SAPPORO, Japan, Aug 18 - Being made odds-on favourites to win gold at the world basketball championship has cut little ice with a business-like United States.

The US take on Puerto Rico in their opening Group D game on Saturday with bookmakers firmly convinced the team will bring an embarrassing six-year title drought to an end in Japan.

But the players sought to downplay the hype on Friday.

"We don't worry ourselves about book-keeping or gambling," team co-captain LeBron James told Reuters. "What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas and we're far away from Vegas now.

"We've got to take care of business over here."

Dwyane Wade and Carmelo Anthony were also named co-captains with James by US coach Mike Krzyzewski, whose team are looking to win their first major title since the 2000 Sydney Olympics.

The trio tasted defeat at the 2004 Athens Games, where the Americans finished third -- a factor Wade said would help them overcome adversity at the world championship.

"We've got experience of how it looks when it's not right," said the Miami guard. "Being leaders we can help the team when things start to go bad.

"The guys were all really focused in practice. Everybody understands that the exhibition is over. I don't make predictions but I think if we come out and play our game we'll be fine."

BETTER TEAM

Wade believes Krzyzewski's team are better than the Athens Olympic squad led by Allen Iverson and Tim Duncan.

"What this team has that Athens didn't is togetherness," he said. "We know we can't break apart when things starts to go bad."

The US also face Olympic silver medallists Italy, China, Slovenia and Senegal in the first round before the knockout stage begins on August 26.

Krzyzewski refused to give away details of who would start for the US in Saturday's opener.

"We will have a few different starting lineups," he said.

"It's not so much who starts. We will have eight or nine guys in there each quarter."

James acknowledged that the pressure to erase the painful memory of a six-place finish at the 2002 world championship on home soil had focused the minds of the players.

"We're not as laid-back as we were in 2004 because we know how big this is -- it means a lot more to us," said the Cleveland forward.

"There is going to be some pressure of course. But we've got myself and Carmelo and Dwyane who've been through it in 2004 when we lost games.

"We're the leaders of this team through thick and thin and we've got to let the players know it's not the end of the world."