Team USA Dominates Dominican Republic In Olympics Tuneup

The United States continued to coast in their first exhibition game against the Dominican Republic, turning a 23-point halftime lead into a complete blowout and winning by 54, 113-59.

Team USA played suffocating defense and, after a few minutes, seemed to just be having fun on offense; sometimes spreading the floor and hitting threes, and sometimes out-athleteing the Dominican squad with pretty takes, passes and finishes.

The Dominican Republic almost made the London Olympics, but the USA is looking to win it, and it shows as they’ve opened up a 23-point lead at halftime of their first Olympic tuneup.

Follow all of SB Nation’s Olympic coverage at our London 2012 Olympics hub page.For more on Team USA as it gears up for the London Olympics, be sure to stay tuned to this StoryStream.

The United States men’s basketball team isn’t exactly struggling in its first tuneup exhibition for the Olympics in London, as the Americans are out to a 26-12 lead over the Dominican Republic after the first quarter.

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Team USA will scrimmage against the Dominican Republic on Thursday night in its first actual game.

Follow all of SB Nation’s Olympic coverage at our London 2012 Olympics hub page. For more on Team USA as it gears up for the London Olympics, be sure to stay tuned to this StoryStream.

If it seems like I’m approaching this topic with a chip on my shoulder, it’s because becoming a fan of DeMarcus Cousins is to inherit the chips on his shoulder, and holy smokes, does DeMarcus Cousins have a lot of chips on his shoulder. Those exist because DeMarcus Cousins came into the league with a reputation, has in some ways reinforced that reputation and because others who should know better are far too lazy to cut through the reputation to find truth.

Witness Jerry Colangelo, USA Basketball honcho and a sort of NBA godfather figure, speaking to reporters via conference call on occasion of the announcement of the Team USA roster, to which Cousins was not added:

Saturday the team announced that Paul has a sprained right thumb, an injury that was revealed through an X-ray Paul received after Friday’s practice.

While Paul did participate in some non-contact portions of Saturday’s practice, he did not scrimmage and sported a protective splint over the thumb.

USA Basketball officially announced its 12-man Olympic roster on Saturday, adding Blake Griffin, Andre Iguodala and James Harden to the previously confirmed nine players heading to London. All nine of the previously confirmed players had played for Team USA either in the 2008 Beijing Olympics or the 2010 FIBA World Championship in Turkey. Iguodala played for the 2010 team that won gold, but neither Griffin nor Harden had played for the senior men’s team in any competition before being selected for the London roster.

Due to that lack of service (a big deal to boss Jerry Colangelo and coach Mike Krzyzewski, who have sought to build a commitment culture around the program), Harden’s selection over 2010 vets Rudy Gay and Eric Gordon was a bit of a surprise. Given Harden’s versatility and the constant need for both shooting and ball-handling, the justification for the Thunder guard over the more experienced options is pretty easy to understand.

G Chris Paul

G Deron Williams

G Russell Westbrook

G Kobe Bryant

G James Harden

F LeBron James

F Andre Iguodala

F Kevin Durant

F Carmelo Anthony

F Blake Griffin

F Kevin Love

C Tyson Chandler

Follow all of SB Nation’s Olympic coverage at our London 2012 Olympics hub page. For more on Team USA as it gears up for the London Olympics, be sure to stay tuned to this StoryStream.

The 12-man roster for USA Basketball at the 2012 London Olympics will be announced Saturday. But most of the roster is already known, with only two of the 12 spots apparently still undecided.

USA Basketball boss Jerry Colangelo has said the other three players not chosen will be alternates. The team can replace a player with an alternate up to July 27. Team USA tips off group play against fellow medal favorite France July 29.

For more on Team USA as it gears up for the London Olympics, be sure to stay tuned to this StoryStream.

A rash of injuries have created a couple of open spots on the 2012 USA Olympic basketball team, but those slots will be filled Saturday night when USA Basketball announces its complete roster for the London Olympics..

The USA Basketball Selection Show will begin at 7 p.m. EDT and be broadcast on NBA TV. Following the roster announcement, NBA TV will broadcast the USA Basketball news conference.

Davis was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2012 NBA Draft on June 28. Adding a gold medal with Team USA before the start of his rookie season would certainly be a great addition to his already prodigious list of accomplishments in 2012.

For more on Team USA as it gears up for the London Olympics, be sure to stay tuned to this StoryStream.

The options at center for the U.S. are getting severely limited.

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Both players’ decisions are completely understandable. The frantic pace of the lockout-shortened 2011-12 NBA season and ensuing postseason left many NBA players banged up, so it makes sense that two members of the newly-crowned league champions would want to make the most out of resting up during a shorter offseason to better prepare for defending their title in the 2012-13 season.

For more on Team USA as it gears up for the London Olympics, be sure to stay tuned to this StoryStream.

Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press reports that Wade contacted USA Basketball Director Jerry Colangelo and U.S. men’s national team head coach Mike Krzyzewski on Thursday to inform them that he is withdrawing from the team. According to Reynolds, Wade will require knee surgery this offseason due to damage sustained over the duration of the lockout-shortened 2011-12 NBA season and playoffs.

The loss of Wade, who won gold in Beijing in 2008, is certainly a blow to the U.S. squad, but the roster is very deep in what may be the last year of a true basketball “Dream Team.” The London Games will reportedly be the last time that NBA superstars over the age of 23 will head to the Olympics to represent the United States.

Wade played with knee issues throughout the playoffs and he told the Associated Press those issues may keep him out of the 2012 London Olympics.

For more on Team USA as it gears up for the London Olympics, be sure to stay tuned to this StoryStream.

Mike Krzyzewski has been the head coach of the U.S. Men’s National Basketball Team going as far back as 1990 for the FIBA World Championship in Argentina, and again starting in 2006 where he has led the team through a revival including a gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. His impressive international resume will apparently conclude with the 2012 London Olympics.

For more on Coach K and the 2012 London Summer Olympics, stay tuned to this StoryStream.

The 2012 London Olympics are not nearly as far off in the distance as they seem to be and, unfortunately, that’s bad news for the decision-makers who have to decide what roster Team USA will put on the court this July. The men’s basketball team automatically qualified for a berth in this year’s games, but they’ve lost a few solid contributors due to injury over the last couple of months.

All four players would certainly be interesting additions, though it doesn’t seem Colangelo is close to naming the replacements any time soon.

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