Whew.

Team USA beat the sh*t out of Australia, 113-73. Brad Miller got 11 minutes, and scored eight points during that time. Cheers to that.

Germany snuck past Nigeria despite Dirk missing 11 of his 18 shots. So Team USA will take on Germany on Wednesday.

The half of the US's bracket had France beating Angola in a low-scoring affair and Greece trouncing China, sending Yao back across the sea. (Actually he's probably coming back across the ocean, right? Does he spend the offseason in Houston or Shanghai? I know very little about this.)

So the path to the championship for Team USA now looks like this: Germany, France or Greece (toss-up game – Greece is a better team, but France has played better of late), and likely either Spain or Argentina. That's it. Win those three games, two of which shouldn't be struggles, and the gold is yours. Not a bad gauntlet at all.

The US really had the luck of the draw with Lithuania and Turkey – probably the two best teams outside the Top 3 – bouncing to Spain and Argentina's bracket. Facing Dirk is still scary, especially when he might have a chip after the Finals loss to Wade and company. But it is much preferred to go up against one superstar and a bunch of middling fellows than against a really good who is on an incredible hot streak.