Greece vs. United States: From an American viewpoint, it's easy to dismiss the chances of Greece defeating the United States. Unlike Argentina or the former veteran group from Serbia-Montenegro with Vlade Divac and Peja Stojakovic, there is no complement of tested NBA veterans to fear.

Only one player on Greece's roster has ever played in the NBA, and the cameo of Antonis Fotsis (when he was a teenager) did not exactly strike fear into the hearts of NBA players. But the fact that Greece doesn't possess one scoring superstar like a Gasol or Yao Ming means they are much harder to shut down than some of the other international teams here. Greece has eight men who average at least 7.4 points, with no player scoring even 12 points per game.

Every player from Greece knows his role and performs it admirably. Interior scoring might come from center Lazaros Papadopoulos (Dynamo Moscow), huge youngster Sofocles Schortsianitis (Olympiakos) or cagey veteran Michalis Kakiouzis (Winterthur F.C. Barcelona). Fotsis, a more polished player at 25, is one of the best players in Russia playing alongside Papadopoulos for Dynamo Moscow.

KAZUHIRO NOGI / AFP/Getty Images Don't expect Greece to be a pushover against the USA.

But it's in the backcourt where Greece shines brightest. Vasilis Spanoulis, who will play for the Houston Rockets in the fall, is a whirling dervish who loves to drive to the basket and draw fouls on opposing big men. Theodoros Papaloukas has been the go-to guy for CSKA Moscow in the Euroleague Final Four and he has delivered more than not. Dimitris Diamantidis of Panathinaikos is a dangerous 3-point shooter and one of the best defensive guards in the world. Watch for Diamantidis to match up with Dwyane Wade — you might be surprised at the result.

The United States has relied on one big scoring spurt — usually in the second or third quarters — to put away opponents who have done a good job staying within striking distance for 10 or 20 minutes. The chief scorer during most of these red-hot runs has been Carmelo Anthony of the Denver Nuggets, who started horribly against Germany but once again saved his team by coming alive in the third quarter. Anthony (19.6 ppg) and Wade (17.2 ppg) have shouldered the scoring burden in most games, while Elton Brand and Chris Bosh have provided some balance with interior scoring in the last couple of contests.

The United States has talked up its team defense all tournament, and there have been some yeoman efforts shutting down opponents by Shane Battier and LeBron James. However, point guards Chris Paul and Kirk Hinrich have been unable to keep opposing guards from driving to the basket at will, opening up the drive-and-kick game that is the lifeblood of most international team's offensive game plans. That is the weakest chink in the armor of the United States and, frankly, it's an even bigger concern than the spotty 3-point shooting display against Germany. If the United States wants to slip gold around its collective necks on Sunday, it will have to close up the lane and that starts with the point guards.

PICK: United States

GOLD: Argentina.

SILVER: United States.

BRONZE: Spain.

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