Since I ended up with several comments in yesterday's attempt at a FIBA game day thread, I'll go ahead and create another one for today. If nothing else, it gives people a place to post their thoughts while I'm taking forever with the postgame commentary. The only game on the slate for tonight that's of particular relevance to Suns fans is the 8:00 Pacific/11:00 Eastern matchup of Team USA vs. the U.S. Virgin Islands. This game will be broadcast on ESPN Classic. I still am not sure whether Raja Bell will be playing for the Virgin Islands. As mentioned in yesterday's pre-game thread, there seems to be conflicting information about it. The team roster on FIBA's website does not have Raja listed, and does list 12 players not named Raja, so that may mean he's not playing (probably not the end of the world for a guy coming off of knee surgery, however minor). I guess we'll find out when the teams take the floor.
Wish list for tonight:
- More opportunities for Amare to get involved.
- More competitiveness from the opposition (looks like I shouldn't count on getting this one, since the Virgin Islands at #38 is ranked even lower than Venezuela at #21).
- Lots of fire from Raja if he plays.
- Above all else, nobody get hurt. Last night's Brazil-Canada game was marred by what looked to be a fairly serious injury to one of Canada's players who was also the coach's son. No more of that, please.
Finally, here are a few links I found that might be useful for FIBA newbies: