Team USA Basketball

Phoenix Suns star Devin Booker doesn't plan to back out of the Tokyo Olympics amid a series of roster moves with the United States men's basketball team. 

Booker told reporters Friday his "commitment is still there" to join the U.S. team after the NBA Finals.

The American squad lost Kevin Love and Bradley Beal in the last two days.

Love said Friday he was withdrawing because he didn't feel physically up to the standard required for the Olympics.

"I am incredibly disappointed to not be heading to Tokyo with Team USA, but you need to be at absolute peak performance to compete at the Olympic level, and I am just not there yet," he said in a statement.

On Thursday, USA head coach Gregg Popovich announced Beal won't travel with the team after being placed in health and safety protocols.

Shams Charania and Joe Vardon of The Athletic reported Jerami Grant was also put into the protocols but didn't test positive for COVID-19. Popovich remains hopeful the Detroit Pistons forward can stay with the team.

Per ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, Team USA added JaVale McGee and Keldon Johnson to the roster to replace Love and Beal.

Last month, Booker committed to play for the United States in the Olympics. This will mark his first appearance on the national team roster. He played on the Select team in 2016. 

The Suns are still playing in the NBA Finals against the Milwaukee Bucks. The series is tied 2-2 with Game 5 scheduled for Saturday at 9 p.m. ET.

If the series goes to Game 7, it would be played July 22. Team USA will open play at the Olympics in Tokyo on July 25 against France in the second game of Group A.

Booker has taken the leap to superstardom this postseason. The 24-year-old is averaging 27.1 points on 44.6 percent shooting, 5.9 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game in 20 playoff starts.

The United States men’s basketball reportedly "inquired" about the availability of Philadelphia 76ers forward Tobias Harris as a potential replacement for Bradley Beal at the Tokyo Olympics, according to Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer. 

Pompey added that Harris "is out of the country on vacation. He is scheduled to return Saturday evening."

Beal, 28, was pulled from the team after being placed in the COVID-19 health and safety protocols on Wednesday. Jerami Grant has also been placed in the protocols, though Gregg Popovich has reportedly "expressed optimism" that he'll be able to participate in Tokyo, per Brian Windhorst of ESPN. 

Houston Rockets center Christian Wood is also under consideration as a potential replacement for Beal, per Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle.

Atlanta Hawks superstar Trae Young, meanwhile, seemed to indicate on Twitter that he wasn't being considered for the team (and wasn't happy about it):

..😔🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/R7qPMlfhg5

— Trae Young (@TheTraeYoung) July 15, 2021

As for Harris, the 29-year-old had a strong season for the Sixers, averaging 19.5 points, 6.8 rebounds and 3.5 assists while shooting 51.2 percent from the field, 39.4 percent from three and 89.2 percent from the charity stripe. 

He's also flirted with Team USA before. According to Pompey, "Last summer, Harris pulled out of the U.S. training camp and the FIBA World Cup. At the time, he wanted to concentrate on keeping his body healthy and preparing for what was a larger role with the Sixers."

Beal, meanwhile, will miss out on the chance to fulfill a childhood dream and play for Team USA. 

"I'm dying for [Beal]. We all are," Popovich said. "Since he was a little kid, this has been a dream of his, and he was playing great. ... For him and his immediate family, it's devastating. We just feel horrible about it."

Team USA has two more scrimmages, on Friday against Australia and Sunday against Spain, before heading to Japan on Monday. The United States opens its Olympics tournament on July 25 vs. France. 

The Team USA men's basketball squad will not have the opportunity to bounce back from its exhibition loss to Australia after the sides agreed to cancel Friday's rematch due to health and safety protocols.   

Out of an abundance of caution, the USA Men's National Team exhibition versus Australia on Friday has been cancelled.

The USA Women's National Team's matchup with Australia will be played at 2:30 PM ET on NBCSN.

— USA Basketball (@usabasketball) July 16, 2021

ESPN's Brian Windhorst and Olgun Uluc initially reported the team is "in a struggle with COVID" and was discussing potentially canceling the exhibition with Australia. Bradley Beal is out of the Olympics because of the virus, while Jerami Grant is in health and safety protocols.

ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported USA Basketball is looking to potentially replace Beal on the roster.

As for Grant, Shams Charania and Joe Vardon of The Athletic reported he had not tested positive despite being in protocols.

