By Eduardo Maisonet, III / @edthesportsfan

For FOX Deportes

It’s an analogy I’ve heard pundits and prognosticators lean on all the time when analyzing a team’s chances in an upcoming game…

“If (insert favored team here) players their ‘A-Game’ then they’re sure to win.”

Other than being a lazy analysis, its also problematic to thoroughly comprehend what in the heck exactly is someone’s A-Game. It reminds me of when Bobby Knight used to talk about showing a “gameface” then making funny contortions of his face. Cracks me up every time.

You know what didn’t crack me up? USA’s offensive explosion on Nigeria, as their 156-73 victory was as preposterous as the final tally looks. Here’s “The Five” from Thursday’s trouncing.

1. That Might Be The Greatest Shooting Performance From A Team Ever: Sometimes there’s nothing that needs to be said. This is one of those times. I’ll just let the stats tell the story.

Team USA’s field goal shooting: 59-83 (71.1%)

Team USA’s three-point shooting: 29-46 (63.0%)

Team USA’s free-throw shooting: 9-14 (64.3%)

Only 9-14 free-throwing shooting? That’s just unacceptable USA. *kicks an empty soda can in anger*

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By Eduardo Maisonet, III / @edthesportsfan

For FOX Deportes

Its funny how you can win by 47 points and still have people say that you “struggled” in a basketball game. Such is like for Team USA, as the 54-point favorites over Tunisia missed the mark by 7 on Tuesday in their 110-63 victory. Team USA was ahead with a shocking 46-33 advantage before the floodgates opened it up in the second half. The second unit turned it on with a 21-3 run and the nail was officially in the coffin.

So much so that the Tunisian players plotted on getting their shoes autographed by Kobe Bryant, and were successful.

Carmelo Anthony and Kevin Love led the Americans with 16 points apiece, and the team will have an impromptu day of rest before taking on Nigeria on Thursday. Here are some quotes from the players and coaches involved in Tuesday’s Pool A contest at the 2012 Olympics in London.

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By Eduardo Maisonet, III / @edthesportsfan

For FOX Deportes

That was fun, wasn’t it?

The USA Basketball team finally got the first one out the way, as a France team with six current NBA players were no match for Coach Mike Krzyzewski’s 12-man unit. The 98-71 victory in London was the first of five games for Team USA as their play in Pool A started on Sunday.

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By Eduardo Maisonet, III / @edthesportsfan

For FOX Deportes

1. USA Defeats Argentina 86-80: In a game where USA went on extreme runs of hot and cold, the Americans were able to fend off the Argentinians for a 6-point victory in Barcelona. Led by Kevin Durant’s 28 points, USA seemed to live behind the shortened three-point line, and KD kept filling it up from range. Kobe Bryant chipped in 18 and LeBron James put up another 15 points to carry Coach Mike Krzyzewski’s squad.

Argentina’s 3 biggest NBA stars also did well in pacing the attack, as Manu Ginobili was the team’s scoring leader with 23 points. Carlos Delfino and Luis Scola put in 15 and 14, respectively.

2. Argentina Wasn’t Concerned About Winning, I Think: There was still time for Argentina to win at the end of the game, as they were only down 6 with 35 seconds left and they ran a half-court set play and drained the majority of the shot clock. It was weird. Of course, it was an exhibition, so maybe Argentina wasn’t really interested in winning the game. Which is something totally Un-American.

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By Jose M. Romero / @RomeroJoseM

For FOX Deportes

One thing USA Olympic men’s basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski would like to see from his team going into the London Games is defensive intensity. He broke it down with the points Brazil scored in four quarters against the Americans.

“If this team doesn’t have that, we’re going to get scored on,” Coach K said. “Twenty-seven points in 10 minutes and 42 in 30, it’s a huge difference.”

The squad of NBA stars went from out of sync in the first quarter to forcing turnover after turnover throughout the rest of the game. The USA won 80-69.

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