Coach Mike Krzyzewski and his wards are now sitting on top of Group B of the 2010 World Basketball Championships with an unblemished record — three wins in as many games, with the latest coming off a 70-68 pulsating win over Brazil last Monday.

But their last win hardly left the impression that the crop of young NBA stars is really bent on snatching the gold in the Worlds. The serious lack of offensive firepower keeps the Americans from piling up the points, often relying to Kevin Durant’s hot hands or on one-on-one plays to get their offense going.

This was clearly evident in Team USA’s last game against the Brazilians, where they had a very tough time getting the much needed headway.

The team was obviously lacking in defensive intensity and has been left on their toes by the Brazilian’s pick-and-roll execution.

“They were just killing us on the pick-and-roll," U.S. coach Mike Krzyzewski said, as quoted by John Schumann of NBA.com. "Even after timeouts, we were not able to do anything."

"We followed them around instead of stopping them from doing what they wanted to do," said assistant coach Jay Triano.

Despite playing without NBA centers Anderson Varejao (Cleveland Cavaliers) and Nene Hilario (Denver Nuggets), the Brazilians were able to make a tough stand against Team USA. They ran their half court plays deliberately, never forced their way towards the rim, and converted baskets when they needed it most. They scored 30 points from the three-point area alone, going 10-of-28 against the Americans’ 6-of-17 shooting. They ran their pick-and-rolls very effectively, thus eliminating

With the game hanging in the balance during the final minutes, Billups converted on a tough layup off a pick-and-roll play to put the Americans ahead, 70-66, with less than 30 seconds remaining. But Leandro Barbosa of Brazil, now playing for the Toronto Raptors in the NBA, scored on a high-arching floater to trim the deficit to two, 70-68.

In the next play, Marcelo Huertas was fouled on his way to the basket and had two opportunities from the line to tie the count. Unfortunately, he missed the first attempt and was forced to deliberately miss the second shot. He got his own miss then fed Barbosa underneath the basket, who failed to get a decent look on the rim against USA’s Kevin Love, thus preserving the win for the Americans.

Durant, once again, led the Americans’ charge with a double-double output of 27 points (9-of-18 FGs) and 10 rebounds, but nobody else from the squad managed to help out significantly on the offense with Billups and Rose the only ones hitting double-digits in scoring (15 and 11 points, respectively).

Team USA's offensive pattern depended on what Durant will do most of the time, and such a scheme will prove to be very predictable especially against tougher opponents, like Argentina and Spain.

"Points didn't come easy in the second half and both teams showed their character,” Coach K said in a post-game interview.  “We were able to get a win but we needed more energy to play against this Brazil team and I think we were young for that.”

“Andre Iguodala is one of our best defenders even if he doesn't shoot so that is why I played him. I thought (Tiago) Splitter was outstanding and (Marcelo) Huertas played a magnificent first half in the way he was leading his team,” he added.

“Brazil did a great job, they put pressure on us. It's a learning experience for us. It's the game we needed,” said Durant. "Chauncey Billups came up for us in the third quarter. He is the leader of this team. He did a great job in carrying us in the second half."

Marcus Vinicius led Brazil with 16 points, while Barbosa and Splitter chipped in 14 and 13 points apiece.