Men's basketball: It was a billion to 1, and we did it

BEIJING -- The first step was a stomp. The first greeting was a slap. The first words were sung with steals, stuffs and the angriest of slam dunks.

This wasn't a game, it was a star-spangled banger.

Four years after finessing and fidgeting their way out of the world's throne, the U.S. men's team began its quest for redemption Sunday as bulls in China's shop.

They took a billion-person home-court advantage and turned it into a solitary voice momentarily heard above the crowd that hung from the rafters at Olympic Basketball Gymnasium.

Owwww!

There was a rainstorm outside but a monsoon inside, the U.S. team silencing not just a building but a nation with a 101-70 victory in the Olympic opener.

What a difference a K makes.

Four years ago, the U.S. team selfishly blew a gold medal for the first time since it began sending NBA players to the Olympics in 1988, raising the question of whether our stars had forgotten how to play the game we invented.

It turns out, maybe Coach Mike Krzyzewski won't let them.

Installed as the national coach after the 2004 debacle in Athens, Duke's "Coach K" was the quiet hero of the opener, his defensive schemes and teamwork culture spilling out from his quiet seat to the furious court.

Dwyane Wade was spectacular by not missing a shot in scoring 19 points, but more impressive was China missing 28 of 41 shots from inside the three-point line.

LeBron James controlled the court with 18 points and six rebounds, but more spectacular were the U.S team's 14 steals and four blocked shots that led to 18 Chinese turnovers.

Then there were the assists. Seven guys had them, maybe more guys than in all of 2004, the Americans poking and prodding and passing to all those angry slams.

All of which led to a question afterward from a foreign journalist about what Krzyzewski did to "kill" his team's "super egos."

Responded Coach K with a grin: "We play for what is on front of the jersey and not on the back of the jersey; our team is doing that, that part has been easy for me. I haven't had to kill or destroy anything."

Those jerseys are different, but Laker fans will recognize this team and this game from something they saw a couple of months ago.

Remember the Boston Celtics?

The jersey number is different, but Laker fans also surely recognized a certain player in this game who made up for streaky shooting with smothering defense.