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We wondered if the US team was vulnerable at the 2019 FIBA World Cup. The star defections of the tournament team have left many lower level players on the American lineup, and the team has only one selection 2019 All -NBA. The three best players of the tournament play for other nations. Team USA lost a game for the first time (using only NBA players) in 13 years. They lost to the US double-digit selection team in a scrum of a quarter. Signs of trouble are preparing.
But for the American team to lose, it takes someone to beat it. Who could it be? Here are seven national teams with the best chance to get the team out of the United States, whether it's at the start of the round or knockouts, and to make history.
1. Serbia
Serbia is the obvious choice to win the World Cup if the United States can not beat it. The Serbs have been the finalists of the US team at the last two world tournaments (2014 World Championship, 2016 Olympics) and could be more talented now. Nikola Jokic is the second best player in the entire tournament, Bogdan Bogdanovic is one of the most dangerous wings of the tournament and the team ran his warm-up routine with a hiccup.
With the weakening of the US roster and the defeat against the Americans in two games for the gold medal, Serbia must struggle to win this victory. They can totally do it.
Red flags: Jokic's defense is a major concern against Marc Gasol and Spain, who will almost certainly be in the Serbian group in the second leg. The second step determines the qualifications for the round of 16, which is very important: you want to give other teams a chance to beat or defeat the Americans before facing them.
Moreover, Serbia does not really have a defender against Giannis Antetokounmpo. But again, nobody does it.
2. Spain
Spain is the last country to win a world tournament that was not the United States (in 2006). Pau Gasol, Sergei Ibaka, Juan Carlos Navarro, Nikola Mirotic and Jose Calderon have left or gone, which really hurts the infamous depth of Spain.
But there is still Marc Gasol, Ricky Rubio, the ageless Rudy Fernandez, the Hernangomez brothers and many talents of Euroleague such as Sergio Llull and Victor Claver. Coach Sergio Scariolo has been around for 10 years and Spain has won medals at each of the last three Olympic Games. This is the traditional synergistic power with which an American team could struggle.
Red flags: Most players are at least 30, and there is just not a ton of shooting unless Gasol breaks out a lot or Fernandez does not make two weeks hot (certainly possible). Spain finished with a bronze medal at the 2017 EuroBasket tournament after Slovenia crushed them in the semi-finals. Was this defeat a sign of things to come?
3. Greece
Greece has the best player of all the tournament, and it's not particularly tight. It matters a lot in a two-week tournament. During the NBA season, there was absolutely two weeks of stretching where no one could stop Antetokounmpo. Heck, there were two months stretching. And the talent gap between the NBA and the World Cup is huge. If Antetokounmpo finds a flow, Greece can beat everyone.
The Greeks also have experienced complementary talents such as Nick Calathes (one of the tournament's best guards) and grizzling veterans Giannis Bourousis and Georgios Printezis. With only one very talented two-way NBA star and a lot of European talent, there should not be any major stylistic clash in the tournament (unlike other heavyweight NBA teams like the US).
Seriously, who on Team USA will keep Antetokounmpo? Kawhi Leonard does not pass that door.
Red flags: Greece has been pretty bad in major tournaments since winning bronze at EuroBasket 2009. Of course, Greece did not have Antetokounmpo for these tournaments. Georgios Papagiannis is supposed to play a major role in this tournament by supporting Bourousis, 36 years old? It's wild for me. Wild.
4. Australia
The best proof that Australia can defeat the United States at the World Cup is that Australia has just defeated the United States as a week ago during warm-up before the World Cup. Of course, it was warming up. The match was played in front of 50,000 screaming Australians, while the World Cup will be contested by 5,000 observers, mostly indifferent, and a few thousand spectators on the road.
But Australia is certainly capable of beating the American team. We have just witnessed it! Between Joe Ingles, Patty Mills, Aron Baynes, Andrew Bogut and NBA champion Matthew Dellavedova, the Australians have a lot of hard and hard players who know their counterparts in the NBA Team USA and other teams well. And you know that Australia will feel confident after already defeating the United States.
Red flags: After defeating the American team, Australia lost its warm up against Germany. The Boomers have actually lost three of their five warm ups! This shows the greatest weakness of the Boomers: it is a team in decline. If Mills or Ingles are cut, the Australian defense does not really seem to be enough to keep them alive. Australia also has a fairly brutal draw, being in Group H with Lithuania, Canada and Senegal. Canada was as devastated by the disappearances as the United States, but Australia must be better than two of the French, Germany and Lithuania to pass the knockout stages.
5. France
France should not fall asleep, but because their best player – the third-best player in the tournament – is a defense center, most of us do not consider them a first-class threat. But with Rudy Gobert in the center, scorers and aspiring playmakers like Nando de Colo and Evan Fournier, and a rather young lineup, the Blues could be a real threat.
I could not be more thirsty for a France-Greece battle in the round of 16 to see Antetokounmpo face Gobert. The United States against France – for the pleasure of watching Donovan Mitchell drive on Gobert – are also highly desired.
Red flags: Frank Ntilikina will apparently start because of his defense? It's as if Derrick White started for Team USA and I felt like I had to say "do not offend Derrick White" after that sentence. In addition, France has been rather ugly in the international game in recent years.
6. Lithuania
The European basketball powers come and go, but Lithuania is eternal. Lithuania has actually retreated a little in recent years, but Domantas Sabonis and his new Jonas Valanciunas should help them fight back. Four-fifths of Lithuania's starting lineup is aged 27 or under, and the depth seems solid, which should facilitate the intense two-week sprint that is the World Cup.
Sabonis could really be a star at this level, feasting on less important defenders. Team USA should play relatively small, which could help Sabonis and Valanciunas to break free. The defense of Valanciunas should also be useful against Myles Turner, Gasol and Gobert. Can we have a Sabonis action against Turner too, please?
Red flags: Little success in recent years, and the universal problem of Giannis occupies a prominent place. You would not want to see Sabonis completely submerged by Antetokounmpo, unless, of course, you were defending Greece.
7. Germany
Our last candidate is perhaps the least traditional. Germany is not in the top 20 of the FIBA standings and won only one medal in a world tournament (bronze at the 2002 World Championships). Dirk Nowitzki was the team that has so long heard of no other fan of the NBA.
Now, the team has the weight and depth as Nowitzki left, with three NBA players led by Dennis Schroder and Maxi Kleber. Heck, Germany is deep enough for a fourth NBA player, Isaac Bonga, to be eliminated at the last minute! Can you imagine a German national team from the previous two decades cutting an NBA player because she had depth? Breathtaking.
So, how does Germany beat the US team? Catch them sleeping, basically. Germany seems to be best placed to win a shocking surprise in the quarterfinals.
Red flags: Germany's run to the round of 16 is difficult (France in first phase, probably Lithuania and Australia in second phase). In the end, Germany relies heavily on Dennis Schroder. Ask the Atlanta Hawks about it.
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