U.S. men vow to win with defense

By Gelu Sulugiuc

BEIJING (Reuters) - The U.S. men's basketball team is loaded with attacking players known for highlight reel slam dunks, but at the Olympics they vow to win with defense.

"If you look at the guys we have on this team, you say we have unbelievable offensive power but it's not about that for us," Dwyane Wade said on Friday. "We're going to win on defense."

The U.S. is stocked with big-name NBA players and favored to win their first Olympic gold since the 2000 Games in Sydney.

"When this is over, we can all get back to being offensive juggernauts at our respective teams," said Wade, a four-time All-Star guard for the Miami Heat.

"But right now we all understand that if we don't play defense we won't win. We have to play intelligent team defense."

The 6-foot-4 Wade said Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant, the NBA's Most Valuable Player, is the cornerstone of the team's defensive mentality.

"He stepped everyone's game up because of the pressure he puts on the ball and the way he takes the other team's best player and says 'He's not going to beat us tonight'. When I get on the court I think the same thing," Wade said.

The Americans are looking for redemption after finishing a disappointing third in Athens four years ago.

"This might be the best team ever assembled defensively," said Dallas Mavericks guard Jason Kidd, who won Olympic gold with the U.S. team in 2000.

"Each guy understands how to play defense at a high level."

The Americans start the Games against Yao Ming's China on Sunday in preliminary Group B. World champions Spain and a tough Greece team who stunned them in the world championship semi-finals in 2006 are also in that group.

"We want to make sure that it's tough for them to beat us by scoring," Wade said. "If someone's going to beat us, they're going to have to play their tail off and be lucky."

(Editing by Steve Ginsburg)