2006 FIBA World Championship.

[stunnerzinc]

America totally embarrassed Puerto Rico in the first game. 69-114, I think. Anyone else watching it? I hope America wins it, but they don't have a good center and only one good Forward (Lebron).

[Cobra Commander]

America totally embarrassed Puerto Rico in the first game. 69-114, I think. Anyone else watching it? I hope America wins it, but they don't have a good center and only one good Forward (Lebron).

One good forward? Chris Bosh, Elton Brand, Antwan Jamision, Carmello Anthony, Shane Battier, and LeBron. Forward is easily their deepest position. I'm more worried about how the two young point guards are going to play on the international level.

If the U.S. plays to their abilties they will average double digit victories because they are easily the most talented team in the world.

[Kenjpn]

they are talented, but they dont work well together usually i.e the olympics

[stunnerzinc]

None of them are GOOD, except Lebron and Brand (forgot about him). Brand is an awesome forward, but Carmelo is extremely overrated. Arenas and Wade are awesome players. Wade helped Miami win their first championship.

@kenjp, the only reason America doesn't win the olympics is because they dump all the rookies in there. The "Dream Team" was amazing, but now, they just dump in the rookies.

[Cobra Commander]

they are talented, but they dont work well together usually i.e the olympics

This is a completly different team from the one that fell apart in 2004. I think the only holdovers are LeBron and Carmello. The didn't play much because they were 18 and 19 at the time. Larry Brown doesn't like to play younger players for some reason. Thats why players like Shawn Marion, Richard Jefferson, and Stephon Marbury got so much time while struggling.

USA's full court pressure defense will win them this tournament by creating turnovers and easy baskets. This was nonexistent in the 2004 team.

None of them are GOOD, except Lebron and Brand (forgot about him). Brand is an awesome forward, but Carmelo is extremely overrated. Arenas and Wade are awesome players. Wade helped Miami win their first championship.

Carmello is extremely overrated? He's been the best player aside from Lebron in the exhibition games. His versatility to play inside and out causes many matchup problems with the slower forwards he goes up against.

Also, Arenas pulled his groin so he is out for the tournament.

[Cobra Commander]

USA puts Australia down under 40-point rout
Associated Press

SAITAMA, Japan -- Look out, world.

The United States routed Australia 113-73 Sunday, sending an unmistakable message to the FIBA World Championship. This isn't the team that proved an embarrassment in recent international competitions.

"We wanted to make a statement coming into the round of 16," said forward Chris Bosh, who grabbed a game-high nine rebounds.

They like us ... they really like us!
Media from all over the globe are covering the World Championship, and many of them got their initial first-hand look Sunday at the team in red, white and blue. With only a few exceptions, writes Chris Sheridan, they're expecting Team USA to win the gold medal. Yes, even the Spaniards and Argentines.

To read all of Sheridan's column, click here. Insider

On a day that every American scored, Carmelo Anthony led the U.S. with 20 points while Joe Johnson added 18 and Dwyane Wade 15.

Granted, the Australians weren't much of a test. They went 2-3 in group play and have few weapons beside Milwaukee Bucks center Andrew Bogut, who scored 20 points.

But the Americans made it look almost too easy, turning a tight game into a laugher by outscoring the Australians 32-6 in the second quarter.

Now the U.S. can look forward to its quarterfinal match-up Wednesday night against Germany, another team with a star NBA center and a mostly anonymous supporting cast. Dirk Nowitzki of Dallas is third in tournament scoring, averaging 24.5 points.

Given the way the U.S. is playing, it might be more fair to make them face Bogut and Nowitzki together.

"I think our biggest opponent is ourselves right now," Johnson said. "We've just got to keep our intensity up."

Asked if the U.S. is unbeatable when its shots are falling, Johnson replied, "No doubt. When our shots are falling and when they're not falling."

If Johnson sounds confident it's because the U.S. has outscored its last two opponents, Senegal and Australia, by a combined 216-131.

Of course, neither Senegal nor Australia is in the same hoops universe as Spain or Argentina, which are mowing down the opposition on the other side of the bracket.

That's why Elton Brand said he hopes his teammates aren't taking anyone for granted. Brand played on the 2002 U.S. world championship team that finished sixth in Indianapolis.

"We're not going to be cocky about it," Brand said. "There are some teams that can give us competition."

Australia wasn't one of them, at least not for 40 minutes. The Aussies led 15-14 after five minutes and trailed by only 27-23 at the end of the first period. But then the U.S., which has been plagued by slow starts throughout the tourney, began to knock down shots on offense and crack down on defense.

The Americans outscored Australia 32-6 in the second quarter, and it wasn't that close.

"The second quarter, we kind of took off and had the game in hand from that point," Wade said.

"Today was the best we played as a unit, with everyone making the extra pass, getting the guys the best shot possible," Wade said. "When you do that, it makes your team play that much better because everyone feels good, everyone's involved, one through 12. That's what we're looking for."

Offense hasn't been an issue for the Americans, the highest-scoring team in the tournament. But the defense was inconsistent during group play, and that's why Sunday's game was so encouraging.

The U.S. limited the Australians to 41 percent shooting, including 24 percent from beyond the 3-point arc. Australia committed 24 turnovers, many the result of pressure.

"We know that if we play defense, we'll be pretty good," Bosh said. "We know we can score the ball. We know we play with anybody offensively. But we know it's our defense that's going to help us out."

Defense may help the U.S. win the championship. But the Australians couldn't help but be dazzled by the Americans' attack.

Australian point guard C.J. Bruton likened this team to Dream Teams I and II.

"It's a squad compared to them because they move the ball like those teams did," Bruton said. "The teams that have won the gold medal for U.S.A. definitely move the ball as well as this team."

They move it well. And on Sunday they shot it even better.

The Americans shot 54 percent from the floor. And after shooting 39 percent from beyond the arc in group play, the U.S. made 14-of-27 (52 percent) Sunday.

Even Bosh and Brad Miller hit their first international 3-pointers. Three-point shooting was supposed to be one of the Americans' flaws. If the U.S. starts knocking down long-range shots, it will be difficult to beat.

The U.S. has trailed after halftime in one game, against Italy, which it beat 94-85. Wade was asked if the Americans were tempted to look toward the finals and a possible showdown with Argentina or Spain, both also 6-0.

"You don't really think about it," Wade said. "You just win or go home. We just need to get better as a team."

Better? Look out, world.

Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press

http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/wbc2006/news/story?id=2562617

[Hellas]

Greece 101 VS USA 95 WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO:biggrin1:

ESP 75 VS ARG 74