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ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates — The American men are the starriest, deepest and richest basketball team on the globe, there’s no denying that.

They are not always the smoothest and most harmonious, and the latest showcase matchup proved that.

Mistakes, slippery passes and communication breakdowns almost avalanched on them Monday, when Australia nearly ambushed them at the finish line. Team USA survived the showcase exhibition anyway, 98-92.

Devin Booker said Team USA’s ragged performance in the third quarter and the final few minutes against the Aussies “will not win us the gold medal.”

Strong observations, especially since this was just the second of five tune-ups before the Paris Games. But it speaks about this team’s status at the moment, where they’re still trying to figure themselves out.

This has always been the speck of imperfection on these American Olympic teams. Team USA is annually hand-picked from the stockpile of All-Stars. Meanwhile, other countries assemble players who have been national teammates for years, even decades. Those teams know the tendencies of their teammates and ace the chemistry tests.

Ultimately, talent wins out. That’s why the Americans, ever since 1992 when professionals infiltrated the Games, have won gold medals in every Olympics but one.

At the moment? They haven’t looked the part, at least not completely. The Americans were annoyed by 18 turnovers against the Aussies and that, along with getting out-hustled for offensive rebounds and defensive lapses — the back-door cuts especially — made this game closer than it was designed.

“We stopped playing mid third quarter and started turning the ball over,” said coach Steve Kerr. “The game shifted.”

After leading by 24 in the third, the Aussies seized upon a gradual stream of American mistakes. Kerr pulled his starters halfway through the fourth anyway, but Josh Giddey, recently traded to the Bulls, led a comeback with clever passing and jumpers.

So Kerr had to call a timeout and reassess.

In a sense, the mistakes can be explained, if not excused, because Kerr is shuffling lineups in preparation for the Games. This is the byproduct of that.

“Our defense had a little slippage, back cuts kind of hurt us,” Anthony Davis said. “But offensive rebounds for them have nothing to do with the short time we’ve been together. That’s all effort.”

Patience is being preached here in the exhibition stretch of games. That said, there are two weeks before the tipoff is real — enough time, Kerr said, but barely so.

“We don’t have the continuity like a team like Australia,” Kerr said. “That means we have to adapt pretty quickly, in a couple of weeks. It takes a little time to become a team. We will get there. This is a good lesson for us. Better to learn that lesson now than later.”