Head coach Sergio Scariolo led Spain to a silver medal in the London Olympics. (GETTY IMAGES)

The U.S.-Spain titanic showdown in the gold-medal game lived up to all the hype. The game hung in the balance until the final quarter when Chris Paul, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant, and LeBron James made crucial baskets to give the U.S. enough separation from a very game Spanish squad led by Pau Gasol, Marc Gasol, and Juan Carlos Navarro.

The United States held off Spain, 107-100, to win its fifth gold medal in men’s basketball in the last six Olympics.

Even though the U.S. was the better team and certainly deserved to be crowned Olympic champions, Spain has to feel incredibly disappointed in the outcome because it pushed Team USA to the limit only to watch the game slip away thanks to few curious decisions by Spanish head coach Sergio Scariolo.

With about six minutes left to play in the first half, Spain center Marc Gasol picked up his third foul. That usually leads to a quick substitution, but Scariolo inexplicably left Gasol on the court for another two minutes and the 7-footer — who plays for the Memphis Grizzlies — picked up his fourth foul while trying to grab a rebound. The game was close and there was no need for Gasol to be in the game. That mistake proved costly because Gasol was forced to sit the entire third quarter, in which the U.S. surged ahead and built a small lead, and did not check in until early in the fourth quarter.

Another questionable move came late in the fourth when Scariolo junked Spain’s 2-3 zone defense in favor of a box-and-one gimmick to try to slow down Kevin Durant. The move is not out of the ordinary, but Pau Gasol said Spain had never practiced that type of defense.

The confusion caused a breakdown on the back end, including a play when two Spanish players stuck with Durant and left LeBron with a wide open lane for an easy dunk.

Despite all of Scariolo’s questionable decisions, the Spaniards still had a chance to win the gold medal and it took some clutch baskets by Chris Paul and LeBron James to avert one of the biggest upsets on Olympic history.

Paul scored seven of his 11 points in the final quarter, including a tough scoop shot with 50 seconds left that even got Coach K off his chair. Paul’s layup gave the U.S. a 104-93 lead, and the 11-point cushion proved to be too much of a deficit for Spain, which has now lost to the U.S. in back-to-back gold-medal games in the Olympics.

Durant had a spectacular game for the U.S., leading all scorers with 30 points. His 156 total points in the tournament set a new Olympic record, moving ahead of American Olympic stars Spencer Haywood (1968), Charles Barkley (1992), and Michael Jordan (1984).

Durant was so good in the gold-medal game Spain paid him the ultimate compliment by junking their normal 2-3 zone defense and switching to a box-and-one scheme in the fourth quarter to try to cool down the Oklahoma City Thunder star, who had 27 points through three quarters.

But Durant also got plenty of help from LeBron (19 points) and Kobe (17 points). Kobe saved his best games in the knockout round while LeBron capped off a sensational summer by becoming the second player to win NBA regular-season MVP, NBA Finals MVP, NBA title and Olympic title in the same year, joining Jordan.

France’s Nicolas Batum lost his cool against Spain in the quarterfinals of men’s basketball at the London Olympics. (GETTY IMAGES)

For a country known for being good lovers instead of good fighters, France unleashed its dark side and took it out on Spain.

Nicolas Batum and Ronny Turiaf, two players who don’t have thuggish reputations in the NBA, lost their cool at the end of a heated quarterfinal men’s basketball game at the London Olympics won by Spain, 66-59.

The shenanigans started with 24 seconds left when Turiaf shoved Rudy Fernandez at midcourt. It was a hard foul, but because Fernandez definitely embellished the contact — as he is known to do in his career — the Spaniards thought an unsportsmanlike personal foul should have been called on Turiaf.

On the next in-bounds play, Batum gave the Spaniards something to really cry about as he took a swing at Juan Carlos Navarro and his schoolyard-like wild right punch landed on Navarro’s groin. Apparently, groin shots are becoming real popular in London (see Carmelo Anthony and Argentina).

