To start off, Team USA will be the favorites to win the gold medal. They will have five players returning from the 08 Olympic squad (Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul, and Deron Williams) and five players from the FIBA World Championship squad (Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, Kevin Love, Andre Iguodala, and Tyson Chandler) who both won their tournaments. Then they will be adding two players who haven't seen the international game in James Harden and the first pick of this year's NBA Draft, Anthony Davis. Team USA will have a lot of strengths in this tournament as they come in with three-time NBA MVP LeBron James, three-time scoring champion Kevin Durant, and five-time NBA champion Kobe Bryant. Kobe Bryant is going to be the player who in a clutch situation will be the go-to guy to get the last shot in the game. As for Durant and LeBron, they will be players that will be able to play defense against their opponents and be able to win in so many different ways. They will also be able to play multiple positions from shooting guard to even center. USA Basketball Head Coach Mike Krzyzewski will be relying on both LeBron James and Kevin Durant to do just that because of the lack of size that is on the team. That gives him versatility with his team because he can have a lineup that can have Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, and Kevin Durant playing together. Another strength that Coach K has is that he has the best point guards in the world in Chris Paul, Deron Williams, and Russell Westbrook. These point guards are the quickest guards in the game and they all have the abilities to make everyone around them better. Not only that, a guy like Russell Westbrook is the quickest point guard in the world and the most athletic. Deron Williams has some FIBA experience while playing in Turkey during the NBA lockout where he had his jersey raised after not even playing for an entire year. This will help Deron Williams because he is now used to how the international game is played. Chris Paul has a lot of international basketball experience as he has been doing it since 2006.
However, there are some weaknesses for this team. The obvious one is that their only true center is defensive player of the year, Tyson Chandler. As good of a rebounder Tyson Chandler is, Team USA is going to need to act a lot bigger as they get into the tournament. They will need Kevin Love to be the double-double machine that he was in Minnesota and Anthony Davis is going to have to grow up fast because there are teams this year that are big enough to give this team a lot of problems at the post. This means that this team will have to rely on the perimeter game in getting steals and not letting the ball get into the paint. With that being said, here are teams that can give Team USA a lot of trouble in this year's Olympics.
Spain FIBA Ranking: 2
Spain is a team that has a lot of good NBA talent, especially at the post. They will be bringing both Pau and Marc Gasol along with this year's blocks leader Serge Ilbaka into London. This is scary for Team USA considering they only have one really true center in Tyson Chandler. It will be a difficult task to stop these because they combined this year to average 26.8 rebounds per game and 6.91 blocks per game. This is compared to Team USA's big men in Kevin Love and Tyson Chandler who combined for 23.3 rebounds per game and 1.94 blocks per game. Now, the reason why Anthony Davis isn't included in that is because he hasn't stepped on a professional basketball court yet. But in Kentucky, Davis was able to average 10.4 rebounds per game and 4.7 blocks per game. This will help Team USA a lot, but this is not college. He will be going up against guys that will be able to be just as good as he is. Also. Spain will have great guard play in Jose Caulderon and Juan-Carlos Navarro. In just one season in the NBA, he averaged 10.9 points per game in the 2007-2008 season. More recently in the Eurobasketball championship, he averaged 18.7 points per game and 3 assists per game. Also, Navarro in the five times he's played against Team USA, he has been a tough assignment as he's averaged 17.2 points per game going back to the 2002 FIBA World Championship. Then there's Jose Calderon who is one of the more underrated point guards in the NBA as he has averaged 10.1 points per game and 8.9 assists per game in the last two seasons for the Toronto Raptors. As for names that the American basketball fan may not be familiar with, there's power forward Felipe Reyes and point guard Sergio Rodriguez. Felipe Reyes has played well against Team USA in the past as he has averaged 12 points per game and 6.0 rebound per game going going back to the 2002 FIBA World Championship Games. Also, Reyes has been successful in the Euroleague playing for Real Madrid scoring 8.4 points per game and averaging 6.3 rebounds per game. Point guard Sergio Rodriguez on the other hand is not a guy that will put up the numbers, but is a guy that is quick and one of the more athletic players in the tournament. Spain will be Team USA's toughest challenge and they will be ready for them when they play in the last Olympic tune-up game this Wednesday.
