July 24, 2012; Barcelona, SPAIN; USA forward LeBron James (6) celebrates with teammates during the second half of an exhibition gameagainst Spain in preparation for the 2012 London Olympic Games at Palau Sant Jordi. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-US PRESSWIRE

The world just got a preview of what could possibly be the gold medal game of the 2012 London Olympic men’s basketball tournament. In this preview, Team USA won in classic Team USA fashion. Knowing that Spain is the team that they are highly expected to face on their last step to the gold medal, Team USA saw this as an opportunity to send a message to Spain and to other teams competing in the games. Playing in a hostile arena in (Barcelona, Spain) filled by a solid amount of Spanish fans, USA smoothly dispatched Spain 100-78.

There were multiple questions and criticisms thrown at Team USA before the game tip-off. Among all criticisms, the biggest problem was the big man problem. Going up against a tall Spanish team, Team USA looked like they were at a disadvantage. However, there were things Team USA could do that would cover up their flaws. Moreover, Team USA adjusted very well and instead of having just one man (Chandler/Love) try to grab the rebound,  they swarmed. Defensively as well they swarmed. And after they did that and forced Spain to commit turnovers and snag the rebounds, Team USA was off and running. Nothing could stop them. Not Spain. If Team USA would play the same way they did today, no team in the world can prevent them from winning the gold medal.

Yesterday, Team USA was in full control of the game through the last three quarters. At the end of the first quarter it seemed as if this would turn out to be a classic international basketball game much like USA vs Spain during the gold medal game in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. However, unlike that game, Team USA dominated the rest of the game. Spain, who is already without Minnesota Timberwolves guard Ricky Rubio who is still going through rehab on his knee, didn’t have center Marc Gasol for the game due an injury he is still aiding. Fortunately for Spain, Marc will be back in time for the real games. So all in all, Team USA faced a not so lengthy Spanish club.

At the end of the first quarter, Team USA was down 21-23. From there, Team USA adjusted to Spain’s style of play and from there it became Team USA’s basketball game.

With Spain being shorthanded, Team USA finally took control of the boards by out rebounding Spain 37-26. Minnesota Timberwolves All-Star Kevin Love had his first double digit rebounding game. Unfortunately he only had 2 points which prevented him from having a classic K-Love double-double. Yesterday, Team USA was led by their forwards. New York Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony had a game-high 27 points coming off the bench, Miami Heat forward LeBron James had 25 points along with 7 assists, and Oklahoma City Thunder Kevin Durant chipped in with 13 points on a 2-3 shooting from distance.

In this game, Team USA reduced their three point shooting from 34 attempts in their first Barcelona exhibition game against Argentina to just 23 attempts yesterday against #2 ranked Spain. Team USA overall shot 56% from distance.

Outside the forwards, Los Angeles guards Kobe Bryant and Chris Paul had 6 points and 5 points respectively. Unlike their match against Argentina, Team USA was able to play everyone on their roster. Off the bench, Russell Westbrook had 9 points, Deron Williams had 4 points, and James Harden had 7 points.

For Spain, they also had three players finish in double figures. Los Angeles Lakers forward Pau Gasol led the way with a team-high 19 points  and pulled down 5 rebounds as well. Spain’s newest member, Oklahoma City Thunder forward Serge Ibaka, had 16 points along with a block. Point guard and captain, Juan Carlos Navarro chipped in with 11 points but had 6 turnovers to along with his subpar 2 assists.

Team USA finished their exhibition games with a clean slate winning all 5 of their pre-Olympic games. The quest for the gold medal officially begin on July 29, 2 days after the opening of the 2012 London Olymics, where Team USA will be taking on Tony Parker and France.

In my opinion, Team USA is more than ready. They haven’t utilized all their players to their full potential as member of the team, not as individuals (just to be clear). Kevin Love is highly expected by the coaching staff and also the American fans to be a force inside on the boards very much like how he played in the 2011-2012 NBA season when he averaged 13.3 rebounds per game. Team USA may be unbeaten in through the exhibition games, but in my eyes, they’re still beatable. It will be very tough, however, to beat them. Especially with the way they played yesterday. But then again, Spain was incomplete and there was no gold-medal slash sweet revenge on the line.

July 22, 2012; Barcelona, SPAIN; USA forward LeBron James (6) greets fans in the stands after an exhibition game against Argentina in preparation for the 2012 London Olympic Games at Palau Sant Jordi. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-US PRESSWIRE

Through four exhibition games before the highly anticipated 2012 London Olympics, the USA Basketball Men’s National Team has had half of the games as an international classic blowout and the other half as games Team USA should look back upon and question whether or not they’re ready for a team that could possibly prevent them from winning the gold medal. And that team, is Spain.

