lot of ho-hum about Chandler training with Team USA as the first alternate, and somehow making his way onto the squad to remedy the lack of centers on the roster. Well, forget about that; The Sports Network reports that Chandler is no longer going to be training and practicing with the team due to an inflamed left big toe.

The Americans are saying all the right things from top to bottom heading into the final preparations. Coach K, quoted on Voice of America:

"For too long we've been saying it's just our game," said Krzyzewski. "And
basically we're not playing the NBA game or the NCAA [collegiate] game; we're
playing international basketball. It's really the world's game. We think we're
the best at playing that game but, unless we show the respect to the rest of the
world that it is the world's game, I don't think we ever will really reach the
point that we need to."

Also, the final scrimmaging schedule has been decided. As far as I know, the scrimmaging between Team USA and the Select Team (Monday through Thursday of this week) will not be televised, but there are five televised “friendlies” against international competition, including three teams the US could see in Beijing. Via The Orange Squeeze (originally from ESPN):

Friday, July 25th 8 p.m. ET vs. Canada (Las Vegas, NV) on ESPN
Thursday, July 31th 8 a.m. ET vs. Turkey (Macao, China) on ESPN2
Friday, August 1st 8 a.m. ET vs. Lithuania (Macao, China) on ESPN2
Sunday, August 3rd 3 a.m. ET Russia (Shanghai, China) on ESPN2
Tuesday, August 5th 8 a.m. ET Australia (Shanghai, China) on ESPN2

You can expect game notes on all of the scrimmages here, and possibly a liveblog for the game against Canada on the 25th. But in the meantime – be excited, be-be excited! The beginning is in sight, the Americans are getting all of their ducks in a row, and only three weeks remain until “The Redeem Team” gets its chance.