Why U.S. Basketball May Not Coast Through the Olympics

Although still favored to win a medal, the American team is paying a price for a lack of preparation and the global surge in the game.

TOKYO — The globalization of basketball has been well documented for decades. International tournaments are more competitive than ever. Elite talent sprouts up everywhere. Players from some national teams train together for half their lives, establishing a yearslong harmony that expresses itself on the court. To begin wrapping your head around the United States’ tremulous start in the Olympic competition, then, consider that some players on the team were so unprepared for this tournament — because of health protocols and the N.B.A. playoff schedule — that they could barely get a grip. On the ball, that is. Although the same size as the N.B.A. basketballs, the official Olympic balls are a different brand with a different feel, players said, as they discovered when dribbling and passing and shooting in their opening game late Sunday night in Tokyo.