If you are feeling unpatriotic, 6-1 odds on Spain is a pretty dang good play.
The USA is sitting at 3-1 odds, which is ridiculous when you factor in the team they are sending this year vs. the team they sent for the Olympics.
Watching the USA in FIBA basketball (World Championships, Olympics, etc) is my favorite sporting event. I was up at 3 AM in the morning when the USA lost to Greece in 2006. I had people over to my house at 1 AM to watch the USA beat Spain in a fantastic game to win the gold.
That USA team needed a 4 point play from Kobe Bryant and contributions from nearly every great player on that team to pull off the win in the championship.
This current team has no Bryant, no James, no Wade, no Anthony, no Bosh...not one returning player.
This year's World Championship team has many great players--Durant will be spectacular, as will Rose. Beyond that, it is pretty difficult to predict who will play well.
The biggest hole for the USA is in the middle. When you are riding Chandler and Lopez (who right now is horrible) as your plugs in the middle you are asking for trouble.
Luckily for USA most of the formidible teams are missing a key cog or two. Most notably Pau is not playing for Spain. This is probably the reason they are not favored or have slightly better odds. The thing is, Spain still come with a team of NBA level players. Unlike the USA, however, those players will mesh much better as a group and have a huge advantage in scheming and offensive play. Much like the Olympics in 2008, I just do not see the USA being able to consistenly get stops against Spain or maybe even Gree if they get their games going.
I'll be pulling for the USA, but the smart money is with Spain.
The USA is sitting at 3-1 odds, which is ridiculous when you factor in the team they are sending this year vs. the team they sent for the Olympics.
Watching the USA in FIBA basketball (World Championships, Olympics, etc) is my favorite sporting event. I was up at 3 AM in the morning when the USA lost to Greece in 2006. I had people over to my house at 1 AM to watch the USA beat Spain in a fantastic game to win the gold.
That USA team needed a 4 point play from Kobe Bryant and contributions from nearly every great player on that team to pull off the win in the championship.
This current team has no Bryant, no James, no Wade, no Anthony, no Bosh...not one returning player.
This year's World Championship team has many great players--Durant will be spectacular, as will Rose. Beyond that, it is pretty difficult to predict who will play well.
The biggest hole for the USA is in the middle. When you are riding Chandler and Lopez (who right now is horrible) as your plugs in the middle you are asking for trouble.
Luckily for USA most of the formidible teams are missing a key cog or two. Most notably Pau is not playing for Spain. This is probably the reason they are not favored or have slightly better odds. The thing is, Spain still come with a team of NBA level players. Unlike the USA, however, those players will mesh much better as a group and have a huge advantage in scheming and offensive play. Much like the Olympics in 2008, I just do not see the USA being able to consistenly get stops against Spain or maybe even Gree if they get their games going.
I'll be pulling for the USA, but the smart money is with Spain.
