INDIANAPOLIS -- How boring did Team USA's 110-60 rout of Algeria actually get Thursday? At one point fans began jeering Team USA head coach George Karl because of his hideous salmon colored pants.

"Change your pants! Change your pants!" the crowd chanted as time wound down.

After the game, the team was generally happy with their performance, but Ben Wallace did have a few harsh words for his coach.

	Once the U.S. got to show off its flashiness, Shawn Marion led the way.

"We brought our game, but coach's pants ... that was embarrassing," Wallace deadpanned. "I definitely hope Coach Karl will bring his real game next time and wear something better."

The U.S. brought its game and more at Algeria. Poor Algeria.

After all these years, the team qualified for its first berth ever at the World Championships only to be quickly taken to the woodshed by Team USA.

The world may be catching up the United States, but on Day One of the World Basketball Championships, the Americans showed that divide is still pretty wide.

How wide? The game was interesting for exactly 4 minutes, 8 seconds.

By the 5:52 mark of the first quarter, Elton Brand had almost single-handedly dismantled Algeria, building up a 13-0 lead. That's when the murmurs began. If Brand can outscore the Algerians 11-0 by himself, what happens when the rest of Team USA shows up? Alas, Algeria scored a basket on a free throw and any chance of a skunk, or an interesting game, flew out the window. The final score actually had the Algerians cheering.

''We were weak on defense, but for this young team it was a good thing to score 60 points against the U.S.,'' coach Billal Faid said.

The U.S. team was typically dominant inside, outscoring Algeria 60-10 in the paint. Algeria's only success came from well beyond the 3-point arc, exposing what could be the United States' one Achilles' heel -- 3-point shooting.

Michael Finley knocked down five 3's for the Americans and Paul Pierce hit four of his attempts, but overall the team was just 12-for-33 from behind the line. Yugoslavia, in comparison, hit 69 percent of its 3-point attempts versus Angola.

Team USA center Ben Wallace didn't seemed concerned. "Who needs to shoot 3's when you can dominate in the paint? That's our edge and we're going to take advantage of it."

The joking and requisite swagger will likely stop tomorrow when Team USA faces a German squad that took apart Yao Ming and China 88-76.

Yao's official debut at the Worlds' was just so-so. He scored 16 points and grabbed five boards in just 17 minutes, but spent too much of the game on the bench in foul trouble.

Amazingly, China's shaky backcourt rarely fed the ball to Yao in the post when he asked for it. Yao, who was guarded by Germany's 7-footer Patrick Femerling, managed to get great position in the paint. China's guards however, often ignored him, instead launching desperation 3-pointers as the shot clock wound down. No wonder Yao wants out of China.

Nowitzki, however, had no problems getting his hands on the ball, going off for 30 points, eight rebounds and one sweet block of a Yao shot.

After the game, one NBA exec declared that if you stacked up Nowitzki side by side next to a young Larry Bird, Nowitzki is the better player. "He has all the fundamentals that Larry did, plus he is so much more athletic. And he does it all in a 7-foot body. But the best thing about him is his confidence. Every time he shoots the ball, he believes it's going in."

After the game, Nowitzki was confident that his team could play with the United States. "We'll be ready," he said. "We have nothing to lose. If we shoot the ball well and play defense we have a shot."

Germany isn't the only team that thinks it has a shot at knocking off the Americans.

Vlade Divac wasn't as coy as Nowitzki on his country's chances after Yugoslavia dismantled Angola 113-63. When asked whether he thought Yugoslavia could defeat the United States, Divac said he knew they could. "That's why I'm here, to be part of history."

Pierce didn't take any offense: "They're supposed to feel that way. No question they're a talented team. That's why we play the game."

Wallace wasn't so nice.

"That's just Vlade shooting his mouth off again," Wallace said. "Let's just play and see what happens when we meet. You better have a nice seat for that game. We've got a thing or two to prove, too."

Wallace however, still isn't that impressed with the competition.

"International teams are starting to get better," he said. "I don't want to say catching up, because they're still not close. But they're getting better. But we're the best."

Chad Ford writes the daily NBA Insider column for ESPN Insider. To get a free 30-day trial, click here.