Fran Fraschilla on Team USA’s top challenger: “In addition to its talent, Spain has great continuity. The core of the team has been together for a while and is in the midst of a

Elena Bergeron of ESPN.com on Team USA’s best lineups: “[USA Basketball director Jerry] Colangelo might consider adding to his summer reading list “NBA Chemistry: Positive and Negative Synergies in Basketball,” in which researchers from

Kurt Helin of PBT riffing on silly Dwight Howard speculation: “OKC, you have not had a team for that long, so let me give you some advice — enjoy the journey. If your mentality

Eric Freeman of BDL has a jersey sponsor for OKC: “‘The Avengers’” on Blu-Ray/DVD. Mark Ruffalo, who plays the Hulk in the Marvel blockbuster, is a big enemy of hydrofracking, an energy-company practice advocated

Andrew Sharp of SB Nation writes that James Harden is kind of the greatest: “And James Harden is kind of the greatest. There are a lot of ways to “do” fame and fortune and

Tom Ziller of SB Nation on the Lakers: “But a team with that profile wouldn’t be anything like an overwhelming title favorite. A team with that profile probably wouldn’t rate higher than the team

Shayne Lee for CNN.com on the Dream Team vs. 2012: “The general consensus appears to side with Jordan and Barkley. In informal online polls, an overwhelming majority of the public favored the Dream Team

Perry Jones III in a Q&A: “It’s a good fit, especially when they called me and told me that they wanted me to just play basketball like I’ve been playing. They know I’m a