It has been a rocky lead to the Olympics for the Americans, as they lost stunners to Nigeria and Australia during the exhibition slate and are now dealing with COVID-19 concerns. They are still the favorites as the three-time defending Olympic champions, but it may not be as straightforward as once thought.

Team USA is also slated to play Spain in an exhibition Sunday before leaving for Tokyo for a schedule that starts July 25 against France.

Beal is a notable loss for the Americans considering he is coming off such an impressive season that saw him make his third career All-Star Game and average 31.3 points, 4.7 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 1.2 steals per game while shooting 34.9 percent from three-point range.

Only Stephen Curry (32.0) averaged more points per game than Beal.

Team USA may need to find a way to replicate that scoring if it is going to live up to gold medal expectations. 

USA Basketball announced Washington Wizards shooting guard Bradley Beal will not play in the Tokyo Olympics after he entered COVID-19 health and safety protocols, per Shams Charania of Stadium and The Athletic.

ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski first reported Beal could be replaced on the team.

Beal, a three-time All-Star, put together a strong performance against the 2004 Olympic gold medalists, tallying 17 points, six rebounds, three assists and a steal in 30 minutes, and he was likely ticketed for a substantial role in Tokyo after ranking second in the NBA in scoring (31.3 PPG) this season.

The 28-year-old St. Louis native had called the opportunity to play for the U.S. men's national team a "blessing" during an interview with CBS Sports' Michael Kaskey-Blomain on Monday:

"It's an honor. It's something that you don't take for granted. Not a lot of guys in the league get this opportunity. We all know that. So, you embrace it. You understand that the U.S. wants you to win, and everyone else wants you to lose. We didn't live up to what we wanted to a few years ago [in the 2019 FIBA World Cup], and so now we have an opportunity to get back what's rightfully ours."

Finding a suitable replacement for Beal may be more important than it would have seemed a few weeks ago. Team USA suffered exhibition losses to Nigeria and Australia, which dampened expectations that the Americans would waltz to gold in Tokyo.

The question becomes whether the U.S. will replace Beal with another sharpshooter or perhaps shift focus to a pass-first point guard to take some pressure off Damian Lillard. The roster has a lot of combo guards and wings but could use another facilitator.

Meanwhile, forward Jerami Grant has also entered COVID-19 protocols at training camp in Las Vegas, but he hasn't tested positive for the coronavirus, per Charania and Joe Vardon of The Athletic.

Grant has been effective in a high-energy role off the bench for the American squad, so he could be another significant loss depending on whether he's cleared to travel for the Olympics.

Team USA has two warm-up games remaining, Friday vs. Australia and Sunday vs. Spain, before leaving for Japan.

The three-time defending Olympic champions begin play in Tokyo on July 25 against France.

Jerami Grant has joined Bradley Beal among men's basketball players in the health and safety protocols at Team USA camp, according to Shams Charania of Stadium and The Athletic.

The two are in the protocols in Las Vegas, where the team has been competing in exhibitions ahead of the Tokyo Olympics. The squad is scheduled to leave for Japan on Monday, according to Ava Wallace of the Washington Post.

The team's first game of the Olympics is scheduled for Sunday, July 25.

The Americans have won the last three gold medals in men's basketball, but the team has raised question marks after exhibition losses to Nigeria and Australia. The squad defeated Argentina on Tuesday and has two more tune-up games before the Olympics against Australia (Friday) and Spain (Sunday).

With Grant and Beal in the protocol, Team USA could be even more short-handed with Devin Booker, Jrue Holiday and Khris Middleton still competing in the NBA Finals.

Grant earned his way onto the 12-man roster after a breakout season with the Detroit Pistons. The forward averaged 22.3 points in 54 appearances, a major jump from his previous career high of 13.6 points per game in 2018-19.

The 27-year-old has still seen a limited role with Team USA, playing just eight minutes in the latest win over Argentina and 13 in the loss to Australia. 

Brooklyn Nets superstar Kevin Durant isn't panicking despite the fact that Team USA lost two of its first three exhibition games before the Tokyo Summer Olympics.

According to Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports, KD said several factors worked against the United States and contributed to the losses:

"We're a team that's still coming together and trying to find our identity. We have so many great players that you can play so many different ways, and we are indecisive at times on defense and offense. In the midst of us figuring it out, these teams are established and they're running their sets. We're working on our sets. The stars were kind of aligned for us to lose early on."

