Larry Brown let his team rest Tuesday as it prepared for the quarterfinals. With undefeated Spain up next, the Americans might need the time off.
They became the first U.S. men's basketball team to finish anywhere other than first place in the opening round of an Olympics. It won't get any easier against the Spaniards on Thursday.
Spain is the best team Brown has seen. (Pau) Gasol is as good of a player as there is in the tournament, but they're a veteran team, they're a team that beat the United States at home in Indianapolis at the 2002 World Championships.
The difference between winning and losing will be huge.
A victory would put the United States in the semifinals against Greece or Argentina; a loss would drop it into a game for seventh place against the loser of the Lithuania-China.
And no, they don't give medals for seventh place.
The other quarterfinal pits Italy against Puerto Rico. The semifinals are Friday and the gold-medal game is Saturday, meaning the team that stands atop the medal podium in the wee hours Sunday morning will have defeated three tough teams in three days.
More to follow after the huge game. The United States needs the big W!!
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