In their warm-up game in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday, the USA showed a marked improvement on their performance against Nikola Jokic's Serbia. They thrashed the Serbs 105-79, while the Australians only managed a convincing 98-92 win. 

The USA now head to London for their final two exhibition matches against South Sudan on Saturday and reigning world champions Germany on Monday.

Despite the resounding victory, LeBron James remained unconvinced. The star insisted that "there's a lot to improve on" as the Americans look to win Olympic gold. They let their guard down against the Australians, squandering a 20-point lead.

The team was led by LeBron James, of course, but also by Stephen Curry, who scored just three points in the USA's 98-92 win over the Boomers but had 24 against Serbia. The game opened with a signature Curry three-pointer that was set up by the team, and he made six of nine from beyond the arc.

"We designed that first play for that particular reason, to get him going," James said of Curry. "He sees one go through the hoop, and you see what that opens up for the rest of his game, for the rest of the game for all of us. He set the tone and we just tried to keep finding him.

The USA team is falling into place. The pieces are falling into place. They are undoubtedly the favourites to win the gold medal. As well as LeBron and Curry, there is Bam Adebayo, who came off the bench to add 17 points, eight rebounds and a couple of assists, and Anthony Davis, who had six blocks, six rebounds and seven points.

"Bam and AD not only switch positions, but they can also protect the rim and be in a drop when we choose to cover," said USA coach Steve Kerr.

Serbia, who lost to Australia on Tuesday, are another medal contender. But they will be heavily reliant on the performances of their stars. They were without Atlanta Hawks guard Bogdan Bogdanovic on Wednesday. He sat on the bench but did not play.

All eyes were on reigning NBA MVP Jokic. He finished with a double-double of 16 points and 11 rebounds. His numbers were not enough to beat the Americans, who they will meet again in the Olympic opener in Lille, France, on 28 July. These are two teams that will know each other well in the early days of Paris 2024.

"We have a lot of room for improvement. However, we want to keep improving and not waste opportunities. I felt we got better tonight," said James, who is aiming for a third Olympic gold medal this summer.

The key for the USA is always the depth of their bench. Depending on the score and the opponent, the quality of their players allows them to change and renew their team. Coach Kerr used the game against the Serbians to make changes to the lineup used against Australia, keeping Jayson Tatum, James, Joel Embiid and Curry on the floor but substituting Jrue Holiday for Anthony Edwards.

In those exhibition games, he opted for block substitutions. He pulled all five starters midway through the quarter to bring in Edwards, Tyrese Haliburton, Davis, Adebayo and Devin Booker.

"I think the identity of the team is our depth; the strength of the team is our depth," Kerr said, "We'll see if we're going to keep doing that, but right now it's allowed the groups to come together, like AD and Bam, like Steph and LeBron, to learn how to play with each other, to get to know each other," he said.

Serbia were led by Nikola Jokic (16 points, 11 rebounds) but were without Bogdan Bogdanovic, who has been rested for the Paris tournament. The team from the Balkans is not entirely convincing. They did beat France 79-67 ten days before the Olympic tournament, but this is their second defeat in a row after Tuesday's 84-73 loss to Australia.