• Home
  • FIBA
  • EuroLeague
  • NBA/NCAA
  • National Leagues
  • Podcast
  • Features
  • More
  • Contact

Grimag

  • FIBA
  • EuroLeague
  • NBA/NCAA
  • National Leagues
  • Podcast
  • Features
  • More

Team USA still favored in 2010 FIBA World Championship, but should they be?

July 22, 2010

Just a quick note (and link) for fans of the 2010 FIBA World Championship: Be sure to check out the excellent and extensive thoughts on Team USA by M. Haubs over at ESPN TrueHoop Network blog The Painted Area.

In “Spain, Not Team USA, Should Be Considered Favorites To Win 2010 FIBA Worlds,” Haubs makes a convincing case for the defending Eurobasket champions, who in complete contrast to the red-white-and-blues is returning much of the last FIBA tourney’s roster.

Currently at BallinEurope/Euroleague sponsor Sporting Bet, Team USA sits at 7/20 to win this tournament, while Spain is at 19/4 and Team Serbia is a distant third on the bookmaker’s table at a whopping 18/1. While the odds on USA are shorter than one month ago (and before the extended roster was set), the increase has hardly been dramatic from the former line of 1/4.

Unfortunately for the yanks, things aren’t looking so good on any level for this squad highly inexperienced in international play with redundant point guards (Chauncey Billups, Derrick Rose, Rajon Rondo and Russell Westbrook) and a lack of big men, particularly against the likes of BiE’s favorite dark horse in this tourney, Brazil (which is bringing Tiago Splitter, Anderson Varejao and Nene to the party).

Aside from coach Mike Krzyzewski, Haubs saliently points out the main thing Team USA has on its side going in to the tournament:

[The Americans will] play France, Lithuania, Spain and Greece. That is one tough schedule of tuneups, including perhaps Team USA’s two toughest challengers. I sense that Colangelo and Krzyzewski know that they’ll need to get this group battle-tested in a hurry. I’m guessing Coach K is viewing the pre-tourney schedule like he does a tough non-conference schedule at Duke: maybe they’ll take a loss prior to Turkey, but if it gets them prepared to cut down the nets at the Big Dance, I’m sure he’ll take it.

BiE doesn’t buy Haubs’ optimism about Team France and BiE’s super-ultra-dark horse candidate doesn’t even get the sniff of a mention (no, this particular fearless prediction won’t be released yet) but these are trivial niggles. All in all, “Spain, Not Team USA, Should Be Considered Favorites To Win 2010 FIBA Worlds” is a fantastic must-read for FIBA followers.

Incidentally, since this hasn’t been posted here yet, here’s the entire extended roster for Team Spain: Pablo Aguilar, Jose Manuel Calderon, Víctor Claver, Rudy Fernandez, Jorge Garbajosa, Marc Gasol, Sergio Llull, Rafa Martinez, Alex Mumbru, Juan Carlos Navarro, Felipe Reyes, Ricky Rubio, Fernando San Emeterio, Carlos Suarez, and Fran Vazquez.

Scary.

Jul 22, 2010ballineurope
Powered by Sidelines
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
This post was published on July 22, 2010
The 35 Greatest Basketball YouTubes of All-Time: Nos. 16-20Saga of Pierre Pierce to continue at Aris BC
Comments: 9
  1. Alex
    15 years ago

    This is likely to be Team USA–

    C–Brook Lopez, Tyson Chandler
    PF/C–Kevin Love
    SF/PF– Lamar Odom, Danny Granger, Gerald Wallace
    SF/SG–Andre Iguodala, Kevin Durant
    SG–Stephen Curry
    PG/SG–Chauncy Billups
    PG–Rajon Rondo, Derrick Rose.

    When you wrote that Spain is “scary”, you seemed to infer that their roster is “scary”; as in, they are scarily talented. They may indeed be talented, but, without Pau Gasol, do they even have a player that, based on talent, would make Team USA?

