Analysis Of U.S.A.'s First Opponent, Venezuela

Overview
Venezuela is a team in transition right now, and by transition I mean they are trying to move their national team in a younger direction. The decision was made to leave some of their older stars – Richard Lugo, Victor David Diaz and Pablo Machado – off the team and as a result they struggled in the pre-qualifying Stankovic Cup tournament in China, going 0-5.

Strengths
Oscar Torres is really their main star and his ability to play with them after missing the Stankovic Cup will make a big difference. He is the one player for this team who has spent some time in the NBA, having played with Houston and Golden State from 2001-2003. This past year he played for CSKA in the Euroleague. He is going to have to be a guy who provides a tremendous amount of leadership and some scoring on the wing.

Joining him in the frontcourt is Hector Romero, a very talented interior forward who goes about 6-foot-8. He’s aggressive and he’s got talent. Their backcourt is terrific with Carlos Cedeno and Greivis Vasquez. Vazquez plays college ball in the U.S. at Maryland and Cedeno is a very good, mature point guard. They really do a good job but they’re very young.

Weaknesses
This team lacks frontcourt depth. I don’t know if they have enough interior scoring besides Romero. That combined with their relative youth makes me think that they will have a hard time having a successful FIBA tournament.

X-Factor
Torres coming back to the team after missing the Stankovic Cup is the biggest x-factor for this team. He is the kind of guy who, if he’s hot, can carry a team to a victory.

Coaching Philosophy
Nestor Salazar is an aggressive, defensive oriented head coach who, for the most part, wants to have his team playing man to man. However, I don’t know if he has as many horses as he is used to having and he may have to adjust accordingly. This team could shock someone, but it will depend on their draw.

source : NBA.com