The latest incarnation of the USA Dream Team takes to the court in the 2006 FIBA World Basketball championships, hoping to stop the nightmare that the last two Dream Teams experienced at the Worlds.
Four years ago at home in Indianapolis, the USA squad was an embarrassment as they failed to even crack the medals. Things weren’t much better four years earlier in Athens, Greece when the U.S.A. had to settle for the bronze medal, while the country formerly known as Yugoslavia walked off with the gold that America had been a so-called lock to win.
The Americans have reloaded with younger and more diverse talent and a new head coach for their national team as they prepare to return the U.S.A. to glory when they take to the court for their opener versus Puerto Rico on Saturday, August 19. The oddsmakers over at Pinnacle must think that America is ready to retake their basketball crown, after setting them as a huge -272 favorite.
That’s not much of surprise for a team headlined by NBA superstars like LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Gilbert Arenas. What may be more important is the addition of two-way players like Bruce Bowen and Shane Battier. Another new dimension to the USA team is on the bench where Mike Krzyzewski takes over for Larry Brown. Coach K served as an assistant for the original Dream Team during the 1992 Olympics and is expected to fare better than Brown did with the large number of younger players on the American squad.
As the last two World Championships have shown, the USA no longer dominates international basketball competitions as they did throughout most of the 90s. Giant-killers Serbia & Montenegro shocked everyone four years ago by winning the Worlds. Their chances of repeating look very slim, as the +3514 odds at Pinnacle being offered for Serbia & Montenegro to win clearly shows.
If you’re looking for real challengers to the USA you’ll want to start with Spain and Argentina. The Spaniards may not have a ton of NBA talent, with Pau Gasol and Jose Calderon the only real standouts, but they do have some experienced European players that will give their competitors plenty of talent with which to contend. Pinnacle’s giving them at least some credit as a +762 pick.
The team from Argentina finished second four years ago and has a definite shot at repeating or improving upon that performance. With NBA standouts Manu Ginobili and Andres Nocioni leading the way, the Americans had better not underestimate the Argentineans if they meet up with them in the tournament. The boys from Argentina are a +1063 underdog over at Pinnacle.
Next in line on the odds sheet after the top three are Greece (+1590), Lithuania (+2554), and France (+2700). The Greeks may be able to sneak up on a few people due to the lack of any major NBA talent on their roster. The Lithuanians have Darius Songalia and a few other NBA players that may not stand out on the roster sheet, but could stand out enough on the court to get them into the later rounds of the tourney. And what about the French? Everyone knows that Tony Parker will be suiting up for France, but do all of those people also know that Suns star forward Boris Diaw will be on the court with him?
After France the odds start rising fast, but that doesn’t mean there won’t be a few recognizable stars taking to the court for the teams that the oddsmakers have labelled as pretty big dogs. The Germans have Dirk Nowitzki onboard, but that’s pretty much it as far as most people are concerned. Pinnacle has them listed at +6283. With Yao Ming coming off foot surgery the Chinese look like a one-trick pony, only that pony isn’t fully into running shape yet. That explains why they come in at +20000.
With the Worlds being expanded from 16 to 24 teams for the first time this year, the USA will have more countries to contend with if they hope to get back to the top of the mountain. This will probably mean a more watered-down field, since four years ago eight of these teams would have been excluded. Hopefully for the U.S.A., the increase in teams won’t mean an increase in upsets. Of course for Team U.S.A., anything other than a gold medal would be considered an upset and another disappointment on the international stage.
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