    Does that make the talent on Team USA “terrifying”?

    ReplyCancel
  2. Mika
    15 years ago

    Team USA looks like the weakest roster they ever had since they started using NBA players. 1992, 1994, 1996, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008 rosters were all much stronger. Even the 2002 roster that finished 6th in the World Championship playing at home was noticeably stronger.

    I can’t imagine how the US expects to win gold with that roster. Colangelo and Coach K were arrogant and ignorant about the level of the international teams, coaches, and players in 2006 and they lost. Coach K didn’t even know the names of the players of the other teams.

    They won in 2008 and now it seems they are now back to being ignorant. They have to be to select such a team. Because that team is weak compared to previous US teams.

    I guess they figure, no Papaloukas, Ginobili, Nowitzki, Kirilenko, Kaman, Pau, Jasikevicius, Siskauskas, Yao, Tony Parker, etc. and just assume the other teams are all weak. Which clearly shows how ignorant they are. Many of those players actually make their teams worse and good international teams have all kinds of players that can play in the NBA, but don’t merely out of choice. Seems Colangelo and Coach K assume if they don’t play in the NBA that they are bad. Funny stuff.

    Greece, Argentina, Spain………teams like that will definitely be able to beat that US team. I’m not saying they will, but they have at LEAST a 50/50 chance, if not in fact that they should actually be favored. Teams like France and Serbia might possibly also beat them. Those odds makers are way off. Looking at the brackets, I would not even be surprised if the US was eliminated at the quarterfinals.

    ReplyCancel
  3. Dzoni
    15 years ago

    Serbia land of basketball all the way to the top!!!!

    ReplyCancel
  4. Freaknick
    15 years ago

    Sure individually this USA team might look stronger, but it’s full of all far more FIBA-ready players than in years past. Spain has the chemistry and experience part down pat, but talent still goes to the USA this year, even with new blood.

    It really does come back to Alex’s question of: does Spain even have a player who could make Team USA?

    At PG, I think Rubio could certainly be serviceable and Vazquez would be nice to have around the basket (if I see Tyson Chandler in red, white & blue I might vomit), but beyond that it’s a collection of guys who shouldn’t be able to match up with the Americans. This formula has certainly proven ineffective in the past for Team USA, but at least this bunch has something to prove, unlike the 2006ers.

    ReplyCancel
  5. Alex
    15 years ago

    Mika–If Agentina, Spain, and Greece have a better than 50/50 chance of betting the US, that means that each of those teams, if they played the US one hundred times under the conditions of the first game (the same amount of experience playing together, talent level, etc), then they would beat the US over fifty times. Do you really believe that?

    To think that USA Basketball looked at other rosters and decided to bring this team is asinine; to think that other national teams dictate what USA B does is even more asinine. They wanted the stars from 2008, but none of them committed to playing this year. And regarding the lack of respect: you should be following the USAB training camp; the coaches are preaching respect of opposing opponents. You shouldn’t take your own conjectures as facts, though inferiority complexes can tend to do that.

    Freaknick is right. While this team doesn’t have the most athletic, big-name specimens, many of them are excellent for FIBA ball. Kevin Durant, Danny Granger, Stephen Curry, and Chauncey Billups are all better shooters than anyone who got meaningful minutes from 2008; Kevin Love is a perfect big for FIBA; and Brook Lopez is a skilled international-type center who can operate in the extended paint. Combine that with the athleticism and physicality of Iguodola, Rose, and Rondo, and you have a solid, solid team.

    I would take the field over team USA, but they should be the favorites against any individual team, by a long shot.

    ReplyCancel
  6. Alex
    15 years ago

    Freaknick–I’ve been thinking about Rubio joining the team. Do you think he’s better than Billups, Westrbook, Rondo, Rose, and Curry? I’m not so sure. . .

    ReplyCancel
  7. ganjamir
    15 years ago

    USA will won the Gold medal its because these players know how to play international rules when they were in college and its still fresh in their minds and ability to make it.
    Young,Fast,Hungry and Excellent.Just beware with this roster.

