The warm-ups are over.  The real games begin now for the Team USA.  It beat Angola easily 97-76 on Tuesday after taking care of host China 101-70 on Sunday.  Next up is Greece which beat the United States. two years ago in the world championships.  This version of Team USA however is a much deeper and much more cohesive bunch than back then.  The so-called “Redeem Team” has been on a mission to bring back the gold medal, and they have looked good so far against inferiorcompetition.  Greece will provide a nice gauge as to just how good the team really is.  The next game will be even bigger as it comes against Spain who, in my opinion, is the clear gold medal favorite.

In all reality, based on talent alone Team USA should win every game by 15-20 points.  That won’t happen in all likelihood but that doesn’t mean a close win would be a disappointment.  The opponents to come are quality teams, and victories in which the U.S. plays hard and plays together should be appreciated.  Of course, there are some worrisome issues to deal with.  The play of Kobe Bryant offensively frankly has not been very good.  He was 0-8 from three-point range against Angola after shooting just 1-7 from distance against China.  He has also made some careless turnovers in transition and with the ball.  He must shoot much better in order for the U.S. to win the gold medal especially given how few significant minutes Michael Redd, the designated zone buster, is playing.  Bryant is playing very tough defense against opposing teams primary ballhandlers which has led to plenty of turnovers in the first two games.  The defensive intensity for the whole team must get even greater once medal play begins.

Other things I would like to see:
1) Deron Williams over Jason Kidd in the starting lineup
2) more playing time for Redd and Chris Bosh
3) Dwight Howard to stop pouting and whining after every whistle; the officiating is atrocious for everyone at the Olympics, deal with it
4) another shooter on the roster on the next Olympic team as the 12^th man (replacing in this case Tayshaun Prince); the team is shooting just 26.7% from three (12-45)
5) Gregg Poppovich as head coach

Team USA is 2-0 but faces much bigger challenges ahead.