Afterwards, Batum told Yahoo! Sports writer Adrian Wojnarowski he wanted to give Navarro “a good reason to flop.” The Spaniards’ dubious reputation for flopping has irked the Portland Trail Blazers forward and his French teammates.

Batum’s low blow capped off a very frustrating game for France. It led for much of the ballgame, but struggled to find the basket in the fourth quarter. Batum made a running shot with 6:50 left in the fourth to give France a 57-54 lead. That was France’s last field goal until Mickael Gelabale broke the 6:45 scoring drought with five seconds left in the game.

Pau Gasol ignited the 12-2 fourth-quarter run for the Spaniards when he rejected Nando Di Cola’s layup and that defensive play led to a dunk by Sergio Llull to give Spain the lead for good at 58-57. Spain’s defense was superb in the fourth quarter, holding France to just six points in the quarter and forcing 11 straight misses in the last six minutes. In one key possession, Tony Parker had his jump shot blocked by Fernandez and then Ronny Turiaf’s follow-up under the rim was stuffed by Pau. A great defensive stand by a team not known for lockdown defense.

Spain stretched the lead to 62-57 with 45 seconds left when Pau found his younger brother, Marc, under the basket for a layup that essentially cinched the victory and a trip to the semifinals. The Gasol brothers combined for 24 points and 19 rebounds. Parker led France with 15 points.

Carmelo Anthony made 10 of his 12 3-point shots against Nigeria. (FIBA)

The most impressive part about the United States’ 156-73 destruction of Nigeria in the preliminary round of the men’s basketball tournament at the 2012 London Olympics was Carmelo Anthony’s 37 points in 14 minutes.

Think about it. Melo made13 of 16 shots from the field and was 10-for-12 from behind the 3-pointer arc (a couple of feet shorter than the NBA line). He did all that in 14 minutes! That’s not even a complete half of basketball. Had Anthony played another 14 minutes he could have easily reached 60 points, which would have broken Oscar Schmidt’s single-game mark of 55 points.

Anthony set the U.S. Olympic mark for points in a game in less than three quarters, breaking Stephon Marbury’s old record of 31 points set in the 2004 Athens Olympics. The U.S. also set the Olympic record for points in a game and points in a half (78), as well as most 3-pointers (26), field goals (59) and best field-goal percentage (71).

“Well, obviously, we just shot better than any team in a game that I have ever coached,” said USA head coach Mike Krzyzewski. “Our guys just couldn’t miss tonight, and they shared the ball.”

The U.S. had a record-tying 41 assists, including 11 assists from Chris Paul (Los Angeles Clippers). Russell Westbrook (Oklahoma City Thunder) scored 21 points, Kobe Bryant (Los Angeles Lakers), who played in the first half only, had 16, Kevin Love (Minnesota Timberwolves) had 15; Kevin Durant (Oklahoma City Thunder) finished with 14; and Deron Williams (Brooklyn Nets) had 13 points and was 3-for-3 from 3-point range.

“Well, the support system that we had, that I had with my teammates, you can’t explain that,” Anthony said. “The way that they tell me to shoot the ball, encouraging me to make shots, take shots, but then just to feel it every time, that touch, it’s kind of hard to explain it. If you’ve never done it, you really wouldn’t understand what I’m talking about just in terms of shooting the ball and shooting it well.”

The USA opened with a 13-0 run and had nearly set the record for team 3-pointers made in the first 10 minutes, shooting 11-of-14 from behind the arc in the first quarter – four of those came from Anthony, and three were by Durant. Nigeria tried to slow the pace with timeouts at 7:16 and 2:06, but its efforts were in vain as the first-quarter buzzer sounded on the USA’s highest scoring quarter of the tournament, 49-25.

