Brazil Olympic Men's Basketball Team 2012: Updated News, Roster and Analysis

The power for Brazil is their front court. They have three quality centers, which should open options for them if they want to go big.

The will struggle with Spain and the United States, as they can throw more athleticism on the court, but Brazil will have the ability to pound the ball into the paint.

Nenê Hilário will provide a quality presence in the middle and Brazil will have some great options with their forwards.

Following is a roster summary, their top opposition in the Olympics and a few predictions.

Final Roster

Brazil recently announced their 2012 Olympics men’s basketball roster.

They have added a few players from the second-place team in their Olympic qualifying tournament, the FIBA Americas Championship. 

Pos.	Player	Most Recent Team
SG	Alex Garcia	UniCEUB/BRB
PG	Larry Taylor	Bauru Basketball
G	Leandro Barbosa	Indiana Pacers
PG	Marcelinho Huertas	FC Barcelona Bàsquet
G	Marcelo Machado	CR Flamengo
PG	Nezinho Dos Santos	UniCEUB/BRB
SF	Guilherme Giovannoni	UniCEUB/BRB
PF	Marcus Vieira	Pinheiros
PF	Augusto Lima	Unicaja Malaga
C	Nenê Hilário	Washington Wizards
PF/C	Anderson Varejão	Cleveland Cavaliers
PF/C	Caio Torres	CR Flamengo

Key Players

Brazil's power will be their front court. They have three quality centers, opening up options if they decide to go big.

While they'll have an advantage in the paint, teams like Spain and the U.S. will have the athleticism to create issues when they have the ball.

Nenê Hilário

Nenê didn't take part in the team's qualifying tournament and will add a strong scoring threat. He could have made a difference in their 80-75 loss to Argentina. He has had a solid NBA career with the Denver Nuggets and is now with the Washington Wizards.

He'll also provide a strong presence on the boards and open up options for the team at the forward positions.

Leandro Barbosa

Brazil really needs a solid Olympics from Barbosa if they are to contend for a medal. He's the best guard on the team and the only one with NBA experience. He's shown he can be a prolific scorer if given the opportunity.

He will get that opportunity in London and his team will be counting on it.

Anderson Varejao

Varejao is another option for Brazil in the middle. He's a center, but will likely spend most of his time at power forward in London. He was also absent during the qualifying tournament and will add depth and options for Brazil in the Olympics.

Main Challengers

United States

Team USA is simply the class of the tournament. They have a roster full of NBA All-Stars and will be difficult for Brazil to handle on either end of the floor. 

The good news for Brazil is they aren't likely to play the U.S. That is also the bad news, though, as not meeting the Americans could very well mean Brazil also missed out on playing for a medal. 

If they do meet, though, Brazil will be outmatched.

 

Spain

Spain is the overwhelming favorite to win Pool B. They have a solid roster of proven players and decent depth. The combination of Pau and Marc Gasol with other NBA greats, such as Serge Ibaka, Rudy Fernández and José Calderón will create matchup concerns and better talent.

 

France

While the French team will be without Joakim Noah, the heart of their team will be in London. Tony Parker was cleared to play following an eye injury that could have kept him off the courts in London. 

France will need solid play from Ronny Turiaf or Kevin Seraphin at center, but should be just fine inside with these two NBA players. 

Nicolas Batum and Boris Diaw will round out the starting roster, making France a team whose starting five can compete with most every team in the tournament. Their bench is suspect, though.

Prediction

Brazil will be in the medal picture in the tournament and has an outside chance to play in a medal game.

Spain is the clear favorite in their pool, with the rest of the teams not being at the same level. Brazil has a solid opportunity to grab the second seed, though.

Brazil and Australia should be fairly evenly matched, with a second drop to Great Britain. Russia can compete with the second-tier teams, though, and could upset one of these squads.

China will attempt to compete without Yao Ming, but I have concerns about their ability to compete on a national level. 

Brazil will face a tough go in the medal round. Their first-round matchup will likely be France or Argentina, both of whom would create a marked challenge. 

Even though the second-seed would have a semifinal matchup with the U.S., the third seed could be out of the medals with a game against a resurgent French team.

Projected standings for Pool B:

Pool B	W-L
Spain	5-0
Australia	3-2
Brazil	3-2
Russia	2-3
Great Britain	1-4
China	1-4

Brazil can't afford to lose the two-seed from Pool B. But I like Australia to beat Brazil head-to-head, which will likely pit Brazil against France in the opening of the medal round.

This will mean a quick departure and Brazil not playing for a medal.

They have an outside shot at playing for the bronze, but the U.S., France and Spain have more talented and deeper rosters.

Brazil fans will have a lot more to cheer for in men's football.