Ahhh … much better. After a scare against Brazil a week ago, USA Basketball finished off its exhibition season in grand style this week. With a pair of one-sided laughers over Lithuania (111–88) and South Korea (116–63) this week, the Americans proved that they’re ready to reclaim their mantle as the world’s best basketball nation. Better yet, Carmelo Anthony returned from his knee scare of a week ago and went back to his high-scoring ways, eliminating one of the team’s biggest concerns.

Of course, those wins don’t answer all the questions, as neither opponent is as tough as teams like Argentina, Spain, and France will be at the World Championships in Japan next week. While the Lithuanians have historically been a strong team, they were missing several key players this time, including sparkplug guard Sarunas Jasikevicius, and they are likely to finish well out of the money this time.And the Korenas are hardly a basketball powerhouse either, with their only NBA player being little-used Milwaukee center He Seung-Jin.

Thus, before the U.S. begins tournament play on Saturday against Puerto Rico, several questions remain to be answered. Let’ tackle a few of them.

Who makes the final cut?

Okay, let’s start with the low-hanging fruit. The Americans came to Asia with 14 players and needs to make two cuts before Saturday. One of those cuts was made for them when Wizards guard Gilbert Arenas strained a groin muscle and pulled out of the tournament. (By the way, “strained groin” may not sound serious, but it already cost Arenas a big chunk of his 2003–04 season, so it’s not something to mess around with.)

As for the other cut, at this point we can pretty much bet the farm on it being Bruce Bowen. Anthony’s return to health reduces the need for other help at small forward, and the U.S. has six other players who can the position anyway (Anthony, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Joe Johnson, Antawn Jamison, and Shane Battier). Bowen has seen the fewest minutes in games and, to be honest, has been the Americans’ least impressive player in the exhibitions — he didn’t score a basket until the Korea game on Tuesday. Battier basically beat him out for the role of defensive stopper, while the U.S. can use Kirk Hinrich as its ace against smaller players.

Is there enough shooting?

Thankfully, it appears the answer is yes. The U.S. shot 41.2% on 3-pointers in its exhibition schedule, and several players who were suspect from the outside in the Olympics appear to have found the range. James, Anthony, and Wade all are shooting better than 40%, and don’t forget about center Brad Miller — he’s 6-for-7 on international threes. Behind that group, Hinrich, Battier, and Jamison can all convert from long range, and even Chris Paul has eased my doubts by making 4-of-9 from distance so far.

Will Coach K favor the Dukies?

A concern of mine is that Mike Krzyzewski will tend to overuse the guys he’s most familiar with — notably his former players at Duke, Elton Brand and Shane Battier. Brand’s game isn’t as well-suited to the international style as it is to NBA play, so he may struggle as he tries to play out of position at center for the U.S. Battier has played well thus far and the team will need his defense on some nights, but the U.S. has several better wing options so Coach K shouldn’t turn to him too often.

Who starts at point guard?

With Arenas out of the picture, we’re down to Hinrich and Paul as the point guards (although Dwyane Wade could handle it in a pinch). Hinrich has been the better scorer, Paul the better playmaker so far. Here’s how I think it will work: Paul and Wade will rarely be on the court together, because that makes it too easy for opponents to slack off and dare the U.S. backcourt to shoot from long range. So I’d look for Hinrich to start alongside Wade in the backcourt, and then Paul to come off the bench when a stronger shooter like Joe Johnson checks in.

How about the rest of the starting five?

With Wade and Hinrich in the backcourt, that leaves three starting spots. Anthony and James almost have to claim two of them, even if that leaves the U.S. a bit undersized. Both players are 6-foot-8 and solidly built, so it shouldn’t be too big a problem defensively. If it does becomes one, look for Antawn Jamison or Shane Battier to join the starting unit and James or Wade to be the team’s sixth man. In the middle, I expect the Coach K factor to help Brand beat out Miller for the starting nod.

Which guys will ride the pine?

The two Americans who figure to see the least action are Chris Bosh and Dwight Howard. Both will play, because in the international game big men pick up fouls like crazy, but they’re basically the third option at power forward and center respectively. Bosh hasn’t scored much in the exhibition games, while Howard’s lack of a perimeter game makes it difficult to space the floor when he’s in.Howard has been absolutely dominant on the glass, however, so if the U.S. is having trouble with second shots he could get a longer look.

What type of style will they play?

The U.S. is both the deepest team and the most athletic, so it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that they’ll be running and pressing all game. Wade and Paul both are incredible ballhawks and each can push it upcourt in the blink of an eye, which is one reason the duo may end up playing together in patches despite the shooting concerns. James and Howard also excel in this style.The U.S. might play it more traditional with the second unit, as Johnson, Battier, Jamison, and Miller are more at home in a half-court game, but that unit is still way more athletic than almost any unit the international squads could send out.