“It’s funny to see, man, Durant said. “What Carmelo did was unbelievable. Hopefully we keep it up. We passed the ball well, our guys were knocking down our shots, our point guards made sure we got open shots and we were able to knock them down. So, it was a fun game.”

The previous U.S. Olympic high had been 133 points set by the 1996 squad against China, and the previous all-time Olympic high was 138 points, which was recorded by Brazil in a win over Egypt in 1988.

“It’ll go down in history,” said Andre Iguodala, whose 3-pointer with less than five minutes to play in the fourth quarter broke the scoring record. “It only matters if we achieve our goals. We’re trying to get better as a team going forward. That’s three games down and a few more to go. Our mission is to get the gold and we’re trying to peak at the right time.”

FIBA.com and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Russian players react after beating Brazil, 75-74, in Olympic competition. (NBC)

Russia and Brazil offered the best game of the 2012 London Olympics so far. Most of the preliminary basketball games have been blowouts, but not this one. From start to finish, the game went back-and-forth and you’ll never see a better final minute of action in any Olympics hoops game.

It started with a turnover by Brazilian point guard Marcelo Huertas that gave the ball back to Russia with 44 seconds left and down by three. Russia guard Alexey Shved, who will play for the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2012-13, tied the game at 72 with a clutch 3-pointer from the wing.

After a timeout, Huertas atoned for his earlier mistake and put Brazil ahead 74-72 with six seconds left on a clever off-balance scoop shot off a screen from Nene, the starting center for the Washington Wizards.

Russia coach David Blatt, who is an American-Israeli, drew up a beautiful sideline play that set up the game-winner. Shved inbounded the ball to a cutting Vitaly Fridzon, who was able to launch a 3-pointer despite being knocked off balance by Brazilian guard Leandro Barbosa.

Barbosa, who played for the Toronto Raptors last season, may have been trying to foul Fridzon before the shot, but the Russian foiled that plan and buried the dagger 3-pointer despite having his feet taken out by a diving Barbosa. Fridzon gave Russia a 75-74 lead with four seconds left. Brazil had one last desperation heave at the buzzer, but Barbosa’s shot hit the backboard and never had a chance of going in. Russia survives and stays undefeated with a one-point victory.

Andrei Kirilenko, who signed with the Minnesota Timberwolves, led Russia with 19 points. Tim Mozgov (Denver Nuggets) had 18 and Shved finished with 17. Barbosa led Brazil with 16 points.

LeBron James dunks on Tunisian forward Mohamed Hadidane during a preliminary round basketball game at the London Olympics (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

The United States men’s basketball team took the night off against Tunisia yet the Americans still won by a whopping 47 points. The 110-63 final score masked Team USA’s slow start, leading by just 13 points at halftime despite having a distinct advantage in size, speed, quickness, skill, and anything you can think of.

The game didn’t become a complete rout until the third quarter when a lineup of Deron Williams, Russell Westbrook, Andre Iguodala, Carmelo Anthony, and Kevin Love took control and powered Team USA to a 39-14 edge in the third quarter against the overwhelmed Tunisians. Love and Anthony led the U.S. with 16 points each. Davis was five-for-five from the field (all dunks) and finished with 12 points, while Westbrook netted 11 points. Kevin Durant was the only starter in double figures, as he finished with 13 points.

The game turned into a dunk contest as Westbrook, Iguodala, Anthony Davis, and LeBron James took turns throwing down some serious slams. LeBron’s dunk in the first half over Tunisian forward Mohamed Hadidane was easily the best of all of them, as he cocked his right hand on a break and rattled the rim with a Jordanesque pose. In case you were too busy watching the tape-delayed swimming and gymnastics events on NBC, LeBron’s highlight-reel dunk was one his finest as well as one of him most powerful dunks. I had the video up on YouTube, but NBC and IOC have blocked it. Sorry.