    ReplyCancel
  8. Mika
    15 years ago

    The fact that Americans here only talk about Rubio from the other teams proves how little knowledge they have about basketball. There are many, many, many players in this tournament from other teams that are far better than Rubio is.

    ReplyCancel
  9. jaume
    15 years ago

    Always the same mistake. International game is not about individuality. Is about team work.
    The team that plays the olimpic final was the same with Pau Gasol. Do you thing that he was playing alone? The last world campionship final we played without Gasol wining by 40 Grece the team that beated USA in the semifinals. And now we have Ricky rubio, Victor Claver 24th draft 09, Sergio LLull 40th Draft 09, Fran Vazquez 11th Draft 06, JC Navarro, Rudy Fernandez, Marc Gasol ect. I think is a really god team.
    And forgot about Argentina and Grece this year Serbia is coming really strong.

    ReplyCancel

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

ballineurope
15 years ago 9 Comments FIBA, More2010 FIBA World Championship, Alex Mumbru, Anderson Varejao, basketball bets, basketball betting, Carlos Suarez, Chauncey Billups, Derrick Rose, ESPN, Felipe Reyes, Fernando San Emeterio, FIBA, Fran Vazquez, Jorge Garbajosa, Jose Manuel Calderon, Juan Carlos Navarro, Marc Gasol, Mike Krzyzewski, NBA, Nene, Pablo Aguilar, Rafa Martinez, Rajon Rondo, Ricky Rubio, Rudy Fernandez, Russell Westbrook, Sergio Llull, Team Brazil, Team France, Team Serbia, Team Spain, Team USA, Tiago Splitter, Victor Claver
Recent Posts
Salt Lake Summer League 2025: Team Breakdowns, Betting Angles & Final Forecasts
4 days ago
From Nolan Traore to Noa Essengue, we break down the top European prospects in the NBA Draft
Top European NBA prospects for the 2025 Draft
6 days ago
Is Shai Gilgeous-Alexander a Lock for Finals MVP?
21 days ago
Categories
Recent Posts
Salt Lake Summer League 2025: Team Breakdowns, Betting Angles & Final Forecasts
Top European NBA prospects for the 2025 Draft
Is Shai Gilgeous-Alexander a Lock for Finals MVP?
Tags
EuroLeagueNBAYouTubeReal MadridCSKA MoscowFC BarcelonaFIBAOlympiacosPanathinaikosZalgiris KaunasACBSpainMaccabi Tel AvivRicky RubioTeam SpainLos Angeles LakersMontepaschi SienaPartizan BelgradeLithuaniaIrelandGermanyPau GasolItalyTeam LithuaniaTurkeyTeam FranceCaja Laboral BaskoniaLietuvos RytasFenerbahce ÜlkerGreeceJuan Carlos NavarroSerbiaSan Antonio SpursTony ParkerMinnesota TimberwolvesFranceEuroleagueDirk Nowitzkibasketball highlightsTeam RussiaALBA BerlinEuroCupDallas MavericksTeam USAEuroBasket 2011
Share
0
Facebook
ABOUT
BallinEurope.com was founded in September 2007 by Christophe Ney (who now runs the excellent scouting-themed website European Prospects) and Tobias Seitz, both then bloggers for FIBA.com with over 10 years’ worth of experience in the professional basketball world each. The mission then was to “provide a very unique perspective of Basketball in and about Europe.”
Most Commented
Why Andrei Kirilenko and CSKA Moscow must win the Euroleague
13 years ago
180 Comments
Euroleague Transfers Table 2008/2009
17 years ago
168 Comments
A week in highlights: Spanish block party, mighty Milos, Utah rap and some dude dunking in L.A.
14 years ago
139 Comments
Archives
Get In Touch

Email: emmetryan@gmail.com

Name: Emmet Ryan

2014 © BallinEurope. Join JCI Dublin