Larry Brown convinced the WORLD CHAMPION PISTONS that in order to win, defense is VERY important. Apparently, the current "dream team" could not quite grasp that concept. I think this team has the necessary talent to win, even without the babies who did not want to go, but perhaps the hardest part of the winning mind-set is motivation, and not all of the current olympic team members seemed motivated, ala Ben Wallace, Chauncy Billups,Richard Hamilton etc. This was evident during their first loss, and throughout this fubar'd fiasco thus far. Also, as pointed out by the announcers, the other countries have figured out how to defend against American teams, which was formerly unheard of, which is why it USED to be a cakewalk for USA to beat the crap out of almost all of its opponents. Add to this the experience many other countries have gained(remember, basketball was not a big deal to many countries) until the past 3-4 olympics, and it demonstrates how popular the sport has become to them since.
Besides, if the USA is going to sit there and cry about the guys who didn't show up, they may as well not even play...just throw in the towel, sight see, take the free condoms and go party!
Just one guy's opinion.