China’s Yi Jianlian throws down a monster dunk against Spain. (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

Yi Jianlian seems to play his best whenever he wears the Chinese national team jersey. He proved it again in the first day of men’s basketball competition at the London Olympics when he scored a game-high 30 points against Spain.

China hung tough against the second-best team in the world, according to the FIBA rankings, but the Spaniards — led by Pau Gasol’s 21 points and 11 rebounds — eventually imposed their power and strength in the game and coasted to a 97-81 victory. Juan Carlos Navarro, who once played for the Memphis Grizzlies, netted 14 points for Spain and Toronto Raptors guard Jose Calderon had 12.

Yi unleashed his full arsenal against the silver medalists from the Beijing Games, scoring on face-up jumpers, dribble drives, and put-backs. But his most impressive play came on a blow-by dunk against Spain center Marc Gasol. Yi got Gasol on a pump fake on the wing and then threw down a monster dunk that drew a billion cheers from China.

Since the retirement of Yao Ming, Yi has now become the unofficial face of China basketball. But the 24-year-old forward doesn’t seem to embrace that title as well, and as seriously, as Yao did. Yi remains an enigma because he has all the tools to be a star player in the NBA, but doesn’t seem to dedicate himself to be a big-time player. He has played for four NBA teams in five seasons and has a career scoring average of just 7.9. For a guy who is blessed with great athletic ability for a 7-footer, that is a mind-boggling statistic.

He was drafted by the Milwaukee Bucks in 2007, but averaged just 8.6 points his rookie season. He was traded to the New Jersey Nets the following season and enjoyed his best season as a pro in 2009-10 when he averaged 12 points and 7.2 rebounds in 52 games. In his last two seasons, Yi’s numbers and minutes have decreased significantly. He averaged just 5.6 points for the Washington Wizards in 2010-11 and a measly 2.6 points for the Dallas Mavericks in 2011-12.

Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle was on hand to watch Yi drop 30 points on Spain in China’s Olympics opener, so the potential is there. Maybe Carlisle needs to have Yi wear the Chinese colors under the Mavs’ jersey to get him going.

Kobe Bryant averaged 15 points per game in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

The world may have gained ground on the United States in terms of basketball skill and talent, but the U.S. still has the perfect weapon against international competition: Kobe Bryant.

When the 2012 Summer Games kick off in London, the Americans will be favored to win the men’s basketball competition but they’ll get tested by international powers such as Spain (ranked No. 2 by FIBA), Russia (3), Argentina (4), Lithuania (6), Brazil (7),  and France (8).

Spain is led by the Gasol brothers (Pau and Marc), Russia has Andre Kirilenko and Tim Mozgov, Brazil boasts Leandro Barbosa, Nene and Anderson Varejao, and France is powered by Spurs star Tony Parker. Manu Ginobili and Luis Scola are the top guns for Argentina, the 2004 Olympic gold medalists, while Lithuania features Raptors rookie Jonas Valanciunas and Linas Kleiza.

“It’s a big challenge for us. The rest of the world kinda feels like the gap is continuing to shorten and they feel like they can beat us,” Bryant said. “We’re a fun bunch, joking around and laughing. But we know what’s at stake and we know what we’re representing. Come Olympic time we’re going to be ready to go and going to bring back the medal to the U.S.”

Because the U.S. is not familiar with a lot of the teams they’ll face in London, Bryant believes paying extra attention to detail is very critical to the team’s approach each and every game.

“In the NBA we do a great amount of preparation,” Bryant said. “Against these teams we have to do that even more because we don’t know most of their guys.

“We really have to do our homework and get to know their tendencies.”

Bryant’s supreme confidence was so contagious around the U.S. Olympic team in Beijing he almost single-handedly made everyone forget about the catastrophic loss to Greece in the 2006 World Championship (now renamed the World Cup of Basketball).

When the 2008 Olympic team — which included LeBron James, Chris Paul, Carmelo Anthony, Dwight Howard, Chris Bosh, Deron Williams, and Dwyane Wade — got pushed to the limit by Spain in the gold medal game it was Bryant who pushed right back and carried the U.S. to the finish line.