Argentina FIBA Ranking: 3
Argentina is a team that has always been a team to watch out for since they defeated Team USA in 2002 and 2004. They won the gold medal as well in 2004 and have medaled in 8 world tournaments in the last 10 years. They will once again be led by 3-time NBA Champion Manu Ginobili who has been leading this team through most of the medal runs. Despite the injuries in the past Ginobili looks the healthiest he has been in a while and he showed that in the NBA playoffs as he averaged 14.4 points per game in this year's playoffs for the San Antonio Spurs. He has also been one of the nightmares for Team USA as he has averaged 14.4 points per game for Team USA since the 2002 FIBA World Championship Tournament. Argentina also brings with them other NBA talent such as Luis Scola, Andres Nocioni, and Carlos Delfino. Luis Scola averaged 15.5 points per game and 6.5 rebounds per game for the Houston Rockets this past season and has gotten better at his game each year. He is also a dangerous player for Team USA as he has averaged 16.1 points per game against the United States. Andres Nocioni and Carlos Delfino will also be tough players to guard at the three-point line, so Team USA will have to play the perimeter close and force them to make turnovers.
Brazil FIBA Ranking: 13
Brazil is quickly becoming one of the best basketball countries in the world. They may not be the team that they are in soccer, but this is a team that Team USA cannot mess around with. Brazil has a lot of good NBA talent in Nene, Anderson Varejao, Tiago Splitter, and Leandro Barbosa. Americans have already gotten a taste of what Brazil can be like after their exhibition game against Team USA at the Verizon Center last week when Team USA won 80-69. Brazil showed their toughness on the inside, but Team USA was able to stop that. The question will be can Team USA keep them away like they did in real competition in the Olympics. In that game, Alex Garcia played well as he was 2 for three from three-point range and scored 16 points in the game. The last time Brazil played Team USA in a meaningful game, it was the 2010 FIBA World Championship game and Team USA only won by just two points by a score of 70-68. In that game, Tiago Splitter had 13 points and Leandro Barbosa had 14 points in the game. Marcus Vleira will also be tough for Team USA as he also had a good game in 2010 a he scored 16 points in the game. Also, in the Italian league this past season, he averaged 11.3 points per game. However, the biggest challenge will be stopping Washington Wizards' center Nene who averaged 14.5 points per game and 7.5 rebounds per game this past season. Also, he scored 8 points and grabbed 6 rebounds in the tune-up game against Team USA. This will be a difficult assignment for guys like Tyson Chandler and the way Team USA will win against this team will be stopping them at the perimeter and getting on the fast break.
