If there was one day to go sight-seeing, to check out Big Ben and Buckingham Palace or pick up an Olympic souvenir, this was it.
With a game Tuesday against Tunisia - not exactly an international basketball power - the U.S. men's team could have taken a day off to tour London.
Not this group of Americans. They have to work on a few things.
''We need to get better,'' LeBron James said before practice Monday. ''We know we don't have time to waste an opportunity to get better. This is a long, but short tournament. We've got to take every practice, every film session, every game and try to improve. We're not going to let our guard down no matter who we're playing against.
''We can't waste a minute going backwards. We have high goals.''
Showing flashes of brilliance and a few flaws during a 98-71 win over France on Sunday, the Americans worked out at East London University to prepare for their second preliminary game, a matchup that appears to be as potentially one-sided as any game the U.S. will play in this tournament.
Tunisia, which lost to Nigeria in its first Olympic game, doesn't figure to be anything more than a punching bag for the Americans to bludgeon. The U.S. might be able to name its score against a Tunisian squad ranked No. 32 in the world and without any NBA players on its roster. It could be more of the same on Thursday against Nigeria.
However, coach Mike Krzyzewski believes the opponent is inconsequential. It's about the U.S. playing up to its potential - and then some. There's a standard to be met, an expectation that comes with being the world's best hoop team. Krzyzewski likened it to an actor on Broadway.
''You have a performance to give, you know,'' said Krzyzewski, who would never demean any team. ''Are you doing it on a Wednesday matinee, a Saturday night? It's not who you're playing. You should never judge how you're going to perform or potentially who you're going to play against. You are the person performing, your team is performing. You never want to get into the habit of just getting by, because eventually you don't get by. Our goal tomorrow is to make sure we play hard and have good habits and we're as sharp as can be.''
Before running away from France in the second half, the U.S. had its share of problems.
The Americans missed their first six 3-pointers as they struggled to find their range in a prefabricated, temporary arena that will be dismantled once these games end. James said Kevin Durant and others were having trouble with their depth perception inside the 12,000-seat building, which will host the preliminary round before the semifinals and finals are held at the much larger North Greenwich Arena.
''It took us a little while to find the rhythm with that rim,'' said James, who only took six shots, choosing to be a playmaker. ''The depth perception is a little different. It's not much of a problem for me because I'm not a jump shooter, but some of our other shooters had a problem.''
The U.S. wound up 8 of 25 from long range, but there were stretches when it seemed the Americans were either settling for jumpers early in the 24-second shot clock or not taking open ones. Believe it or not, this is a collection of All-Stars that might be a little too unselfish.
''If that's a bad habit,'' Krzyzewski said, ''that's a good bad habit to have.''
Nonetheless, he's trying to break them of it, and spent a portion of the film session on Monday showing his players - particularly Durant, who finished with 22 points - moments where they would have served the team better by shooting.
''We saw guys were just passing up open shots,'' said Carmel Anthony, who went 3 of 10 but grabbed nine rebounds. ''Even K.D., he came out hot and then a couple of times he didn't shoot the ball and we're all on the bench yelling at him, 'shoot if you're wide open.' There was a couple of times down the court we passed five, six times and didn't get a shot. That's a good thing, but then that could become a bad thing, too.''
Another issue facing the U.S. is adjusting to the officiating. The Americans were called for 26 fouls, including 18 in a choppy first half when France was still close. Krzyzewski figured it would take his team, which includes seven players making their Olympic debuts, time to figure how the game would be called.
The U.S. didn't complain too vigorously about the calls so as not to make a bad situation worse. For the most part, the Americans kept their poise.
''The game was so disjointed in the first half, I was proud of our team for not letting that mentally get them out of focus for what was going on,'' he said.
There was another distraction afterward when France's Nicolas Batum, who plays for Portland, said ''some teams can beat'' the U.S. and named Spain, Argentina and Brazil.
Krzyzewski dismissed Batum's remark.
''That's fine,'' the coach said. ''We also feel we can beat anybody. What other people think is not too significant. It's what we think and how we prepare.''
Even for Tunisia.
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AP Basketball Writer Brian Mahoney contributed to this report.
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