[the barronParticipant]

This is the final group of the FIBA World Championships. For those of you that don’t know there are 4 groups with 6 teams each. The top 4 in each group move on to the knockout round. Group D is interesting. Two things stand out here. Spain should have the easiest road of any team in winning their group and unlike the other groups, every team has a reasonable chance of moving on to the knockout round. Heres Group D:

Canada- One of the most underrated teams in the tournament. Canada has played well in their exhibition games(except for an embarrasing beat down by Greece). This team has played well together for the past couple of years. Heat C Joel Anthony and Levon Kendall form a formidable duo down low. While the coach’s son Andy Rautins and Denham Brown will be valuable for the Canadians. Veteran guard Jermaine Anderson will be counted on to make plays. This Group is interesting. Spain will get 1st but anything else isn’t certain. Canada could get 2nd place but they can also fall out of group play. Right now I think they will get 2nd place but since Group C is so strong I have them out in the round of 16.

France- One of the greatest mysteries of the tournament. Everybody that saw the exhibition against the US saw a team that hung around and played solid basketball for a half but then imploded in the second. Boris Diaw is their main man. A versatile player that gained some weight and affected his endurance. France has good athletes such as Florent Pietrus, Nicolas Batum, Galebale and some serviceable big men like Ajinca. They have the talent to get 2nd place but if their recent history is to show this team will underachieve and barely get the 4th spot to advance. Don’t be surprised though if Lebanon or New Zealand beat them though.

Lebanon- A middle-eastern squad that has played some good basketball as of late. Even in his late 30’s Lebanese basketball legend Fadi El-Khatib can still be counted on to make plays. Former NCAA players Matt Freije and Jackson Vroman have also played well for Lebanon and add length to this squad. Lebanon has some good depth and experience and out of the 4 Asian teams in the tourney they have the best chance of moving on to the knockout round. I have them just out but they are more than capable of beating the French or Canadians.

Lithuania- This basketball crazy country is in a transition period. Jasikevicious isn’t with the national team anymore and that means guard play will be suspect. They played poorly at last years Eurobasket and needed a wild card bid to get into this tournament. This is a big team with big bodies but they need to stabilize their guard play if they want to go into the medal round. Linas Kleiza, their best player, will take up many of the ball handling responsiblities. Javtakas will anchor the middle and it is yet unknown what role rising player Motiejunas will play. Still though this is a dangerous team with a proud tradition. I have them getting 2nd place but they can very well end up in 4th or worst out of the knockout round.

New Zealand- Unlike Jordan,Tunisia, and Cote d’Ivoire, New Zealand,considered the weakest in this group, will compete every game. Veteran guard Kirk Penney and big man Pero Cameron bring plenty of experience and talent to the Kiwis. Young big guy Craig Bradshaw is quickly evolving into one of the better New Zealand players. They would have to pull some upsets to advance but don’t count this veteran group out. As it stands I have them last in this group but they are capable of grabbing the last 4th spot to advance to the knock out round.

Spain- Last but certainly not least is Spain. This team is loaded even without Pau Gasol. They put a good scare into the Redeem Team in the olympics Gold Medal game in 08. These guys have played together for awhile and have to be considered one of the favorites in the tournament. Their guard play has experience, youth, and talent. Calderon,Navarro, Rubio, and Fernandez gives this team plenty of depth. Big guys like Marc Gasol, Garbojosa, and Felipe Reyes will contribute down low. Simply put this is one scary team that anything less than a gold medal should be a dissapointment. They play in the easiest group so they should win every game up until a potential match up against Greece.

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