Here is where things start to count.

Yes, it was a bit of a struggle at the outset of Tuesday's win over Angola. Yes, Kobe Bryant is now 1-15 from behind the arc in Olympic play. Yes, the team could (and, honestly, "should") win by an average of 15-to-20 points on its way toward the gold medal. But from here on out, things will be tougher, and the crew gets no brownie points for its accomplishments thus far.

Is this a good thing? Should we expect different things just because Greece, Spain, and Germany await, (potentially) followed by the last three stages of the men's basketball tourney? Well, yeah.

I'm the guy who has been preaching patience. I'm the guy who has been begging people to judge Team USA in its context, as a team that was put together a scant few weeks ago, working within international rules and ideals that fly in the face of what actually wins rings in the NBA. If coach Mike Krzyzewski's team were to fall flat, we'd understand why.

But that doesn't mean we can't blame them if things go pear-shaped from here on out. It may be a struggle to acclimate to different teammates, an odd coaching staff, the international game, and small forwards masquerading as power forwards, but Team USA knows what it is up against.

The team knows how to overcome what lies ahead. It knows how to win the gold medal, even it might be a tough and unorthodox (by NBA standards) struggle. Coach K's crew knows that it is going to have to pay attention to plays that wouldn't exactly work in an 82-game season, run by players who could barely get Summer League minutes, and the team knows that expectations have never been higher or lower. All at once. It's gotta be a fun run, right?

Just because this crew can be pitied for expecting too much, it doesn't mean we make any more excuses, from here on out. Sure, we'd have understandable reasons as to why Team USA fell short again, assuming that happens, but this outfit is too self-aware not to feel a twinge of disappointment if things fall apart.

Mainly because Coach K (we're hoping) should have the central tenets of international play hammered into their heads. Be aware of plays happening away from the ball. Prepare for poor refereeing. Guard guards, forwards, and centers at the three-point line. Know your opponents. Attack early in a possession offensively. Don't wait for that screen and assume that three of your teammates are going to stand around on the weak side of the court, offensively, as is the NBA custom. Wake up.

That's what we hope Coach K is going on about. We hope he's not prattling on about redemption and pride and revenge and some sort of strain of manliness. We're hoping he's working on weak side rotations. Free throw shooting. Things that actually matter.

And starting on Thursday against Greece - sorry, Angola - things start to matter.

The blueprint has been bandied about incessantly. The motivation should be there. Let's see if Team USA has it in them.

Related: Behind the boxscore