“He’s the ultimate competitor,” USA Basketball head coach Mike Krzyzewski said of Bryant, who averaged 15 points in the Beijing Olympics. “He’ll do anything to help the team win. And in pressure moments there’s no one any better. He wants the ball or he wants to guard the ball. He was born to be in those moments, and he’s prepared himself for those moments.”

Kobe is one of the few NBA players whose game adapts seamlessly to the FIBA level. Having grown up in Italy, there’s a lot of European influence in Bryant’s game and he can play any style: inside, outside, 3-point shots, dribble drives. He also doesn’t shy away from physical play, which is a big adjustment for NBA players because of the inconsistency in officiating and the amount of contact that is allowed in FIBA tournaments.

At 33, this is most likely Bryant’s last Olympic experience. He would love to add another gold medal to go along with his five NBA championship rings. Like he previously stated, the U.S. will be challenged in London, but as long as the Black Mamba is on his game Team USA is in good hands.

First Lady Michelle Obama and President Barack Obama attend the U.S.-Brazil exhibition game at the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C. (REUTERS)

The U.S. men’s basketball team looked a little bit out of sync in its Olympic tuneup Monday night against Brazil in Washington, D.C., and with good reason.

The Brazilians certainly had a hand in forcing Team USA out of its comfort zone, but the more likely excuse was the added pressure of having to perform in front of the 44th President of the United States.

President Barack Obama, as well as First Lady Michelle Obama and Vice President Joe Biden, were among the sellout crowd at the Verizon Center to watch Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Kevin Durant, and the rest of the American squad that will represent the United States in the 2012 Summer Games in London.

When the president walked over to his courtside seat prior to tipoff, all eyes in the arena were fixated on the jumbotron. Durant, who grew up in the D.C. area, couldn’t help notice the presence of the leader of the free world in the arena, as did teammates Russell Westbrook, Kevin Love, Tyson Chandler, Chris Paul, LeBron, Kobe, Deron Williams, Chris Paul, James Harden, Andre Iguodala, Carmelo Anthony, and Anthony Davis.

“You have dreams about being in the NBA. You have dreams about making the game-winning shot at the buzzer. You never have dreams about having the president actually watching you play, because you don’t think it’s possible,” LeBron told The Associated Press.

“It’s definitely humbling, to see him here, the first lady and their kids here to watch us play. Really, it’s amazing.”

The added distraction may have contributed to the team’s slow start, as Brazil jumped to a 27-17 lead in the first quarter. The Americans erased any upset bids in the second quarter when they turned it up defensively and held Brazil to just five points in the second quarter. The U.S. took a 32-32 lead into halftime.

“Between Nene, Varejao, and Barbosa, they have a good team. It took a while for our guys to kind of get in a rhythm,” Obama told ESPN’s Mark Jones. “We’re so much deeper that you get a sense they’ll wear them down. I don’t think it’ll be close in the second half.”

Well, Obama’s second-half prediction didn’t quite happen as the Brazilians kept the game close and didn’t allow the Americans to run them out of the gym. The U.S. eventually pulled out an 80-69 victory thanks to LeBron’s game-high 30 points (including 14 in the fourth quarter). It was a far more difficult challenge than the 113-59 blowout win against the Dominican Republic in Las Vegas on July 12.

Despite the disjointed performance against Brazil, President Obama is confident LeBron and Co. will right the ship once the Olympics start on July 27.

“Coach K is one of the greatest coaches of all time. He knows how to bring folks together and think like a team. And obviously the talent that we have at this point is unbelievable. There’s no reason we shouldn’t bring home the gold,” Obama said.

“One thing I’m happy about is how hard everybody is playing,” Obama continued. “You really get a sense on how proud they are to represent the United States, and I think they’ll conduct themselves really well in London.”

