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Watch Team USA Vs. China Basketball Live Online: Start Time, Streaming Video Link For Saturday’s Rio Olympics Opening Game

By Nathan Francis
Published on: 23:19 PST, Aug 5, 2016

Fans can watch the Team USA vs. China basketball game live online and see if the United States can remain in form and start the 2016 Rio Olympics with a big win.

Now 12 years removed from the last time they lost a game during the Olympics, the United States Men’s Basketball Team is set to open the Rio Olympics on Saturday as the favorite once again. Despite several of the top players in the NBA stepping out — no LeBron James, no Stephen Curry on this roster — Team USA has a deep and talented squad that’s expected to roll through the tournament to the gold medal.

But first they will have to face a China team hoping to avenge two earlier losses and knock off the United States. The teams will tip off on Saturday at 6 p.m. ET, with coverage on NBCSN and also available live online for those unable to watch on television (a link to the streaming video can be found below).

If recent history is any indication, viewers who watch the Team USA vs. China basketball game live online will see a blowout. The teams met twice in warm-up matches leading up to the kick-off in Rio, with the United States winning by 49 and 50 points, respectively.

The second game, played on July 27, gave a preview of what could be another dominant Olympics performance from Carmelo Anthony, CBS Sports noted. The report dubbed him the “greatest scorer in USA Basketball history,” a smooth-shooting forward who once notched 37 points in 14 minutes against Nigeria and averaged 16.3 points in just 17.7 minutes during the 2012 London Olympics.

“In the victory over China, Melo destroyed once again. He started getting hot from midtown (which is actually downtown in international play). He went 7-of-12 from the field and 4-of-8 from deep. You knew he was getting going when he started pulling up for jumpers off the dribble and pulling his hands back quickly instead of flicking with the follow-through. That’s when you know Melo is getting stupid hot with his shooting. He finished with 20 points in just under 15 minutes of play. It wasn’t quite the performance against Nigeria, but it feels like he has another one of those in him.”

The American team is expecting nothing less than domination at the 2016 Rio Olympics. Though there are a few talented teams in their path — including the NBA-heavy Spain and France — USA Basketball is expected to roll through their opponents.

Cleveland Cavaliers guard Kyrie Irving struggled to think about what it would take to stop Team USA.

“I don’t know… nothing,” Irving said, via The Vertical’s Michael Lee. “Honestly, that should be our attitude. If things get hard, we should be able to withstand it. And we’ll be ready for anything.”

Still, those who watch the Team USA vs. China basketball game live online could see an American team challenged by a towering frontcourt. China is among the tallest teams in the tournament, NBC Sports noted, with four players standing 7-foot or taller. But the United States still has an advantage is overall size, with DeMarcus Cousins and DeAndre Jordan likely dominating the much smaller-framed Chinese frontcourt as they did in the first two warm-up matches.

Team USA will also enter the Rio Olympics looking to continue the 17-game winning streak that stretches all the way back to the disappointing 2004 team that finished with the bronze medal. Since then the United States re-tooled its approach and re-loaded its roster, and the current team will be led by the internationally experienced Kevin Durant and Carmelo Anthony.

Fans who want to watch the Team USA vs. China basketball game live online can find streaming video at NBCOlympics.com.

[Photo by Charles Krupa/AP Images]

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