LOS ANGELES -- The ball. That's what Team USA coach Mike Krzyzewski came up as part of a list of things that are going to be challenging for the Americans during this five-game exhibition tour before they head to Rio de Janeiro for the Summer Olympics.
It takes some time to adjust to the Molten basketball, which is used in international competition and is said to be a bit slicker than the Spalding basketballs used in the NBA, Krzyzewski said after his team's 106-57 rout of China Sunday evening in Los Angeles.
Even with superstars like Stephen Curry, Chris Paul, Blake Griffin, James Harden, Russell Westbrook and LeBron James pulling out of consideration for this Olympic team, Team USA is so much better than the teams they'll be playing during these warm-up games, it's hard to assess just where the American team is.