I’m not an American, but my Canadian basketball team didn’t make the Olympics (it’s hard to do when Steve Nash is your only decent player and he isn’t playing on the national team any more), so when it comes to Beijing I will have to make due with cheering for the Americans. As a bandwagon fan, then, I have to say this – if the team doesn’t win the gold medal they should all retire from basketball immediately. This team is ridiculously dominant. I know that the world is catching up with them (or has mostly caught up), but it is completely impossible for a team to be as deep as the one just announced as the next version of the Dream Team.

To see how good this team is, just look at point guard. Jason Kidd will be the presumed starter. If he doesn’t get the nod, or he gets tired or is ineffective, then the backups are Chris Paul and Deron Williams. Any one of those three is as good as any point guard in the league, and likely the world. Other teams will be able to match them with a starter (maybe), but it is impossible for any team to go two deep with the Americans, never mind three deep.

The same is true everywhere else, too. Need scoring? Kobe, Lebron, Dwyane Wade, and Carmelo Anthony. Those are pretty much the four purest scorers in the league (other than Allen Iverson, and he’d be on this team if I picked it), and they are all on the same side. Need shooting? Michael Redd. Defense? Tayshaun Prince, or Carlos Boozer. Inside touch? Few better than Chris Bosh. Rebounding? Dwight Howard is the best there is right now. This team is ridiculous.

There won’t be any value in this team, but I don’t suspect that there will be any in betting against them, either.