U.S. team not its best for world championships.(Chicago Tribune)

INDIANAPOLIS _ So just what will it mean if the U.S. team of NBA players, most of them All-Stars, loses a game in the World Basketball Championship?

That American basketball no longer is the standard for excellence?

That a historic transition has occurred to rival the 1980 Soviet Union loss in Olympic hockey?

That it's the fault of Major League baseball players?

That first American loss since the 1988 Olympics may come in the next few days following back-to-back struggles against Germany and China.

The latter came Saturday night despite 7-foot-5-inch Chinese center Yao Ming scoring just 10 points while in foul trouble.

Both Germany and China had the U.S. virtually even at halftime and in close games until the end of the third quarter.