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It's easy to take the fact that Kobe Bryant has done everything he has over the last 6 months with a torn ligament on his right pinkie. He's not wearing a significant brace, he doesn't clutch it in pain, he's not talking about it in interviews.

But with his performance in the Olympics being described somewhere between "disappointing" and "borderline-sucking," you have to wonder if that injury is starting to finally catch up with him. Bryant's started to improve over the last couple of games, but his shot still doesn't look s silky smooth as it has. To be fair, Kobe's still shooting 42% and averaging 12.5 points per game. But even the staunchest Kobe supporters will admit that he hasn't looked like the Mamba we're used to seeing, even if he's more than made up for it with leadership and defense.

Bryant had several weeks for the finger to stiffen when he was in-between the Finals and Team USA practice. He's played more basketball than anyone in the last year, and the injury's required surgery from the get-go. That Bryant has continued to play is a testament to his commitment both to the Lakers and Team USA, but considering the marked differential in his play, it's at least reasonable to wonder if the pinkie is causing an issue, rather than just an extended "slump" (in Kobe-terms. If half the players played like he does in a slump it would be a breakout.) And the discussion of it reminds us of just how incredible he was last season, all with a bum pinkie.

There are two undefeated teams left in Olympic Basketball pool play, Lithuania and the United States. FanHouse, along with every other basketball site on the planet, have talked in detail about the secrets to USA's dominance, and the talent advantage they hold over everyone else. There's one aspect in which the two pool leaders are alike, and it's also become a key component for the teams competing.

The first guy off the pine.

By now you're probably aware of Dwyane Wade 2.0, the upgraded version of the Miami small guard. So far in Beijing he has displayed the speed, quickness, and slashing ability of Dwyane Wade 1.0, but with a larger frame, an increased ability to absorb contact, and a downright frightening dedication to proving everyone who questioned 1.0's ability to recover horribly , horribly wrong. We don't know what 2.0 did with 1.0, but please, don't bring him back. It's like Wade's wearing body armor at this point.

For Lithuania, it's also been an NBA star, but their own. Denver's Linas Kleiza has been downright brilliant for his home country, averaging 14.3 points per game, along with 6 rebounds and shooting 58% from the arc. Yeah. 58%. Kleiza's kept coming off the bench, and it's been a formidable counterpunch for the Lithuanian squad, including his 18 point, 4 rebound game today against Croatia.

Meanwhile, Spain had been bowling over it's competition, but has suffered without a true presence off the bench. Ricky Rubio has shown why he's a potential first round pick, but after all, the kid's still 17. Today when Spain's first line had held USA to at least within reason, they were simply overwhelmed by Team USA's second line and Wade, much like Greece before them.

Well, by the grace of God, Team USA somehow survived against beat down Greece. We'll be around to talk about Team USA's chances going forward, including the huge game with Spain on Saturday, and what this team's doing right, and how it needs to improve. Join us, won't you? LiveChat is redeeming after the jump.

The Olympics are here! The Olympics are here!

Well, kind of.

Tonight Team USA, after a hard week of practice against Team USA Select (not to be confused with Team USA Extra Crispy) takes on Team Canada in what is being billed as the 2008 State Farm USA Basketball Challenge. We thought we'd give you a little preview of what to keep an eye on tonight at 8PM EST on ESPN.

1. Redeem Team/Team Redemption/No, Seriously, We Should Be Better Than Everyone This Time: Look, I'm a big fan of globalization. I think we should embrace our brothers in the human race. And I totally agree that many of the other teams have gotten their teams to the point of being legitimate contenders.

Come. On.

Tonight is all about setting a tone and sending a message, that this USA squad has the focus, determination, talent, and devotion that the recent Team USA's have lacked. This team needs to go out and obliterate Canada. With the talent, coaching, investment, and motivation this team has, it should be able to send a clear message to the rest of the world that basketball is our game, and we're back to take it home. That's not disrespecting Canada ....

Jerry Colangelo promised Team USA Basketball would be different. He talked about a national 'program' -- no more of this glorified All-Star squad crap. It sounded very good to us connoisseurs of year-round hoops, not to mention proud fans sick of losing in international competition.

So, um, how's that going? Steve Perrin from Clips Nation has the answer.

With the losses of (Kirk) Hinrich and (Shane) Battier, at most four players from the 2006 team will be competing in 2007. By way of comparison, there were three repeats from 2004 in Athens (before the vaunted 'three year plan') to 2006 in Japan. Wow. Impressive results from that new approach.

Steve explains his theory as to why Battier and Hinrich pulled out: They were major threats to be cut. Antawn Jamison and Brad Miller are assumedly absent due to a lack of playing time. Bruce Bowen isn't back because he got cut, and I don't think anyone would expect Gilbert Arenas in Vegas even if he were healthy. This solution -- the auditions and three-year commitment -- has opened a new set of issues for the national team, issues which have negated any benefits.

Nonetheless, I think adding Kobe Bryant and Jason Kidd to the existing bunch (LeBron, Melo, Amare, Bosh) is good enough for gold next summer. That likely vindicates the system for pundits, while leaving the program highly susceptible to the same old problems for the 2010 Worlds and beyond.