Team USA still trying to hit their stride

There’s an important, consistent, and universal truth that must be understood, when it comes to braggadocio on the biggest stages in sports. We all absolutely adore it, until exactly the moment that it becomes a problem.

As Exhibit A, allow me to submit the finest photo of the Olympic games, this side of a demonically possessed Michael Phelps. I am speaking, of course, of Usain Bolt, toying with the finest sprinters the world has to offer, the way a cat might play with a ball of yarn.

Moments after the image was snapped, and all throughout the evening in which he secured his third straight gold medal in the 100 meters, Bolt’s delightfully haughty grin joined Jose Bautista’s bat flip, Allen Iverson’s step-over, and Muhammad Ali’s towering dominance of Liston, in the all-time sports swagger pantheon. On Tuesday, Bolt was back at it, which is to say, he was jogging through the first round of 200 meter qualifying, before explaining that, “it’s the heats, bro” to anyone who would question his fitness for Thursday’s final.

And we eat it up, of course we do, because Bolt has proven, for a decade now, that he is in charge, fully in control, completely aware of exactly how much effort, and energy, he must expend to keep the rest of humanity at bay. Bolt is unimpeachable, because he is unbeatable, and so every half-hearted jog, every 80 percent effort, every smile for the camera in the midst of the biggest competition imaginable, all of it is savored, rather than shunned.

This wouldn’t be the case, of course, if Bolt was to stumble. Just imagine, for instance, if Justin Gatlin could have taken advantage of that haughty grin, closed the gap, and stolen a gold medal. Oh, how the takes would fly. Just picture the headlines. “World’s Saddest Man.” “Caught Looking.” “Dunder-Bolt”

Which brings us to USA Basketball.

The Americans have, indeed, been caught from behind, as you probably remember, with a sixth place finish in the 2002 FIBA World Championships, followed by a mere bronze medal in the 2004 Athens Olympics, all of which sparked angry columns, disillusioned pundits, and a complete and total overhaul in the way the national team was selected, trained, and coached. When Team USA suffers defeat, there are most assuredly consequences. Which is what makes the next few days so fascinating, for fans of international hoops.

In case you haven’t been paying attention thus far, USA Basketball has, repeatedly, been pushed to the very limit in pool play. A 98-88 win over Australia that was competitive throughout. A 94-91 victory over Serbia that was clinched only when Bogdan Bogdanovich missed a potential game-tying three. A 100-97 nailbiter over a feisty French team playing without Tony Parker. What was expected to be a breezy path through a somewhat depleted world field has instead turned into a perilous tightrope walk.

And oh by the way, since it probably bears mentioning; Team USA’s opponent in Wednesday’s Quarterfinal? Why that would be Argentina, the very nation that upset America in the semifinals in 2004, making the whole “Redeem Team” necessary in the first place.

Worried yet? Because it sure sounds like they might be.

“I think to start out, personally, I thought we were going to dominate and these games were going to be easy,” admitted a candid Paul George following the conclusion of pool play. “This isn’t a tournament that we’re going to just dominate. There’s talent around this world and they’re showcasing it.”

“We’ve got to be prepared for whatever,” added Carmelo Anthony, the Team USA stalwart now seeking his third Olympic gold medal. “We come into these games with the same mindset: to dominate. However the game comes out, that’s what we live with and adjust to that.”

“Everyone wants us to win by a lot of points,” explained Kevin Durant, competing in his second Olympics following a free-agency that generated just a wee bit of attention. “But that’s not going to happen this time, so we’ve got to be prepared for a grind-out game and I think we showed the last few games we can grind it out.”

And so, grind it out they shall, because at this point in the proceedings, it is almost certainly too late to do anything else. Much has been made, and written, about the problems plaguing this iteration of Team USA. Offensively, a roster teeming, as one might expect, with ball-dominant scorers has far too frequently fallen into isolation. Defensively, the team has often vacillated between indifference, and sheer confusion. Coaching has been questioned, rotations have been scrutinized, team chemistry has been placed under the microscope.

And yet, the fact remains that in all likelihood, Team USA will still be atop the medal stand, gold around their necks, when the tournament comes to a close on Sunday. Why? Well, because this is still Durant, Carmelo, Kyrie, Draymond, Klay, Paul George, and Boogie… why do you think?!

The reality is that after eight years of international dominance, after once again reasserting itself as the predominant basketball power in the world, after cleaning house, righting the ship, and returning to alpha dog status, the United States is, much like Usain Bolt, a physically superior competitor, capable of victory at far less than peak efficiency, whose only real challenge comes from within. Chances are that Team USA would not be sweating their way through this tournament if LeBron James had made the trip to Rio, if the roster was assembled with more of a defensive focus, or if, (and we’re just spitballing here), the entire group had more than a few weeks to play basketball together. But instead, here we are, the United States struggling to reach full speed, desperately hoping to hold off the rest of the world at the line.

In sports, as in life, history is written by the victors, and so what really makes showboating palatable, to most fans at least, is the ability to reach another gear whenever it’s truly necessary. Usain Bolt is, indeed, permitted to lollygag through his heat races, heck, even through the finals, provided that if and when a challenger were to emerge, he wipes the smile from his face, hits the accelerator, and tightens his grip on history. We may tell ourselves, from time to time, that we cherish hustle, at all times, above all things, but the reality is that we’re more than ok with a little hot-dogging, as long as the triumph is assured in the end. After all, who doesn’t love a little added drama?

Over the course of the next five days, and three games, we’ll find out if Team USA can keep up their end of the bargain. They are rough, they are ragged, and they are very clearly not the well-oiled machine that so many expected to see in Rio. But Klay Thompson is still more than capable of an international heat check, Kevin Durant can drop 30 at a moment’s notice, and for all the imperfections in their game, Carmelo, Cousins, and Kyrie all remain utterly unguardable at the peak of their powers. Perhaps there’s enough talent, enough will, and enough of a heightened sense of danger for USA Basketball to fend off their rivals, and even manage, somewhere along the line, to style for the cameras.

“At the end of the day,” Coach Krzyzewski noted, “No one will ask you anything else except if you won.”

That’s true enough, of course. But he, and the entire team, had better be ready for a whole host of other questions, if they don’t.

It’s all fun and games, until somebody catches you from behind.