Team USA, Version 2008

Just as a reminder, Michael Redd and Team USA open a five-game, pre-Olympic slate tomorrow (Friday) night against Canada at 7:00 p.m. central time. The game can be seen live on ESPN. Here is the television schedule of the games before the real, Olympic games begin. Considering the many early morning start times, tomorrow night is probably one of the best chances you'll get to watch the team live.

LeBron James, who guaranteed gold, is likely to miss the game with a mild ankle sprain. But facing a Canadian team without Steve Nash or Samuel Dalembert, Team USA figure to roll anyway. While the rotations and competition might not be indicative of what's to come, it's worth tracking individual's sharpness (see: Dwyane Wade) and team cohesion.

Check out NBA.com for more coverage, including Team USA's Olympic schedule and roster. Anyone notice six players represent each conference, or that the Milwaukee-connected Redd and Wade (who missed significant time to injury) are the only players coming off losing NBA seasons?

And not to look ahead or anything like that, but... the gold medal game? A month from today.