William-Rosario-Column
30/08/2014
William Rosario's Somewhere in the Americas
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Expectations vs Reality for the Americas teams prior to World Cup tip-off

SAN JUAN (William Rosario's Somewhere in the Americas) - We're ready for lift off. Argentina, Brazil, Dominican Republic, Mexico, Puerto Rico and the reigning world champs USA are the representatives of the Americas in a 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup in which they all seem to be in contention to at least advance to the Round of 16.

So let's go on through one and level expectations against reality previous to tip-off.

The USA are still championship material. Even though it is true that it is a completely different team without Kevin Durant, Paul George and Kevin Love, this is still a 12-man roster to dream for. As I have said before, there are 22 coaches in this competition that would give anything to have the talented squad that USA brings to this 2014 World Cup, even without the big guns.

All that said, it will be interesting to watch out for those uncomfortable moments when the USA are not in a blowout game and need to find buckets. I don't know if this team has a fully developed identity to battle adversity without some soul searching that may end up determining James Harden is this year's KD. We'll see, but of course Spain is a team that can match up on paper, and I would add Lithuania and Brazil as national teams that can put the Americans to the test.

Brazil is an interesting team to analyze. On paper they look to be able to compete against anybody in this championship. The big men are as good as any team has had in recent memory with Tiago Splitter, Anderson Varejao and Nene Hilario; and after these pre-World Cup months, where injuries have affected all of the big teams, only Brazil and Spain have arrived to this weekend with their roster intact. They also have Ruben Magnano, a coach you want on your bench when looking for discipline and preparation in the big stage. He's no stranger to this. He has won under these bright lights before.

But discipline is the key word for the Brazilians. They are known to fall apart in big moments due to individualism, and just lack of attention to detail. It is true that the backcourt, with Marcelinho Huertas and Leandro Barbosa, possesses a very explosive combination, but it can be their double-edged sword. Huertas, as talented a point guard in Spain in the World Cup, has fallen prey to the frustration game and has taken the team ransom sometimes in these emotional outburst; while for Barbosa, it is just a matter of his unselfishness on the court. When Leandrinho is able to let the game come to him, Brazil is in top shape. If he chooses to focus on making the leaderboard in the scoring department, then his team suffers. But, with Magnano at the helm now for their second world stage event, Brazil seems poised to make a go at the podium in this 2014 edition.

Argentina is not an elite team anymore, and don't take it from me. The message has been loud and clear even from veteran players like Pablo Prigioni who has said that "without Manu (Ginobili) and Carlos Delfino, we don't have the firepower to compete with the top teams in the world". And that is true. But I think the team has adopted the right outlook for this edition. It is all about the future.

Don't get it twisted and think with guys like Luis Scola, Andres Nocioni and Prigioni, this Argentina squad is going to lie down and play dead. They will fight, and give it their all, but head coach Julio Lamas has surrounded the veterans with young guys like Facundo Campazzo, Marcos Delia and Matias Bortolin who will use this experience to maybe become the face of a then elite squad next time around.

Puerto Rico is an X-Factor team in this competition. Here the Paco Olmos experiment will be in full display and show how effective it ultimately became for the Caribbean squad. This, the last World Cup where Carlos Arroyo and Jose Juan Barea will be in the same backcourt, will be run under what has been branded a more "European" style of play. We'll see.

Arroyo specifically has a very defined identity as a player in the national team and it will be interesting to watch how he can adapt, along with Barea, to a now more patient and distributed offense, as well as a fully committed defensive effort. They have looked competitive in their buildup to the championship, with a much more mobile team (Ricky Sanchez playing center), so it looks like with banged up Argentina and Greece, they can compete for a top spot in Group B in Sevilla. If they can get it, then, in the Round of 16 anything can happen.

Dominican Republic is in my opinion the most affected team by the loss of its NBA player. Al Horford not being there really hurts their chances, and now not having Karl Towns as a big body in the middle is lethal for an undersized, overpowered team in their group. Obviously the USA will be tough for them, along with Ukraine and Turkey teams. So, Dominicana is looking to grab on to a spot that will then pit them up in every prediction against Lithuania. Man, that is some tough luck. But, they have to look at getting out of the first round as their goal and celebrate the achievement of moving on in their first World Cup in 38 years.
 
And lastly Mexico, the current FIBA Americas champions, is also in a complicated position but with a healthy squad to battle it out within their group. Their weakness? Well, they seem to not be able to hang with European squads. Discipline and organized offense is their kryptonite. They are a team that thrives in open court and if their adversaries don't give them opportunities to run by limiting mistakes, it will be a tough task for the Mexicans. But they still have Ayon, and some streak shooters that proved last year that in a good day can be a headache for anyone in their path.

The hope is they can all move on to the Round of 16. That they can maximize their potential in this two-week period and compete at the top of their capabilities. Either way we should be grateful for the fact that within the Americas representatives there are no doormats. They all have to just temper their expectations with the realities of the circumstances.

I have been close to these teams the last couple of months. They have their feet on the ground. They know what's up. Frankly my dears, that means they have won at this World Cup already… they get it. 

William Rosario

FIBA

FIBA's columnists write on a wide range of topics relating to basketball that are of interest to them. The opinions they express are their own and in no way reflect those of FIBA.

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William Rosario

William Rosario

If you want the jet-lagged musings of a guy who spends half the year living basketball in the Americas right there in the organisational trenches of the continent's senior and youth championships, along with the South American and FIBA Americas League, then this column is definitely for you. William Rosario, FIBA Americas Communications Director by day and filmmaker by night (some nights), joins FIBA's team of columnists from around the world to bring you "Somewhere in the Americas".