Team USA fell 90-87 to Nigeria on Saturday and 91-83 to Australia on Monday before righting the ship with a 108-80 win over Argentina on Tuesday.

The U.S. team is stacked with high-caliber NBA players. Durant is the biggest star, but he is far from alone, as Damian Lillard of the Portland Trail Blazers, Jayson Tatum of the Boston Celtics, Bradley Beal of the Washington Wizards and Draymond Green of the Golden State Warriors are also on the team.

Most of the players on Team USA are used to being go-to guys, and they don't have much experience playing together. Durant suggested Nigeria and Australia had a leg up in terms of chemistry and the players understanding their roles:

"Let's just go down the roster of each team and you can find the answer. If you're looking for NBA talent, those teams have it. Understand where we're at as a team and then you can make assumptions for yourself. We do have all the best players in the league, but these national teams have NBA players, too, who are now No. 1 options and they're used to playing that role internationally. We're still adjusting as a team, and that's not making excuses. There's a lot of context people need to understand. We didn't expect to lose a game, but losing games happen. We'll get it right."

While Durant makes sensible arguments, it didn't make the losses to Nigeria and Australia any less shocking given the United States' dominance over the years.

Before the Nigeria loss, Team USA was 54-2 in exhibition games since 1992. The Americans have also won gold at each of the past three Olympic Games.

Team USA looked far more comfortable and synergetic in the win over Argentina, lending hope to the idea that the losses to Nigeria and Australia were little more than growing pains.

It is also important to note that a quarter of Team USA's Olympic roster isn't even with the rest of the squad yet, as Devin Booker of the Phoenix Suns and Jrue Holiday and Khris Middleton of the Milwaukee Bucks are still competing in the NBA Finals.

All of them have thrived during the playoffs and figure to play big roles on Team USA, especially Booker, who dropped 42 points in Game 4 of the NBA Finals on Wednesday night.

KD said nothing has changed on Team USA's end despite the losses, saying: "We knew it wasn't going to be easy, and we're prepared to go to work. Our goal [of winning gold] hasn't changed. We'll be ready."

Even with the uneven start to the exhibition slate, the United States is still clearly the most talented team in the Olympic field, and it will remain heavily favored to win gold for the fourth time in a row. Australia is next up on the exhibition slate Friday at 6 p.m. ET.

Team USA guard Bradley Beal has entered health and safety protocol at the national club's training camp, according to Shams Charania and Joe Vardon of The Athletic. 

Wizards star Bradley Beal has entered health and safety protocols at Team USA camp, placing his return to play status up in the air, sources tell me and @joevardon.

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 15, 2021

It's unclear how long Beal will be sidelined for or what he'll need to do to exit protocol. Team USA begins play at the Tokyo Olympics on Sunday, July 25 against France. The Americans are set to face Australia in an exhibition on Friday before one more pre-tournament tune up against Spain on Sunday, July 18. 

AP source: USA Basketball guard Bradley Beal has entered the health and safety protocols in Las Vegas, raising the possibility that he may not be able to attend the Tokyo Games. There is nothing definitive about that at this point.

— Tim Reynolds (@ByTimReynolds) July 15, 2021

Beal may be one of the more irreplaceable players on a U.S. national team that's struggled to find a rhythm during its exhibition run. He went 1-of-7 from the floor with two points in a 90-87 loss to Nigeria and added 12 points on 4-of-6 shooting in a 91-83 loss to Australia. 

On Tuesday Beal had his best outing with Team USA yet, dropping 17 points with six rebounds and three assists in a 108-80 victory over Argentina. 

The Washington Wizards star averaged 31.3 points per game during the NBA regular season, narrowly missing out on a scoring title to Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (32.0 points per game). 

Team USA has plenty of guards who can step up and contribute right away, but few who match the scoring prowess of Beal. 

In the meantime, look for head coach Gregg Popovich to rely more on Damian Lillard, Kevin Durant and Zach LaVine. Things should get a bit easier after the NBA Finals conclude when Devin Booker and Jrue Holiday are able to join Team USA's backcourt and provide a bit more depth. 

  

Team USA is finally in the win column as its men's basketball team prepares for the Summer Olympics in Tokyo.

The United States took down Argentina 108-80 Tuesday after dropping its first two exhibition games in Las Vegas. The results led some to wonder whether the U.S. is headed for another disappointment on par with the bronze-medal finish in the 2004 Summer Games.

