Quick Thoughts on World Basketball Championship

1) I am not a believer that Team USA should win all of its games easily. That being said, in a few hours China's National Team will do its best doormat impersonation. Wipe your feet at the door, USA. Party's in Japan.
2) I was really looking forward to watching the Puerto Rican backcourt of Carlos Arroyo and Elias Ayuso before their and Team USA's first game. They certainly did not dissapoint, as both players exceeded my expectations. They were even better than I had remembered from the Olympics.

3) The only American that has exceeded my expectations thus far has been Carmelo Anthony. He is playing fantastic basketball. Others that are playing well are Elton Brand, Chris Paul, and Kirk Hinrich. My take on the Golden Children: Lebron needs to get rid of his jitters and Wade not playing even close to the level that he had been in the NBA and not quite at the level that he will be in the World Championship. Both will be alright... no worries.
4) The best match-up of day 1 was Argentina vs. France, though it would have been even better had Tony Parker not been forced to sit out the entire tournament due to a broken right index finger. Nonetheless, the two teams should both be considered elite for this year's tournament and it was nice to see the two go at it. Manu was incredible in the first half, scoring on a wide array of moves ranging from a step back 3 to a drive to hoop where he executed seemingly hundreds of herky jerky yet controlled moves at once; he finished the play with a simple wide open layup and the game with 22 points. Both teams, especially Argentina, ran their offenses as smooth and cohesive as a well oiled machines (Team USA needs some lube, ASAP).
5) I can't wait to see Spain's team play. It should be very, very good. The squad is led by Pau Gasol, however it is loaded with talent such as crafty guards Jose Calderon, Juan-Carlos Navarro, and young but super nifty Sergio Rodriguez.
6) I was surprised when I saw that Nigeria beat Serbia & Montenegro 82-75, though when I consider the fact that I had yet to see either team play I'm not quite sure that I should be. New York Knickerbocker Ime Udoka lead Nigeria with 18 points. Darko, S&M's leader in the exhibition games, had 5 points. I expect Darko to score more in future games. For those of you who do not yet know this, Darko Milicic is a good basketball player and will have a decent-at-worst NBA season as he continues to improve until he becomes a "force in the league" as they say, in the next few years.

Last but not least, when I last visited www.fiba.com, currently the official website for the World Championship, it read, "Dear fiba.com viewers:
Thank you for your tremendous interest in the FIBA World Championship. The traffic on the website has exceeded by hundred times the interest of comparable events such as the Olympic Basketball Tournaments in Athens."
I'm glad the tourny is getting so much attention. It makes me happy to see that more of my fellow human beings are taking a liking to basketball. More people to read H.L.B.T.!