Far from a baptism of fire, New German Chris Kaman easily swept through his first international contest, against Cape Verde today in the Olympic qualifiers in Athens. Caveman had 10 and 10 in 20 minutes, and the Germans won by 36.

Sadly, with that, Cape Verde has been eliminated from both this tournament and Olympic contention. Joining them among the ranks of the cast aside are Lebanon and Cameroon. The loser of Canada vs. Republic of Korea on Wednesday will also meet its Olympic doom.

Yep, that's right, a team I called a 'wild card' -- based solely on Samuel Dalembert and an affinity for Shareef Abdur-Rahim Grizzlies throwbacks -- could be gone by this time tomorrow. Slovenia destroyed the Canucks this morning. Dalembert was woeful -- 4 points on 1-of-8 shooting, 2 rebounds in 22 minutes of work. Korea might actually be the favorite.

Brazil and Greece match up Wednesday as well, in the best game on paper of the opening round. The winner avoids Herr Kaman and his friend Dirk in Friday's quarterfinals. Croatia and Puerto Rico will also be battling to avoid Slovenia (and, by extension, draw the winner of Canada-Korea).

Most of the Olympic men's basketball field has been set, with Argentina, Australia, Iran, Lithuania, Russia, Angola, China, Spain and the United States preparing for the August Games. The top three teams in the Olympic qualifying tournament -- which begins today in Athens -- will also compete in Beijing. Here's a quick look at the tourney.

The Favorite: Greece. The Greek team famously beat Team USA in the 2006 World Championships, setting off the maelstrom of righteous indignation which promised to (but didn't) revolutionize the way USA Basketball chose its teams. Greece boasts no current NBA players, but could beat a half-dozen NBA teams. Guard play makes the Greeks the favorites. Theo Papaloukas should be well-known in America, and Dimitris Diamantidis is one of the best perimeter defenders in Europe. Add good size up front and home court advantage, and it'd be a surprise if the Greeks didn't win this outright.

The Contenders: Germany, Brazil, Puerto Rico. At least one of these teams won't make it (unless Greece crumbles). Germany famously boasts both Dirk Nowitzki and Chris Kaman now, though little else. Brazil will be without Leandro Barbosa, but has Tiago Splitter and some good guards. Also, Brazilian two-guard Alex Garcia shattered a backboard in the pre-game lay-up line in an exhibition last week. Awesome. But never count out Puerto Rico, with an assortment of former and current NBA players like Carlos Arroyo, J.J. Barea, and Peter John Ramos, as well SACRAMENTO STATE! product Joel (pronounced "Joe .... El") Jones.

For a team that looked destined for the lottery early in the year, the Sixers deserve a lot of credit for not only making the playoffs but also making the Pistons sweat. There are a lot of talented young pieces on this 76ers team, and a coach who knows how to help them improve. This team will be back next year, and if they invest their free agent dollars wisely, they may even contend for home court advantage. (No, seriously.) Let's recap their playoff run:

How They Got to the Dance: Believe it or not, the 76ers were actually one of the hottest teams in the league for a stretch in the second half, winning 19 of 24 from early February to late March. Losing five of six right at the end of the regular season kept them from posting a winning record (they finished 40-42), but that second-half surge was the result of a very young team taking the next step.

How They Got Bounced: Simply put, the Pistons woke up. The Sixers should be commended for jumping out to a 2-1 series lead, but the Pistons were just too deep, too talented and too experienced to simply roll over. That said, it would've helped Andre Iguodala failed to live up to top banana status, a role for which he may or may not be suited; the team's leading scorer in the regular season, Iguodala was held to just 13 points a night on 30% shooting. Even if the team's two wins he was largely irrelevant, a performance that likely cost him a few million off his next contract.