Team USA exhibition game will set tone for Olympics

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Good luck convincing U.S. Olympic men’s basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski that tonight’s game against the Dominican Republic at the Thomas & Mack Center is a meaningless exhibition.

Krzyzewski has a lot of issues to deal with and some hard decisions to make between now and July 29, when the Americans face France in their first preliminary-round game in London.

Krzyzewski is trying to figure out a rotation. He’s looking at where he can get individual matchups that he can exploit. He wants to determine which defenses best suit this particular group of players.

More important, Krzyzewski is trying to get his point guard situation settled. With Chris Paul’s sprained right thumb and Deron Williams’ strained right calf limiting their availability, this week’s Las Vegas training camp hasn’t gone as smoothly as the U.S. Olympic team hierarchy had hoped.

Paul is likely to be held out of tonight’s game, even though he said Wednesday he wants to play. Williams, who went full-speed for the first time in Wednesday’s final practice at UNLV’s Mendenhall Center, probably will start.

“We need to get our point guards healthy,” Krzyzewski said. “But the most important thing for us with this game is the development of roles. With Deron Williams playing, we actually will have a point guard running the team, and hopefully we can then establish some other roles a little bit better.”

USA Basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo said the team is running behind in preparations for London.

“We’re not where we want to be,” Colangelo said. “Between the injuries, the short amount of time we’ve had to put this team together, the distractions of (NBA) free agency, it has been frustrating.

“But it’s important, starting (today), to make some real progress every day, which is why the game is so important. We need a strong showing.”

The sellout crowd at the Thomas & Mack, along with the national TV audience watching on ESPN at 6 p.m., will see a little bit of everything.

“We’re looking to see who fits in with who,” Krzyzewski said. “We’ll do a lot of mixing and matching, while at the same time try to get a sense of who we are and what our identity is going to be.”

From the players’ perspective, tonight is about setting the tone for London.

“This is a statement game for us,” said forward Carmelo Anthony, headed to his third Olympics. “We need to put a little fear into the other teams we’re going to see in London.”

Guard Russell Westbrook, who figures to log major minutes tonight with Paul likely out, said: “I expect us to come out and play hard. Whatever they need me to do, I’m ready.”

The U.S. team will face a Dominican Republic squad that figures to be emotionally deflated after just missing out on qualifying for the Olympics. The Dominicans, who are coached by Kentucky’s John Calipari and have NBA veterans Al Horford and Francisco Garcia on their roster, were eliminated by Nigeria for the final spot Sunday.

Had they qualified, it would have added a little extra sizzle to the game. But the reality is everyone’s focus is on the U.S. team.

“This is all about us taking care of our business,” Anthony said. “It starts with this game.”

■ NOTES – The U.S. team will wear white uniforms tonight after fans were allowed to choose the color in an online promotion. … After the game, the team heads to Washington, D.C., for two days of practice, followed by an exhibition game against Brazil on Monday at the Verizon Center.

Contact reporter Steve Carp at scarp@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2913. Follow him on Twitter: @stevecarprj.