Team USA vs. China gamethread and preview

Kyrie Irving and the rest of Team USA are finally set to begin their quest for gold.

With the Olympics officially underway, the Americans begin Group A play on the first full day of Olympic events. And their opponent - China- is a familiar one.

During their pre-Olympics tour, Team USA played China twice and won both games by a combined 99 points. The Chinese suffer from a large talent gap, as they only have one player - Yi Jianlian - with NBA experience. Rockets second round pick Zhou Qi is also on the team, but he struggled against Team USA in the two exhibition games.

The Americans should role here and begin the road to what many expect to be an easy gold medal. Expect Kyrie Irving to start at point guard and play most of the minutes at the one.

Game Information

Where: Carioca Arena 1

Time: 6 p.m. ET

TV: NBC Sports Network

Streaming: NBC Sports