Tyson Chandler knows what it's like playing for his country, and the pressures that come along with it.

Chandler won a FIBA World Championship in 2010 and a gold medal at the London Olympics with Team USA in 2012. Other than the Final against Spain, the latter squad completely rolled through the competition.

That hasn't been the case for this year's rendition at the Rio Olympics. Team USA has struggled in narrow victories over Australia, Serbia, and France, and they were trailing almost the entire game against the Aussies.

On each occasion, somebody has stepped up to save the Americans from potentially stunning defeats. But, despite holding a undefeated record entering the quarterfinals of the tournament, Team USA has been profusely criticized by the media and former basketball greats.

Chandler finds these sentiments to be misguided.

Tyson recently spoke with Sirius XM NBA Radio, explaining the reality of why Team USA hasn't dominated their opponents, and what Americans should do in place of lambasting them:

“We're so spoiled. We're used to blowing out opponents, but the world has changed, the game has changed. The world players have come a long way, and it's not that easy any more. We need to commend these guys for going out there and giving it their all, and we all need to get behind our team.”

Chandler is correct when he says that we're spoiled, but it's understandable for expectations to be so high when the talent on Team USA is vastly superior, especially from a depth perspective.

Also, ESPN's Marc Stein spoke on Zach Lowe's podcast before the Olympics about the drop off in talent on an international level. Stein discussed how quality young prospects have not risen from the traditional powers (other than the U.S.) in recent years, such as Spain and Argentina, which conflicts with Tyson's statement.

At the end of the day though, Chandler makes a solid case for why we should push the criticism aside and simply enjoy rooting for the team representing our country.