On Team US and the upcoming Olympics.

Yes they're back, after failing to win the past three major global basketball events, they're now looking for payback and their first step? FIBA of the Americas.

They ended the eliminations via a 91-76 rout against their South American Rivals, Argentina. Did that win signified USA as the most dominating country in the basketball world? or did it ever meant anything at all?

Yes, they've been dominating, but I have to warn you, don't be fooled. This is only the qualifying round for the Olympics and there are still a lot of things on their way. Their win against the Argentinians earlier showed that this team is not and will never be as dominating like the first and second all pro US team. Why? Because that's only half of what Argentina can do, and they've defeated them by fifteen freaking points and by my standards, that's far from dominating. That's a team without their best player Manu Ginobili, their best scrapper Andres Nocioni, their best point guard Pepe Sanchez and their best shooter Walter Hermann. Now, I can only imagine if those guys would've played earlier.

Now let's stop talking about the game earlier, let's focus more on Team USA and their stand against basketball globalization. I'll give you some disadvantages and advantages that they have right now.

Advantage: Kobe Bryant and Jason Kidd is now playing for them

Right now, they have two of the best players in the world. Kobe Bryant is by far the most dominating scorer in the history of basketball. No shit, I'll give you reasons if you want to, and he's also one of the most underrated defenders in the team. Kobe made the All Defensive first team for years now and judging from the way he defended against Leandro Barbosa, there's no denying that he's the best perimeter defender in their team. As for Jason Kidd, you want maturity? You got it.

Disadvantage: Scouting Report

Let's just put it this way, we all know guys like LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Carmelo Anthony and so on. We all know how they play and what their capable of. You could simply just turn on the television, tune in to Basketball TV and voila, instant scouting report. But how about for their counterparts? Guys like Vasillis Spanoulis, Juan Navarro, Theo Papalukas, Gian Luka Basile et al. How would you scout those guys if you can't even watch them play? Yes, they're sending their scouts all over the world to watch their opponents play but the question is, is it enough? We'll see.

Advantage: Talent

Enough said, they're the most talented team individually. Give their worst player in the team to another country and he's an instant superstar. One on one, their players is almost impossible to stop. That's another advantage for them.

Disadvantage: Chemistry

To win tournaments like these, it takes years of training.. together. And that's one of their key problems. They've been training together for what? Three months? The only players they've retained from last WBC's team is Lebron James, Carmelo Anthony and Dwight Howard. How about the others? Are they good enough to jive well offensively and defensively despite the lack of familiarity with each other? Or will they breakdown just like what they did in Japan last year?

Advantage: Hunger

Their last win in a major basketball tournament was way back in 2000 in Sydney. And for a team with such basketball history, that's a pretty long drought. Their coming in the Olympics hungry and determined to bring back the glory of basketball in their country, no doubt, their dedication to win it all again is unquestionable. If you've been watching the FIBA of the Americas tournament, you'll see what I mean.

No more intimidation factor

Sydney Olympics, 2000: They were a three point shot away from Sarunas Jasikavecious from going home. However they still won the whole tournament.

WBC Indianapolis, 2002: Their nightmare came to life. They finished 6th place overall with a 6-3 record.

Athens Olympics, 2004: With a guy like Tim Duncan on the team, they've once again failed to win gold in Athens. They lost to Argentina in the semis and eventually, they've captured the bronze medal against the Lithuanians.

WBC Tokoshima, 2006: They dominated the whole series before they played the greeks in the semis. The Greeks dropped into a zone and team US' offensive flow went crazy like Britney Spears. They finished third for the second straight tournament.

So what am I trying to point out? 11 years ago, they were the most feared team in the world and people would simply be happy and contented to play against them. Right now? Everyone knows they're beatable, including the taxi driver from Rush Hour 3.

Last Words: Regardless of how they'll play in the Olympics, I could care less. What I did is to analyze their team, give out important points that could very well affect the outcome of their "Golden Dreams" in the upcoming Beijing Olympics.