And when it comes to unselfishness, the U.S. has three — James, Chris Paul and Deron Williams — ranked in the tournament�s top 10 in assists.

As the Americans and Aussies get set to square off in their quarterfinal, both teams temper acknowledgement of the opponent with some quiet confidence.

�Australia plays a completely different style of game than we played [against Germany],� said Kobe Bryant. �They run a continuity offense and they are very proficient at it, and they run hard cuts and set hard picks. They are real smart, so it will be a different ball game.�

Countered Bogut: �I have not seen them play with such a chip on their shoulders since the Dream Team of �92, especially with Kobe running the show. They have a different mentality. They are trying to kill teams, and they are going to try to knock us out with the first punch, but we have to stay calm.�

Even the coaches got into the act.

�They are probably playing their best basketball at the moment, and they can put points on,� said Krzyzewski of Australia.

Said Brian Goorjian, his counterpart. �We get a chance to step up to the

plate and have a swipe at the big dog. I don�t know if we can or can�t beat them, but I like how Australia�s playing. I�m confident we will get out and play ball.