Team USA Basketball Olympics 2016 Schedule: USA to Take on China for First Match; Possible Starting Lineup, Matches and Top Players

By Regin Anthony Salo Olimberio, CP Contributor Friday, July 29, 2016

As the Rio Olympic draws near, so does Team USA basketball squad in its bid to get the gold even with new faces compared to the 2012 team that competed in London. The schedule for coach Mike Krzyzewski's "dream team" is all set at the Barra Carioca Arena as USA faces tough opponents from Group A. The issue remains as to who the starting players will be though apparent that they still have the firepower (thanks to NBA's arsenal) to land the top spot.

Team USA will immediately saw action during five scheduled games in the preliminaries, the first four matches are all set at 6:00 EDT timeframe. First to challenge the NBA-studded squad is China on August 6, then Venezuela two days after. Both China and Venezuela are participants during the basketball friendly games in the pre-Olympic preparation and tasted defeat in the hand of the American team.

Team USA will set foot on the arena the following week, August 10 against Australia and August 12 against the Serbian squad. The only schedule that landed in a different time is a 1:15 p.m. EDT on August 14 against France.

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Olympic basketball event scheduled the quarterfinals in a series of four cross-over matchups from Group A and Group B in August 17. All winners from this round will be crossed again in August 19 for the medal semifinals.

The two losing teams from the semifinals will proceed to compete with each other for bronze on Sunday morning of August 21. The big day for two winners from semifinals will be on the evening of the same day and is automatic to get either silver or gold for the losing and winning team respectively.

The starting lineup for the Olympic squad is another mass appeal "problem" that is circulating around. Although only one thing is clear as of now, the only gaping hole for Team USA is the lack of a real point guard. Kyrie Irving, Kyle Lowry and Jimmy Butler are all capable to handle the ball but the three are dual-position players who also play shooting guard and not "purist" point guards.

Three players play exclusive shooting guard positions to include Klay Thompson, Jimmy Butler and DeMar DeRozan. Kevin Durant, Paul George and Harrison Barnes are all small forwards while Draymond Green and Carmelo Anthony are both power forwards. Team USA doesn't lack a center player with DeMarcus Cousins and DeAndre Jordan from under the basket and Draymond Green can play the role as effectively.

Coach Mike Krzyzewski will more likely go for Irving, Thompson and Durant as starting players taking into account optimal floor-spacing capabilities for the team. It is still unclear, however, if Krzyzewski will choose Greene over three-time Olympic medalist Anthony since the latter has a proven international experience.