FIBA Championship Preview: Hey, it’ll hold you over until the NBA season…
Guest blogger, Sean O’Leary, is a die-hard Yankees fan, writer, graphic designer and web developer in the New York Area. You can contact Sean at seanpoleary13@aol.com for information on existing work and future opportunities.
The FIBA International Men’s Basketball Championships begin this weekend in Turkey.
I’ll give you a minute to catch your breath…
Over the past month, Team USA’s rag tag squad consisting of Kevin Durant and company certainly hasn’t caught the attention of the nation the way that 2008’s Olympic “Redeem Team” did, but there are three reasons to get excited about this year’s FIBA schedule:
1.) Kevin Durant - The aforementioned Oklahoma City rising star seems to be settling into his role as Team USA’s fearless leader during the 2010 summer games. Durant is averaging only 17 points in Team USA’s four “friendly’s,” but dropped 25 on Sunday to help edge out Spain 86-85. Durant was left off the 2008 Olympic Roster, so expect him to kick his game up that much more to show Coach K that he deserves a chance at 2012’s games in London. Durant’s long body type and all around style of play should translate well to the international format.
2.) Team USA’s Length – One of the most noticeable differences between Team USA and international competition has always been height. USA has used international competition as an opportunity to flex size by employing monstrous inside players like Shaquille O’Neal and Hakeem Olajuwon. These players, despite their incredible star power, have primarily been known only for their interior play, and rarely are praised for a polished all around game.
Guys like Lamar Odom, Kevin Durant and Tyson Chandler will be handling the interior instead of the more identifiable big men of the NBA. Fans should still expect tough play, but these big men also offer some versatility. Traditionally, the international game has favored shooters so big men with more tools like Odom and Durant may be beneficial in this format. Should this formula play well, it will be interesting to see how Krzyzewski employs big men in the future.
3.) Serbian Chair Throwing - Let’s face it, we all love a good brawl (as long as Ron Artest is properly restrained), but the Serbians take sports fights to a new level. In 2009, Serbian fans heaved folding chairs at Bosnian fans outside of a Novak Djokovic and Amer Delik tennis match at the Australian Open.
A year and a half later, Serbia’s Nenad Krstic (a teammate of Kevin Durant on the NBA’s Oklahoma City Thunder) followed this emerging trend held by his countrymen (and Bobby Knight) by lofting a chair at a Greek player. Krstic’s Serbian teammates engaged in the brawl with Greece on Saturday in an event that must have FIBA rethinking their policy of calling warm-up games, “friendly’s.” Krstic was detained by police after the incident but has been released pending an investigation.
The most interesting storyline around this event will be whether FIBA suspends the Serbian star, and more importantly, whether David Stern decides to propose additional punishment; possibly suspending Krstic for a portion of the 2010-2011 NBA season.
Serbia is not scheduled to play Greece in the Group Stage of the FIBA championships.
So, despite the absence of big names like Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and Dwayne Wade, the FIBA Championship may have some interesting subplots for basketball fans to sink their teeth into.
Team USA (3-0 in friendly play) wraps up their National Team Training schedule on Wednesday against Greece (on ESPN @ 12pm EST). Coach K’s squad opens championship play this weekend against Croatia in Istanbul (on ESPN Classic @ 12pm EST).
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