As for the 1992 Olympic team vs. 2012 Olympic team debate, add President Obama to the list of people who disagree with Kobe’s recent boast that this year’s USA team could beat the Dream Team, led by Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, and Charles Barkley.

“I was around in ’92. I was a Bulls fan so I gotta go with the original Dream Team,” Obama said. “And I suspect that Michael [Jordan] and Sir Charles [Barkley] would point out that they were never down at any point of their games.”

Obama added, “You know, Kobe’s a competitor, so you expect him to do a little trash talking whenever the opportunity arises.”

LeBron James is one of five holdovers from the U.S. national squad that won gold in Beijing. (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

LeBron James looks around the room at the Wynn Hotel in Las Vegas where USA Basketball is holding its Olympics press conference and he likes what he sees.

It doesn’t matter that his Miami Heat buddies Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh are not a part of the 2012 U.S. Olympic team because of injuries, and it doesn’t matter that Dwight Howard and Derrick Rose are not here. The 12 men set to defend the gold medal in London this month are fast, athletic, versatile, and supremely confident.

Joining LeBron on Team USA are five holdovers from the Redeem Team that won gold in Beijing: Kobe Bryant, Chris Paul, Carmelo Anthony, and Deron Williams. The Beijing Five will be the foundation of a squad that also boasts Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, Kevin Love, Andre Iguodala, and Tyson Chandler — members of the 2010 U.S. squad that won the gold medal at the world championships in Turkey. Rounding out the 12-man roster are two newcomers: James Harden and Blake Griffin.

“We’re happy to be back together. We’ll continue to work toward our goal to bring home a gold medal. But we’re not gonna take the easy way out,” James said. “We’ll work hard every single day, build our habits throughout this trip and when we get to London we’re going to prepare the right way and play the right way.”

The U.S. squad kicks off its exhibition tour with a game against the Dominican Republic on July 13 at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas. It plays four more exhibition games before heading to London. The U.S. opens Olympic competition on July 29 against France, which is led by Tony Parker, Boris Diaw and Nicolas Batum.

Based on official NBA positions, Chandler is the only true center in the lineup but head coach Mike Krzyzewski doesn’t think it’ll be a disadvantage.

“I’m excited about our opportunity to achieve great success,” Krzyzewski said. “This team has great versatility and athleticism, but I think even more than that the team has great camaraderie. They’re good guys. They’re good guys who are proud to serve their country and play for their country, and hopefully bring back the gold.”

Krzyzewski says Paul (point guard) and Chandler (center) are the only two players on the roster who have set positions. The rest of the group will be asked to play multiple positions and he expects to use a variety of unconventional lineups.

“The lineups that we will have during the ballgame will be real interesting,” Krzyzewski said. “You can have a lineup in there even LeBron James as the point guard, with Kobe and Westbrook and Carmelo and Durant. Whatever you can think about could happen with this team.”

This “small ball” concept is nothing new to Coach K and Co. He used Anthony and James at the power forward spot in Beijing, and he had Durant playing the big forward spot almost exclusively at the 2010 world championships.

The “smaller” lineup could also benefit Team USA on the defensive end, as they can apply more fullcourt pressure and force teams into turnovers that could lead to fastbreak points and easy layups. About the only concern with the unconventional lineups is the rebounding, but Coach K is hoping crashing the boards will be done by committee.

“The rebounding we’ll have to get from all five positions,” Krzyzewski said.

“We have a roster with great rebounders. We can all rebound the ball,” Bryant said. “Chris is a phenomenal rebounder, I can rebound, LeBron can rebound. Kevin Love is the best in the league. So we have guys who can crash the boards.”

Kobe Bryant and LeBron James aim for gold in the Summer Olympics in London. (GETTY IMAGES)

No Derrick Rose. No Dwight Howard. No Dwyane Wade. No Chris Bosh.

Is USA Basketball in trouble? Hardly.

