Team USA put together another unimpressive performance in an Olympic exhibition, beating Argentina 86-80. On the heels of an at-times unimpressive victory over Brazil – after trailing by 10 in the first half – there’s mild cause for concern about the USA bringing home the Gold next month in England. Argentina cut the US lead to four in the 4th quarter, and afterward, Andres Nocioni had this to say about the Americans:

“The U.S. team will have to work very hard for the gold medal and I’m not so sure they will get it.”

He’s right, of course. Initially, the concern were interior size, but the more I watch this team, I wonder if we’re going to see every one of their opponents focus on another area: Physical play. Specifically, NBA players (such as Anderson Varejao and Luis Scola) getting chippy (on purpose?) with Americans. Brazil and Argentina both got physical with the Americans, either in an attempt to show their non-NBA teammates there’s no reason to fear Team USA, or to make them think twice about attacking the basket. The 1992 Dream Team never had to deal with that crap.

The physical play appears to have had an impact on the Americans – they’ve settled for more 3-pointers (13-of-34 against Argentina; Kevin Durant was 7-of-11). And when they get to the foul line, they’re not getting the job done: (15-for-26 vs. Argentina, 16-of-23 vs. Brazil). Again, these games are only exhibitions. But Spain, which has the Gasol brothers plus Serge Ibaka is significantly better than Brazil and Argentina. (It really is too bad Ricky Rubio won’t play.)

Obviously, Team USA is the team to beat in England. No other team in the field has a player like LeBron who can absolutely take over offensively (30 points vs. Brazil). If you had to pick the best shooter in the Olympics, good luck finding someone better than Kevin Durant. Worst case scenario: Durant is off against Spain, LeBron doesn’t attack the basket easily against the Gasols and Ibaka, and Spain controls tempo, keeping the score in the 60s. [Basquet Plus via Hoops Hype]