Jason and Team USA pummeled Greece 92-69 Thursday night in Beijing, but they may owe an assist to No. 5’s Dallas Mavericks teammate, Dirk Nowitzki.

Before Team USA’s much-ballyhooed match up with Greece, Jason consulted Nowitzki, whose German squad played Greece earlier in the tournament. The scouting report must have been good, because once Team USA got out to a lead, there was no looking back.

Jason talked to ESPN.com on Wednesday about Greece’s strategy:

"They’re going to target Dwight

[Howard], and they’re going to target Carmelo [Anthony],” Kidd said. "The most important thing for us will be to keep our composure.”

Not only did Team USA keep their composure, they fought back from an early deficit and pulled away before the game had reached halftime.

J-Kidd started at point and finished with three rebounds and an assist.

OPTION PASSER
Halfway through the third quarter, Jason was involved in back-to-back transition breakaways for Team USA.

With Team USA leading 63-42, No. 5 got a long rebound and took off on a fast break. He crafted a perfect bounce pass to LeBron James, who slammed it home, giving the U.S. its largest lead to that point.

BIG UPGRADE
When Jason and Kobe Bryant opened the game at point and two guards respectively, Team USA had a huge upgrade in the backcourt over their last meetings with Greece.

"For all the changes, both in structure and attitude, that USA Basketball has made in reinventing itself since the last Olympics, the most glaring can be seen by glancing at the box score. Consider that the dysfunctional duo of Allen Iverson and Stephon Marbury started at guard in the 2004 Olympics and the starting backcourt for the Greece loss in 2006 was Kirk Hinrich and Joe Johnson.”

PLAYING QUARTERS
With their victory, J- Kidd and Team USA cinched their inclusion in the Olympic medal round quarterfinals, regardless of their performance in the final two preliminary games.

TAKING A STAND
J-Kidd spoke out against a perceived double standard regarding the Spanish basketball team, and an ad they participated in, which many have described as overtly racist.

In the photo, every member of the Spanish basketball team is pulling their eyes into slants.

Jason spoke to Yahoo! Sports:

“Kidd considered the consequences had those giddy European faces been substituted with those of Team USA.

“We would’ve been already thrown out of the Olympics,” he said. “At least, we wouldn’t have been able to come back to the U.S. …There would be suspensions.”

And for his European peers, well, Kidd suggested, “They won’t do anything to them. It’s a double standard.”

“They have some explaining to do,” he said. “They’ll come up with something good.”

Jason believes there should be consequences for the NBA Players on Spain, most notably Pau Gasol:

“At the end of day, we are still representing the NBA,” Kidd said. “No matter if we’re saying (the actions) have nothing to do with it. At the end of day, we have to go back home, and our jobs are there.”

NEXT UP
No. 5 leads Team USA (3-0) into their second straight statement game when they take on Spain (3-0) Saturday night in Beijing. Team USA is 8-0 against Spain in Olympic action, including the 2004 Olympic quarterfinals.

Spain, on the other hand, is the current World Champion, having won the 2006 FIBA Championship. The game can be seen Saturday at 7:15 AM PST on the USA Network.

RELATED STORIES
U.S. Men’s Basketball Team Shows How Far It Has Come (New York Times, August 14, 2008)
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/15/sports/olympics/15hoops.html?_r=2&oref=slogin&oref=slogin
Team USA gets a taste of redemption vs. Greece (ESPN.com, August 14, 2008)
http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/summer08/basketball/columns/story?columnist=sheridan_chris&page=USA-Greece-080814&campaign=rsssrch&source=jason+kidd
Coach K, Team USA ready to get even with Greece (ESPN.com August 13, 2008)
http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/summer08/basketball/columns/story?columnist=sheridan_chris&page=USA-Greece-080813&campaign=rsssrch&source=jason+kidd
Preview: USA Men vs. Spain (USABasketball.com, August 14, 2008)
http://www.usabasketball.com/news.php?news_page=08_moly_preview_04
Spain photo exposing NBA double standard? (Yahoo! Sports, August 12, 2008)
http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/beijing/basketball/news;_ylt=AmHS3fOYNyC640M2JxP3Ek.UaJh4?slug=aw-nbaspainphoto081308&prov=yhoo&type=lgns