By Antonis Stroggylakis / info@eurohoops.net

It has been nearly 13 years since Team USA lost a game in a major international tournament.

On September 1st, 2006, Greece handed the USA what was a 101 – 95 defeat in the World Cup semifinal. This devastating result for the then-favorite to win the tournament American team served as a lesson that led to spotless records and gold medals in the World Cup and Olympic tournaments that followed.

Team USA had been considered unbeatable without even stepping on the court. Not this year though.

For the first time in 13 years, the USA feels and looks vulnerable. The numerous absences (among them All-Stars such as Anthony Davis, James Harden, Damian Lillard, and CJ McCollum) have stolen USA from some of what would have been a mountain unmatched quality. And there are a couple of teams that are ready to take advantage of this and potentially defeat them in a knockout game.