After blowing out the Dominican Republic to open their pre-Olympic exhibition games, Team USA struggled at the start against Brazil and seemed unwilling to play basketball at all. Fortunately for them, they easily adjusted to Brazil’s style of play and won by double-figures at the end of regulation. Following the win, the Americans came to the country where they’ll be taking their talents for a couple of weeks in the 2012 London Olympics. Playing in Manchester, England, Team USA quickly dispatched Great Britain‘s National Basketball team and shrugged off their bad memories of their subpar performance versus Brazil.

Team USA would then leave England for a couple of days to visit the city where the 1992 U.S Olympic Team, a.k.a “The Dream Team“, a squad current Team USA guard Kobe Bryant doesn’t believe is better than them, easily won the gold medal in Barcelona, Spain. As we looked at Team USA’s basketball schedule while staying in Barcelona, we can safely say that Team USA will be challenged. And challenged they were. In their first of two Barcelona exhibition games, Manu Ginobili and Argentina gave Team USA a battle they haven’t had so far in the summer. Despite starting strong, Argentina fought back and forced Team USA to go full power and prevented the Americans to use all their players. Luckily for Team USA, Argentina wasn’t good enough for a win but certainly gave them a tough challenge.

As Day 3 of their stay in Barcelona begins, Team USA must understand just how important today’s exhibition game is to them, their pride, and their country. It may be a pointless exhibition game to most of us, but in my opinion, this will gauge the readiness of Team USA for better teams they could possibly face in the Olympic such as Lithuania, Greece, France, and Argentina.

The Spanish National Team is the second best team, in FIBA rankings, heading into the 2012 London Olympics starting on July 27.  We obviously know who is the #1 team in the world. Being undefeated in their exhibition games is nothing much to be proud of, not only because they haven’t dominated every single game much like The Dream Team (of course, other teams then weren’t as good as teams today), but also they still haven’t solved their inside presence situation. Going up against Marc Gasol and older brother and 2-time NBA champion Pau Gasol, Team USA will have their hands full today in the paint.

In their past games, Team USA has not been dominant on the boards as they should be. Falling in love with the three-point line as of late has caused the team to stay outside more often allowing opposing big men to box out easily and snag a rebound. Team USA’s perimeter defense will be needed as well going up against energy guards in Juan Carlos Navarro, Jose Calderon of the Toronto Raptors, and Rudy Fernandez who last played for the Denver Nuggets.

Spain can dominate either inside and out. With shooters all around the floor and the Gasol brothers dominating inside, Spain will give them a full offensive challenge. Marc Gasol has already shown how much he has grown since last year, by helping the Memphis Grizzlies reach the playoffs for 2 straight years. Marc has already been projected by many critics as possibly the third best center in the NBA behind Lakers big man Andrew Bynum and whining Magic big man Dwight Howard. Pau Gasol has already been well-documented as one of the best and skilled power forward in the NBA. After winning back-to-back NBA championships with Team USA starting guard Kobe Bryant, Gasol knows very well how to dominate a league filled with Americans.

Defensively, Spain will be anchored by a new member to their roster. Oklahoma City Thunder shot blocking forward, Serge Ibaka, a runner up in the 2012 NBA Defenseive Player of the Year. I know, just like most of you, I was stunned to hear this. We all know Ibaka as as Air Congo and not Air Spain, but in July 2011, Ibaka was granted Spanish citizenship which legally allows him to play for Spain in the  Olympic games. With Ibaka added into their rotation, Spain now has gotten even much bigger and now Team USA has another big man to deal with. Ibaka will be effective offensively as he can sometimes knock down a midrange jumpshot, but defense is where he’ll come in and possibly pick apart Team USA. After playing in the 2012 NBA Finals and losing to Team USA’s starting forward, LeBron James, Ibaka certainly has a chip on his shoulder against James and having experienced some NBA success in his young career so far, Ibaka will be a key contributor off the bench for Spain. Ibaka + the Gasol brothers in the paint. Yikes.

Team USA will definitely have their hands full today against the team they defeated 118-107 in a thrilling gold-medal game in the last summer Olympics in Beijing, China. Spain wants USA. And in order for Team USA to solidify their international dominance in the world of basketball, Spain is the team they need to go through. Now, I’m not saying Spain is the better team, of course not, but Team USA will definitely have to show up to a team like Spain. Spain CAN defeat Team USA if they can execute very well, but most of all if Team USA plays the right way. Kevin Love, Tyson Chandler, rookie Anthony Davis, who might not even play today, will be keys inside for Team USA. LeBron James, Kevin Durant will be the support the three big men inside. With Dwight Howard no longer on their roster, Team USA will have to approach the tall Spanish team differently. Attack the paint, rebound, don’t fall in love with the three point line, and run run run.

USA and Spain will tip-off their exhibition match at 4:30 PM ET and will be shown live on ESPN2 

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