The talent pool is still very deep and whomever the U.S. sends to London they will be heavily favored to win an Olympic gold medal. The team convenes in Las Vegas on July 5 to start training camp, then has five exhibitions with international teams before opening Olympic play against France on July 29. Team USA head coach Mike Krzyzewski won’t be doing any intense MMA exercise programs in Las Vegas to keep the squad fresh and injury-free after a grueling NBA schedule.

“I feel very confident about our roster going forward. … Adversity gives people opportunity and guess what? It’s going to open up a couple of roster positions,” USA Basketball managing director Jerry Colangelo said.

USA Basketball plans to announce the 12-man Olympic roster on July 7. NBA TV will air the announcement live.

The 16 finalists contending for 12 roster spots include: Carmelo Anthony (New York Knicks); Kobe Bryant (Los Angeles Lakers); Tyson Chandler (New York Knicks); Anthony Davis (New Orleans Hornets); Kevin Durant (Oklahoma City Thunder); Rudy Gay (Memphis Grizzlies); Eric Gordon (New Orleans Hornets); Blake Griffin (Los Angeles Clippers); James Harden (Oklahoma City Thunder); Andre Iguodala (Philadelphia 76ers); LeBron James (Miami Heat); Kevin Love (Minnesota Timberwolves); Lamar Odom (Los Angeles Clippers); Chris Paul (Los Angeles Clippers); Russell Westbrook (Oklahoma City Thunder); and Deron Williams (Brooklyn Nets).

Anthony, Bryant, James, Paul, and Williams are holdovers from the 2008 Beijing Games so they should be locks to make the squad. Durant, Westbrook, and Love were key members of the 2010 U.S. squad that won gold at the world championships so there is a very good chance they’ll be on their way to London. And with Bosh and Howard out, Chandler is the only true center on the team.

Former Kentucky star Anthony Davis, the No. 1 overall selection in the 2012 NBA draft by the New Orleans Hornets, was among the finalists until Saturday when he severely sprained his ankle during a workout with his new team. The Hornets almost assuredly will advise the 6-foot-10 Davis to not participate in the selection process, knocking another big man out of the mix.

That leaves Gordon, Gay, Iguodala, Harden, Odom, and Griffin to battle for the last three spots.

Iguodala, Gay, Odom, and Gordon were on the 2010 U.S. squad that captured the gold medal at the World Championships in Turkey. Gay can play either forward position, which will come in handy because of the lack of big men on the roster. Iguodala is a defensive specialist who doesn’t need to dominate the ball to be effective. It will be very difficult for the coaching staff to leave him out.

Gordon impressed the coaching staff with his physical toughness and ability to consistently knock down 3-point shots. Gordon is built like a running back and can handle the physicality of international play. But Gordon doesn’t defend as well as Iguodala, and because the roster is already loaded with scorers, a specialist or glue guy who can guard multiple positions could be more important than adding a player who can only play shooting guard.

Griffin is new to the international scene, but he is a huge fan favorite. If this was an all-star competition, Griffin would be a lock. His lack of experience (and lack of a jump shot) is a big red flag, but there is going to be a tidal wave of pressure from fans and team officials to put Griffin on the squad strictly from a public relations standpoint.

The same can’t be said about Harden. The Oklahoma City guard is also new to the process, and could be an important player in the future. But he may have to wait his turn.

Odom has plenty of international experience and a reality show to boot. But he recently took his name out of contention for obvious reasons: he’s not ready to play.

Here’s how the 12-man roster should look like when Team USA convenes in London:

Guards: Chris Paul, Kobe Bryant, Deron Williams, Russell Westbrook, Eric Gordon

Forwards: LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Carmelo Anthony, Blake Griffin, Rudy Gay, Kevin Love

Center: Tyson Chandler

Joel Huerto is the editor and publisher of OneManFastBreak.net. Follow him on Twitter @onemanfastbreak.