<table> </table> BEIJING | Redeem Team almost made it out unscathed. Almost. We all know that for about eight years now, the U.S. men&#8217;s basketball team has been ticking off fans across the world because of its attitude, its selfish basketball and its stunning underachieving.</p><p>Well, this team promised to be different. And on Sunday, in its first Olympic game, the U.S. men&#8217;s basketball team handled just about everything swimmingly.</p><p>Beat China convincingly in their own home? Check.</p><p>Re-establish American basketball dominance in front of probably the largest television crowd in the history of the sport? Check.</p><p>Give the Chinese players full respect after the game? Check.</p><p>Talk about how proud you feel to play for the U.S. of A? Check.</p><p>Yes, it was all going just great after Redeem Team&#8217;s overwhelming 101-70 victory over China. The game went well. The players responded well afterward. And then who had to come along and spoil the joy? You will never guess.</p><p>&#8220;Coach K,&#8221; the question began &#8212; a question pointed right at Redeem Team coach Mike Krzyzewski. And the question was simple and easy to answer: Why did the U.S. players dunk the ball more than 20 times in the game and show off so much?</p><p>Now, let&#8217;s just say up front that the question was legitimate in its own way: The U.S. players did show off, especially when the game got out of hand. They dunked nonstop, they reverse-dunked, they double-clutch dunked, they dunked on breakaways, it was a free-for-all. But it was also an easy question to handle, especially for a smart guy like Krzyzewski. He could have dunked that question about 500 different ways.</p><p>Example 1: He could have said that the United States has great athletes, and they love to perform. This is absolutely true. Dunking is an act of joy in American basketball, and frankly if I could dunk like Dwyane Wade, I would probably never leave the playground.</p><p>Example 2: He could have said the players were obviously motivated and pumped up by the amazing crowd. This is absolutely true, too. Krzyzewski could have said the arena was electric and alive, and the players certainly meant no disrespect when they dunked, they were simply responding to the spirit and passion of the people in the stands. This has the added advantage of praising the Chinese fans, which certainly would not hurt the team&#8217;s standing.</p><p>Example 3: He could have said, &#8220;Personally, I wish our players would show off by making a few three-point shots.&#8221; Or, to play off the theme, he could have said that his players were dunking so ferociously because they could not hit anything from outside 5 feet. The U.S. missed 11 of 12 three-point shots in the first half, and this was the one downer of the game. This team, like pretty much every American team of the last few years, does not have great outside shooting &#8212; what happened to our outside shooters anyway? Did someone tear down the driveway goals in Indiana, Kentucky and Carolina? Did they stop playing HORSE on playgrounds in the city? Doesn&#8217;t anyone have Reggie Miller&#8217;s phone number?</p><p>Example 4: He could have said that fans want to see those dunks. And it&#8217;s true. The NBA is enormously popular in China &#8212; the word is that there are several jerseys in China (beginning with Kobe Bryant) that now outsell Yao Ming jerseys. The fans finally have a chance to see some of their heroes play live and in person. You think they want to see underhand-layups? Uh, no. They want to see LeBron James throw down his dunks.</p><p>And so on. There are countless positive ways he could have answered the question. There are countless ways he could have made his team look good and made everyone feel good about things. But here&#8217;s one thing about Mike Krzyzewski: He has to be the smartest guy in the room.