Meet Dream Team IV

If he feels pressure to live up to expectations, a relaxed Tim Duncan doesn’t show it.

Leaning back in a row of bleachers, icing his knees after practice, the MVP of the NBA Finals talked about life since the San Antonio Spurs won the championship and his next endeavor.

Duncan is the biggest star on the latest U.S. national basketball team, Dream Team IV, filling a marquee role once reserved for Michael, Magic, Larry, Patrick, Charles, Karl, Scottie and Shaq.

Gary Payton is the lone holdover from the edition that won the gold medal in the 1996 Olympics and, along with Duncan, Jason Kidd and Kevin Garnett, form the nucleus of the team that needs to finish first or second in the Tournament of the Americas to qualify for the 2000 Games in Sydney, Australia.

“It’s sort of weird to actually think about it, that there’s a chance we wouldn’t be in the Olympics, which is absurd right now,” Duncan said. “But we’ll go out there, we’ll play hard and we’ll qualify for this thing, and we’ll go to next year’s Olympics.”

The U.S. will face Canada in an exhibition today at Orlando Arena, then travel to Puerto Rico for the tournament. The absence of the sport’s biggest names hasn’t changed the expectations.

“It really shouldn’t,” said coach Larry Brown, a 1964 Olympian who took over the team last week when Rudy Tomjanovich withdrew for medical reasons. “I played a long, long time ago and we weren’t nearly as dominant as this group, and that was expected of us.”

The lack of a true center, however, figures to make this a much different Dream Team in style of play. There will be more emphasis on speed than power, fueling hope that the players will bring back the excitement of the original edition.

The 7-foot Duncan is listed as the team’s only center, though he doesn’t consider himself one. Forwards Garnett, Vin Baker and Tom Gugliotta will play more than one position, too.

“I don’t really consider myself a center, and I don’t think there are many guys here who can play center,” Duncan said. “I think we’re all pretty versatile and athletic. We’re just going to play like that.”

Joining Payton and Kidd in the backcourt are Steve Smith, Allan Houston and Tim Hardaway, who’s been selected twice before, yet still hasn’t played for a Dream Team.

Three college All-Americans who were selected in the first round of the NBA draft--Elton Brand, Wally Szczerbiak and Richard Hamilton--hold spots that may be filled by veterans on the team that actually plays in Sydney.

Shaquille O’Neal, Alonzo Mourning and Grant Hill likely will be among the players considered for openings on next year’s team.

“We’re not typical of the NBA Dream Teams in the past, when you had Shaq and David Robinson and Patrick and Alonzo,” Brown said. “But if we’re fortunate enough to win and qualify, that could change.”

Fortunate?

Brown liked what he saw during a five-day minicamp in Orlando, but isn’t taking anything for granted. He’s talked to the players about the hostile environment they’ll encounter playing outside the country, adjusting to international rules and the way games are officiated.

His biggest concern is dividing playing time to keep everybody happy. One way he will try to do it is by speeding up the tempo of games with relentless defensive pressure.

“I’m trying to figure out a way we can play fast enough where we need fresh guys and can utilize our bench,” Brown said. “I think the selection committee did an amazing job of getting good quality people that want to play the right way. From that standpoint, I don’t think it’ll be that difficult.”

The United States will play its first tournament game Thursday against Uruguay. The goal is not to merely win the gold medal and qualify for Sydney, but send a clear message that the Dream Team is No. 1 regardless of who’s on the roster.

And more than running up the scores against undermanned opponents, that means good, crisp performances.

“The biggest thing, is everybody admires the way Americans play,” Brown said. “I love our game so much, and we are a representative of the best basketball in the world, and I want us to really play well.”

Hardaway said the players won’t settle for anything less. The 32-year-old guard is the oldest player on the team, and perhaps the hungriest.

He was named to the second Dream Team in 1993, but didn’t play in the 1994 World Championships because of a knee injury. He was selected for the world championship team again last year, but was sidelined by the NBA lockout.

“I want that gold medal,” Hardaway said. “I don’t want to miss out on the opportunity again.”