Beating Argentina, the No. 4 team in the FIBA world rankings, will ease some of those concerns.

Zach LaVine was one of five U.S. players to score in double figures, and no two of his points were more emphatic than this dunk on Juan Pablo Vaulet.

.@ZachLaVine EVERYBODY 👏#USABMNT | @usabasketball

📺 NBCSN
🖥 https://t.co/yI8H9I8HWl
📱 NBC Sports App pic.twitter.com/dYUPZSWlKt

— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) July 13, 2021

The U.S. squad appeared to carry a chip on its shoulder as it led 33-19 after the first quarter. The advantage grew slightly to 16 points at halftime and Argentina was unable to make it much of a game in the second half.

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Notable Performers

Kevin Durant, United States: 17 points, six rebounds, three assists, one steal

Bradley Beal, United States: 17 points, six rebounds, three assists, one steal

Damian Lillard, United States: 13 points, three rebounds, four assists, one block

Luis Scola, Argentina: 16 points, five rebounds, two assists

---

Durant Too Good for Argentina

The international game has caught up to the United States, but one obvious question remains: How will the rest of the world stop Kevin Durant?

The 11-time All-Star allayed the fears about his Achilles injury by averaging 26.9 points, 7.1 rebounds and 5.6 assists during the NBA regular season and then carrying the Brooklyn Nets in the playoffs. He's basically the same player he was prior to the injury.

Team USA can't be a one-man show built around Durant and still win gold because the competition is too strong. But he's clearly the best individual player in the competition.

That Durant guy might have a future in basketball..

— Larry Nance (@Larrydn22) July 13, 2021

https://twitter.com/ctsbulls/status/1415082560191934464

Tuesday's exhibition was another showcase for the 2013-14 MVP.

Big moves to end the half.@KDTrey5 x 🇺🇸 #USABMNT pic.twitter.com/2q7v1roUJj

— USA Basketball (@usabasketball) July 13, 2021

Bam (5 AST) throws the sweet outlet to KD (14 PTS) for the jam in #PhantomCam! #USABMNT leads Argentina at the start of the 2nd half on NBC Sports Network & https://t.co/HbtDcrFgfZ. pic.twitter.com/1fQ9aYFm8x

— NBA (@NBA) July 13, 2021

Durant already has two gold medals to his name, and he put up 20.6 points per game across the 2012 and 2016 Olympics and 2010 FIBA Basketball World Cup. His international record is impeccable.

One downside to playing with the United States is that the roster is often so collectively strong that it's difficult for one player to shine above the rest. On a 2020 team that's good but not the best available to Team USA, Durant has an opportunity to make this year's Summer Games his own.

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Team USA Displays New Sense of Urgency

The biggest reason not to hit the panic button with Team USA was that the Nigeria and Australia games were probably as bad as things would get in terms of the performance.

"I thought we got better tonight," coach Gregg Popovich told reporters after Tuesday's loss. "After a short time together, there’s a lot of things that have to be covered, but the first half and the second half were two different beasts."

The offensive fluidity for the U.S. should improve as the players spend more time on the court together, and the start to training camp may have served as a reminder of the level that will be required in Tokyo.

On Tuesday, this was a different Team USA from the start of the exhibition slate:

The movement away from the ball was crisper.

Set the tone.@Bam1of1 x 🇺🇸 #USABMNT pic.twitter.com/toNjfoCKwA

— USA Basketball (@usabasketball) July 13, 2021

Dame to KD to LaVine.. look out 💥@usabasketball leading late in the first half vs. Argentina.

NBC Sports Network & https://t.co/HbtDcrFgfZ pic.twitter.com/rQkwYh7A2j

— NBA (@NBA) July 13, 2021

More @usabasketball 🏀 movement leads to another Zach LaVine dunk!

Watch #USABMNT vs. Argentina on NBC Sports Network & https://t.co/HbtDcrFgfZ. pic.twitter.com/8KKfcNywTe

— NBA (@NBA) July 13, 2021

The effort on defense was higher as well, and the U.S. occasionally turned that into fast-break dunks and easy buckets on the other end.

Got 'em.@Money23Green x 🇺🇸 #USABMNT pic.twitter.com/UMqrvwWyjh

— USA Basketball (@usabasketball) July 13, 2021

Not messing around.

