[the barronParticipant]

Yesterday I did a preview of Group A in the upcoming World Championships. Naturally today would be Group B’s turn. For those unfamiliar with the format there are 4 groups with 6 teams each. The top 4 teams of each group move on to the knockout round once they have played each other. Here’s Group B:

Brazil- One of the most dangerous teams in the tournament and USA’s biggest threat in the group. The Brazilians have 3 tough NBA big men(Varejao, Nene, and Tiago Splitter) that elevate their game when they play for the national team. Leandro Barbosa is a threat as always and other experienced players like Machado,Dos Santos, and Huertas give this South American team some depth. After having tune-ups against Iran and Tunisia they will play team USA in the 3rd game. Their combination of size, experience, and chemistry can and will give the Americans problems. One of only 5 teams that have a chance of beating team USA in the entire tournament. For now lets have them getting 2nd in this group falling to the Americans in a close game, but don’t be so surprised if they pull the upset.

Croatia- A solid team that took part in the Beijing Olympics two years ago. No current NBA names on this roster. Roko Ukic who spent some time in the NBA will be the leader of this proud basketball nation. Utah Jazz fans may want to watch young 7’2 Ante Tomic lead the big men for Croatia. This is a young squad with good speed and depth. They should give team USA a solid game, unfortunately this is a tough group and I have them getting the 4th spot behind USA,Brazil, and Slovenia. Would be surprising if they get past the round of 16.

Iran- This emerging Asian squad has their work cut out for them. Hamed Haddadi is a skilled big men that posts big numbers for them but everybody else on the team will have to step up big time in order to make an upset happen an advance to the next round. They can beat Croatia or Slovenia but I have them out in the group stage. Olympic experience and some Asian championships can help this team prove to the rest of the basketball world that they are for real.

Slovenia- An interesting team that is good enough for 2nd yet can also lose to Iran and get eliminated in group stage. How this team gels will determine how many games they can win. Goran Dragic will set the usual uptempo Slovenia pace while big man Primoz Brezec will try to contribute down low. Veterans Bostjan Nachbar and Uros Slokar will also be of big help to this team. Back in 06 a similar Slovenian squad gave the US a run for its money for 3 quarters before the Americans got a comfortable lead in the 4th quarter. I got this team 3rd in the group and a good chance to advance to the final 8.

Tunisia- Shocked the world when they qualified out of the Africa region. When countries like Nigeria,Senegal, and Cameroon underachieved this North African squad overachieved. They earned a spot at this years Worlds but unfortunately for them they are considered the worst team in the entire tournament. They just lost to an average European squad that didn’t qualify for the World Championships, Finland, by 30. That doesn’t bode well for a team that will play USA and Brazil. Even the next worst team Iran can beat them by over 20. Hopefully Tunisia can make this a valuable learning experience and this country continues to evolve its basketball.

USA- Most of us are familiar with this team. Team USA has the talent and coaching to win obviously but they still have some hurdles to go through. Can they play effectively together which was a big problem before the 08 redeem team? How will their lack of height affect them? What about zone defenses? USA should win this group and the gold but it won’t be no pick-nik either.

[Mr.Knick 32Participant]

Brazil. I don’t know there guard play really well but if it’s not terrible and can get the ball into the post, I could see them playing USA real tough.

[Mr.Knick 32Participant]

Brazil. I don’t know there guard play really well but if it’s not terrible and can get the ball into the post, I could see them playing USA real tough.

[the barronParticipant]

Their guard play is solid. One of the best units outside of USA. The Brazil-USA match-up is the first round game I’m the most excited about.

[the barronParticipant]

Their guard play is solid. One of the best units outside of USA. The Brazil-USA match-up is the first round game I’m the most excited about.

[Mr.Knick 32Participant]

Good, I wanna tune in then. Do you when and where can I view the games?

[Mr.Knick 32Participant]

Good, I wanna tune in then. Do you when and where can I view the games?

[EzeEdParticipant]

thanks for these “scouting reports”, I read yesterday’s as well. Don’t really know a lot about intanat’l basketball, but since the US is in i’m looking forward to this competition. Any pre-games info is very helpful to me. Thanks again.
Saw a schedule of US 1st rnd games on another board, i’ll try and post it if i can.

[EzeEdParticipant]

thanks for these “scouting reports”, I read yesterday’s as well. Don’t really know a lot about intanat’l basketball, but since the US is in i’m looking forward to this competition. Any pre-games info is very helpful to me. Thanks again.
Saw a schedule of US 1st rnd games on another board, i’ll try and post it if i can.

[bobbybParticipant]

however croatia or slovenia will be much more difficult to defeat than Brazil. Dont be underestimate teams that dont have Nba players. Greece has no ( or maybe a few) Nba players and they are one of the favorites

[bobbybParticipant]

however croatia or slovenia will be much more difficult to defeat than Brazil. Dont be underestimate teams that dont have Nba players. Greece has no ( or maybe a few) Nba players and they are one of the favorites

[the barronParticipant]

ESPN will be broadcasting team USA games. ESPN 3(formerly 360) will be showing the rest of the games. Not sure if they will be showing all of the games or just the key group games. Should be fun. Thanks for all you that enjoy these little previews for the upcoming games. bobbyb having NBA players doesn’t necessarily mean winning as the French have shown for the past couple of years. Greece is a scary team and I believe them to the biggest threat to the Americans.

[the barronParticipant]

ESPN will be broadcasting team USA games. ESPN 3(formerly 360) will be showing the rest of the games. Not sure if they will be showing all of the games or just the key group games. Should be fun. Thanks for all you that enjoy these little previews for the upcoming games. bobbyb having NBA players doesn’t necessarily mean winning as the French have shown for the past couple of years. Greece is a scary team and I believe them to the biggest threat to the Americans.

[ghettosermonParticipant]

Nice job, I did a full WC’s prediction thread a couple weeks back:

http://www.nbadraft.net/forum/my-full-fiba-world-championships-bracket-predictions

I too had Greece going far, and explained many things including enigma’s like France.

[ghettosermonParticipant]

Nice job, I did a full WC’s prediction thread a couple weeks back:

http://www.nbadraft.net/forum/my-full-fiba-world-championships-bracket-predictions

I too had Greece going far, and explained many things including enigma’s like France.

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