So far I am not ready to provide with long term bets but will provide them later when bookmakers will provide with more future markets.

Strong points

Argentina still represents  a serious team with high ambitions. They have very talented roster with high class players like Ginobili, Scola, Noccioni, Prigioni, Delfino, Oberto and others. This team is very experienced with huge winning mentality and that should help them to win against medium-class teams.  Argentina is very balanced team  and smart team. Most of the players listed in this team have played in Europe and that’s why they are feeling so good when playing against European teams. Many non-European teams can adapt to this style.

Weak points

So far Argentina is not showing their 2004 year form. They struggled against Spain, Lithuania and were not looking great on Diamond Ball tournament despite taking a first place there. Main reason is that their players are in different form because of different reasons. Also there is a problem with bench players.  Argentina have 7-8 high class players while others are not the same class and if Argentina main players will be in foul trouble that could cause some problems.

Group Prediction

Argentina should qualify from this group without big troubles.  Argentina should win game against Iran without troubles. Games against Croatia, Australia and Russia will be crucial for them but I think that with their experience and class they should take 2 wins in these 3 matches and go to the quarterfinals. Lithuania is most serious opponent for Argentina in this group and they will play first game against them. So far Lithuania is looking like a better team because of deeper roster and well balanced game. I am not sure regarding Argentina chances to win this group but they should promote from 2 or 3rd position.

Strong points

Lithuania have many strong points: huge 3-pointers ability, long bench, many experienced with winning mentality, powerful offense and effective defense. Team is balanced in all positions with 2 high class players on each.  

Weak points

Lithuanians still don’t have substitution on point guard for Jasikevicius.  This can hurt them on deciding stages because Jasikevicius is not so impressive as it was in his best years and he can disappear in some games. However Kaukenas and Siskauskas might play as point guard when needed. Also during preparations period there were many injuries inside the team. Loss of Songaila because of injury is another weak point but not critical because Lithuania still have a lot of similar type players.

Group Prediction

Lithuania should take easy win over Iran and also I expect huge motivation in game with Russia which killed Lithuania in semifinal of Eurobasket’08 in Spain.  In left 3 games with Argentina, Australia and Croatia Lithuanians should be able to take another necessary win to promote from this group. I would not be surprised to see them winning in all games but level of most opponents here is quite high so 1 or 2 losses are possible too. But I expect Lithuania to qualify into quarterfinals from 1st or 2nd position with 4-1 or 5-0 record.

Strong points

Champions of Eurobasket’07. Russia has very strong coaching staff and great discipline on court. They are one of the best team when it comes to destroying opponent game style. Russia plays smart basketball in offense and using a lot of different defensive schemes to take control over the game.  Also they physical conditions are always at their best when needed.  So there is true reason to underestimate this team.

Weak points

The main weak point of this team is lack of experience. Yeah, they won Eurobasket’07 but there were a lot of luck in that win. Teams have underestimated them while Russia was climbing step by step to the Eurobasket crown. Most of the players of this team are not even starting five players in their clubs. Only Kirilenko and J.R. Holden are important players in their clubs. All others have limited minutes in their clubs and some of them were missed a lot due the injuries. Also loss of V.Khryapa is a big blow for this team because he was a leader of this team in Spain last year. However he is with team in Bejing and maybe will recover for playoff. Let’s see.
Also I would say that Russians now are huge motivator for some teams here. Expect supermotivation against them from Lithuania and Spain – teams which here killed by them last year.

Group prediction

For sure Russia will get win over Iran the weakest team of the tournament.  In other games I don’t expect easy life for them.  In other 4 games they will have equal chances to win. Russia can beat any opponent in this group but also they can lose to any team except Iran. It’s very hard to predict how many wins they will get but most probable they will be able to win 2 or 3 games.  Crucial games for them will be against Australia and Croatia where they will be favorites for me, Lithuania could be too much for them taking into consideration Lithuanians motivation, while against Argentina we can expect some of kind surprise from Russia too.

Strong points

Croatia have a very strong backcourt that includes Zoran Planinic, Marko Popovic, Davor Kus and Roko-Leni Ukic, The four have been prominent players in the Euroleague with their respective clubs. Ukic, in fact, played under Repesa at Roma this season and has signed a contract with the NBA's Toronto Raptors for 2008-09 while Planinic was Tau Ceramica's main man and even led them to the Spanish title. Planinic was so prolific this season that Euroleague champions CSKA Moscow signed him to a lucrative contract in the summer. With their huge 3-poing shooting ability they can beat any team if they are on fire. They also have deep rotation between big players like Nicevic, Prkacin and Barac but they are not the same class as their guards line.

Weak points

Croatia is very unstable team. Taking a look at their qualification in Olympics we can remember how they beat Cameroon after wasting a 20 point lead and how they came back from a double-digit deficit to defeat Puerto Rico.  Also on Olympic qualification tournament Croatia lost forward Damir Markota for the summer to a meniscus injury.  They will very predictable for most of the teams on this tournament and I doubt that Croatia team will be able to show something new to their opponents.

Group prediction

Each game in this group for Croatia should have win-or-die motivation if they want to promote from this group.  If Argentina would not improve their level of game until they will meet with Croatia everything is possible there.  I think that for Croatia most difficult opponents here will be Russia and Lithuania because first is are destroyers against whom Croatians could fail to play their game, while against Lithuania it will be hard to overcome in roster deep and balance between the lines. Games against Australia, Argentina and Iran will be most important to win if Croatia wants to promote from this group. I think that they have equal chances of promotion with Australia and I predict that Croatia will fight for 4th spot with them.

Strong points

Led by NBA star Andrew Bogut (Milwaukee Bucks), Europe-based stars Matt Nielsen (Lietuvos Rytas) and David Andersen (CSKA Moscow/Barcelona) and Australian legend Chris Anstey (Melbourne Tigers) this Boomers team has the size and experience in the front line to cause their opposition great problems. Athens Olympians CJ Bruton and Glen Saville will provide great leadership in the back court and there are sharp shooters galore. Australia in preparation games worked well in full-court defense, so we can expect them to use this weapon against other opponents.  Australia also could be very dangerous if they will get their shot in a game, almost everyone within this team can score 3-pointers including power-forwards.

Weak points

The main weak point of Australia is their back court where there are no high-class players. Most of the players which are playing on PG and SG positions are without serious international experience and this may hurt them in deciding moments because no easy games expected for Australia on Olympic basketball tournament. Also Australia showed that they often lose a game tempo and can’t adapt to certain game situations.

Group prediction

Australia is not the favorite of this group but expect them to fight with every team in group. They were leading by 16 points on Diamond Ball tournament over Argentina and were close to win in that game by proving that they are dangerous team. It’s hard to say how successful they will be in this survival but I expect them to be in a thriller for 4th position.  I like the way how they played in their friendlies and I would not be surprised to see them in quarterfinals instead of them.

Strong points
Honestly speaking there is no much to say about Iran strong points. For me it is a problem to define strong points of this team because they are weak in most components of basketball game. The only point which is positive that they have tall center who can rebound and score points. Also they are young and want to take a debut at Olympic basketball tournament. They have no goals and this may help to fight for 1-2 quarters with higher class teams.

Weak points

There too many weak points in this team so I will just list some of them: no international experience, no winning mentality, weak defense, very predictable offense and weak bench.

Group prediction

Iran is clear outsider of this group and everyone will be motivated to win against them.  They will shock the world with at least one win on the group stage.  But my prediction would be a 0-5 and last place in this group.

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