📺 NBCSN
💻 https://t.co/fcUSsaVvGe pic.twitter.com/TpsVRaK3OX

— USA Basketball (@usabasketball) July 13, 2021

The earlier hand-wringing about Team USA was warranted because the players came out pretty flat, and a seventh-place finish in the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup wasn't that long ago.

But the U.S. appears to be righting the ship a bit in Las Vegas.

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What's Next?

Team USA will have an opportunity to avenge its loss to Australia on Friday.

Boston Celtics and Team USA forward Jayson Tatum will miss Tuesday's international scrimmage against Argentina with right knee soreness, per Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium. 

The 23-year-old was forced to exit the Celtics' Game 2 loss to the Brooklyn Nets in their first-round playoff series after being accidentally poked in the eye by Nets superstar Kevin Durant.

"He went back out on the court [and] tried to readjust to the light out there, and he was really struggling," Celtics head coach Brad Stevens said after the contest. "He got scratched pretty good. It looks pretty red; it looks pretty swollen to me."

Tatum appeared in 66 of the team's 72 games during the regular season and has been mostly durable since the franchise selected him with the third overall pick in the 2018 NBA draft.

The Duke product averaged career highs in points (26.4), rebounds (7.4) and assists (4.3) during the 2020-21 campaign.

He's also a key component for a United States men's national team that has shockingly lost its first two exhibition matchups ahead of the Tokyo Olympics to Nigeria and Australia. Despite those struggles, the U.S. doesn't lack for depth and shouldn't have much issue replacing Tatum's production. 

On July 10, just before Team USA Basketball tipped off its first exhibition game in the lead-up to the Tokyo Olympics, popular NBA Twitter accounts took to the timeline to express confidence in a starting lineup that included Damian Lillard, Bradley Beal, Kevin Durant, Jayson Tatum and Bam Adebayo.

Durant is a two-time Finals MVP. Lillard and Beal are both multitime NBA All-Stars. Tatum and Adebayo are rising talents who both made All-Star teams before their 23rd birthdays.

So, it should come as little surprise that Rob Perez (perhaps more commonly known as World Wide Wob) tweeted "good luck, world" ahead of Team USA's matchup with Nigeria. It hardly felt like a hot take when The Hoop Central wrote, "Team USA starting lineup...Unbeatable" followed by a fire emoji.

And then the actual game started. The Americans seemed intent on a "your turn, my turn" style of offense to go along with little effort on the other end. Nigeria, on the other hand, looked connected, moved the ball and hit 10 more threes than Team USA.

In the end, Nigeria won 90-87, beating the betting spread by a remarkable 31.5 points.

Nigeria upset the USA in an exhibition match, 90-87. According to Caesars Sportsbook by William Hill, the USA was a 28.5-point favorite. pic.twitter.com/aMQWWcU7bf

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) July 11, 2021

Two days later, behind Patty Mills, Joe Ingles and four other current NBA players, Australia's Boomers beat Team USA, 91-83.

Now, the team that was once a massive favorite to win gold in Tokyo is 0-2 on the exhibition circuit. It's probably still the safest bet in the field, but these two losses have revealed problems that could make a run to the medal stand more precarious than anticipated.

     

Roster Construction

After the first loss, Nigeria head coach Mike Brown diagnosed one of the problems Team USA must confront. 

"If you look at the pool of talent that USA Basketball has to pull from, or to draw from, no country can match it," he said. "The reality of it is, a lot of their talent, they just kind of throw together at the last second and say, 'Go win it.' And a lot of these other countries, they've been playing together since they were 14, 15, 16 years old. And so, that has helped, in my opinion, a lot on the international stage."

That certainly helped the Australians too.

"The current boomer core has been together for a decade," The Athletic's Tony Jones tweeted after the game. "They are integrating people like [Dante Exum], [Josh Green] and [Matisse Thybulle] into the next core, and Josh Giddey is the future. Australia hoop is in a good spot..."

Cohesion and chemistry are key components for successful basketball, and they're nearly impossible to manufacture in a few days and weeks at a minicamp, especially when you feature multiple players who do a lot of the same things.

Lillard, Beal, Durant and Tatum are all ultratalented scorers, but they haven't had enough time to learn to play together. A more natural table-setter to get everyone involved and promote ball movement would've helped.

As The Ringer's J. Kyle Mann put it: "...sprinkle [Trae Young], [Tyrese Haliburton], [LaMelo Ball] over this and let the good times roll..."