Lithuania: FIBA Ranking: 5
Lithuania has always been a team that can shoot the basketball. They may not have the best ball-handling, but they are some of the best shooters in the world from their point guard, to their center. This year however, they come in with one of the best young centers in the world. This is the European version of Anthony Davis. This player is Jonas Valanciunas who was drafted by the Toronto Raptors last season, but decided to keep playing overseas because of the NBA lockout. Valanciunas is a guy who can rebound and shoot the ball as good as anyone in this tournament. He averaged 10.8 points per game and 7.6 rebound per game in the Euroleague for the Lietuvos Rytas this past season. In international competition, he is no stranger for that as he scored 30 points and grabbed 15 rebounds against Team USA in the 2011 U19 FIBA World Championship. He is the best young post player in all of Europe. Another player that will be a challenge for Team USA is small forward Linas Kleiza who is now also playing for the Toronto Raptors and while he may not be a good NBA player, he is a great player in the international game as he averaged 19.2 points per game in the 2012 Olympic Qualifying Tournament. Also, in the 2010 season for the Olympiacos, he averaged 17.1 points per game and 6.5 rebounds per game. He is a guy who is getting better as years go by and is someone that Team USA should be looking out for. In the backcourt, the challenge will be stopping 36 year-old veteran point guard Sarunas Jasikevicius who has been one of the best point guards in the world for years going back to 2001 in the Euroleague. He has had career averages of 11.7 points per game and 3.6 assists per game in his career. However, don't let those numbers fool you because he is one of tge best three point shooters in the world. Jasikevicius has shot 39.7% from beyond the ark in his career. In the 2004 season, he shot 48 for 94 in 21 games which is 51.1% from three-point land. Although his short career in the NBA was unsuccessful, he has had success against Team USA as back in 2004 when they beat Team USA, he scored 28 points and was 7 for 12 from three-point range. In his second game against Team USA in 2004, he scored 17 points and was 5 for 9 from beyond the ark. The good thing however is that the last time he faced Team USA in 2008, he was held to just 9 points as Team USA dominated that game 120-84. In Team USA's last contest against Lithuania was the 2010 FIBA World Championship game where they the United States won by a score of 89-74. The good news is that in that game, Kevin Durant had 38 points, grabbed 9 rebounds, and was 5 for 9 from three-point range.
France: FIBA Ranking: 12
France is a team that has a lot of NBA players in Tony Parker, Nicolas Batum, Boris Diaw, and Ronny Turiaf. Turiaf won't be much of a challenge for Team USA to stop being that he has struggled for years in the NBA. But Tony Parker will be a big challenge for Team USA. Tony Parker is still one of the best point guards in the NBA as he have averaged 18.3 points per game and 7.7 assists per game last season for the San Antonio Spurs. However, this will be his first time facing Team USA and it will be interesting to see how Team USA plays him. Boris Diaw also comes in with a good defensive presence as well as a guy who can pull up and shoot. The real challenge however will be stopping Nicolas Batum. Batum had a great year for the Portland Trail Blazers and also played well while LaMarcus Aldridge was injured. From February fourth to the end of the season he averaged 15.2 points per game and 4.8 rebounds per game. He also will be playing his first game against the USA National team. The guy though that American basketball fans will learn to know is a forward named Florent Pietrus. Pietrus is a guy who may not have the numbers but is a physical player at the post and a guy who can dunk the ball really well. The one guy however that they are going to miss is Joakim Noah who is one of the best defensive players in the NBA and was supposed to be one of the anchors of the team.
Russia: FIBA Ranking: 11
Russia is going to be a team that will have a lot of size. Not many people are talking about this team, but they will be one of the more physical teams in this tournament. They are going to have a rejuvenated AK47 AKA Andrei Kirilenko. Kirilenko played for CSKA Moscow this past season and had the best year in his basketball career scoring 14.1 points per game and grabbing 7.5 rebounds per game. Another big man on their team is 7'1 center Timofey Mozgov who now plays for the Denver Nuggets. Mozgov is getting better for the Nuggets as he averaged 4.8 rebound per game this past season. However, he was a success in the Euroleague as he averaged 8.8 points per game and 5.9 rebounds per game during his career. He also had a good game against Team USA in the 2010 FIBA World Championship as he scored 13 points and grabbed 4 rebounds in a losing effort. These will be guys that Team USA will have a lot of trouble with and they will need Tyson Chandler to have a big game.
During these Olympics, Team USA is going to have some of the bigger challenges that they have had in international competition. However, even with the lack of size, they will still end up at the top because of having the best players in the world. With that being said, there is no reason to think that these aforementioned teams won't give them a big fight to the finish.
Gold: USA
Silver: Spain
Bronze: Brazil
Now for every basketball fan, the only thing left to is just wait for the Olympics to happen because these games are what make sports great.
