USA..USA..USA...

The medal round is about to begin and I am supremely omptimistic that the USA will win the gold. I have watched every game and have enjoyed every minute. They are intense, focused on defense and fun to watch primarily because they themselves are having fun. Team USA is simply relentless as shown when they took the life out of Spain.

Lebron is the leader, or should I say "King", of this sqaud, vocally and on the floor, doing it all. Cleaning the glass, moving the ball, scoring, defense. Kobe looks so much more comfortable not HAVING to be a leader which is just not in his DNA. He is free to play basketball and that is what he does best. Dwyane Wade is D-Wade again and wow is he fun to watch. Ball hawking, getting to basket and flushing it. Chris Bosh and Dwight Howard have been a nice 1-2 punch in the middle far more athletic than any other big men in this tournament. Chris Paul and Deron Williams are the two best point guards the States and perhaps the World have to offer and play very well together. Carmelo Anthony the role player with timely 3-balls and even some good work on the glass. Tayshawn Prince was able to get in the mix and may have earned some playing time in the medal round. This team is on a mission, full of talent and depth, never a weakness on the floor...

Or is there? Possible pitfalls? Going into these games there were three concerns that most experts addressed. Perimeter shooting, interior size, and defending the pick & roll. It seems to me that defending the pick & roll was a greater concern than how tall the USA big men are. By going "small" with Bosh and Howard team USA is more athletic and more apt to disrupt the pick & roll. Problem solved. The so called lack of size in the middle has not been an issue given the team rebounding concept. Bron, Melo and the rest all getting to the glass. Having mutliple weapons on the floor who can lead and finish the break makes this possible. This leaves us with perimeter shooting.

Yes, shooting, could haunt Team USA at some point over the next three games. Let me preface this by saying I have nothing against Jason Kidd. It's just with CP3 and Deron on this squad he doesn't need to get minutes. His minutes in my opinion could be better served having Prince or even Redd getting more run and have them game ready for the medal round.

Even with the questionable shooting I don't foresee the USA faltering. In fact I expect an easy ride with 20+ point differentials in all three games. This team is on a mission and it's defense is suffocating resulting in too many easy buckets for the opposition to keep up.

USA..USA..USA...