One or two defensive-minded wings or guards would've helped as well. The aforementioned starters at those positions are all-world offensive talents, but none of them are known for consistently changing games on the other end. Zach LaVine doesn't help much there, either.

Until Jrue Holiday arrives after the NBA Finals (which should make a difference), the team's only defensive specialists are Draymond Green and Adebayo, both of whom are bigs. They can only do so much to cover the perimeter, and they don't take up quite as much space in the paint as, say, Jarrett Allen (who was a finalist to make the team).

And that leads to the next problem: the big men. On this team, Jerami Grant is essentially a 4 or 5, so that gives Team USA a platoon of Adebayo, Green, Grant and Kevin Love. The first three are going to be undersized in certain matchups, and Love has looked completely out of place in his limited minutes. He may have the size and passing ability to make some sense on offense, but he's going to get embarrassed in almost any defensive matchup.

Again, the additions of Holiday, Khris Middleton and Devin Booker will help. It'll bump Select Team members off the main roster, add firepower and bolster the defense.

But these two games—and really, the last several years of international basketball—have shown that hodgepodge rosters with little experience together are no longer a guarantee to win gold.

     

International Talent

Exporting basketball to the world has done wonders for the talent pools in international competitions.

In 1980-81, only 2.1 percent of NBA players who logged at least 500 minutes were born outside the United States. By the 2000-01 season, that number had grown to 8.8. This season, it climbed all the way to 22.4.

Three of the top four (and four of the top six) finishers in 2020-21 MVP voting were from countries other than the United States. The winner, Nikola Jokic, isn't competing in Tokyo, but his ascension is more evidence of the game's growth overseas.

The sixth-place finisher, Luka Doncic, will be at the Olympics. And though his roster with Slovenia doesn't have as much raw talent as Team USA's, he's proved he can dominate NBA defenders for three years now.

In the one-and-done format of the knockout round, it's conceivable that a Herculean effort from Doncic and a few timely contributions from role players could push a team like Slovenia past Team USA.

Nearly 30 years removed from 1992's Dream Team, the Americans' air of invincibility is gone. Most nations represented in the Olympic or FIBA World Cup tournaments are led by NBA players with years of experience against Team USA's best. Some are now led by MVP candidates.

     

International Style

Over the last several years, baiting refs into calling fouls on wholly unnatural movements has become commonplace in the NBA. Players often pump-fake on the perimeter, get a defender in the air, launch themselves sideways like a guided missile into contact and get rewarded with free throws.

Tune into these NBA Finals and you're likely to see Chris Paul pull ahead of a defender, stop on a dime (or sometimes, even back up into the defender) and then hit the deck like he's taking a pro wrestling bump.

A trip to the line is the highest efficiency possession in basketball, and stars are often shameless in their attempts to get there.

But after years of successfully fooling NBA refs, many of Team USA's players are struggling to adjust to the more physical brand of defense played in FIBA tournaments, per Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports. On the other end, they're being called for push-offs that NBA officials rarely call: 

"Throughout the games, multiple players, from Jayson Tatum to Bradley Beal, have been staring down the officials following no-calls as they're accustomed to receiving touch fouls or star-treatment officiating in the NBA. In the first half on Monday, Tatum was called for an offensive foul on a drive when he slightly nudged the defender aside with his right hand to create separation. It was a move that's consistently ignored in the NBA."

That should affect the NBA players on teams from other nations, too. But again, those guys have more international experience. Doncic, for example, was a rotation player for Real Madrid back in 2015-16. Officiating in the EuroLeague and Liga ACB is much closer to what the players will see at the Olympics than it is in the NBA.

Slovenia aside, most of the nations represented in Tokyo will be more accustomed to an egalitarian-like system on offense, too. The unselfishness and ball movement displayed by Nigeria and Australia aren't outliers. And for an American team without many defensive aces, covering those attacks won't be easy. 

Ultimately, Team USA should still have a significant talent advantage over every team it faces in Tokyo, especially when Holiday, Middleton and Booker are added to the fold.

In the past, the Americans could show up, play sort of a pickup style and cruise to the gold. They likely can't anymore. But if they leverage these losses as learning experiences that inspire them to play a more connected brand of basketball on both ends of the floor, they should still finish first.

The door is officially open for the rest of the world, though.