USA vs. France: Americans Will Blast Undersized Frenchmen in Opener
France isn't equipped to seriously challenge Team USA.
If the U.S. Men's Basketball team has a weakness, its inside, but the French don't have the big bodies to take advantage.
Chicago Bulls center Joakim Noah is out for the French with an ankle injury per USA Today, and that further weakens them up front. Without Noah, France has only one player over 6'9" and no team is going to beat the U.S. in small-ball.
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Tony Parker could certainly cause some issues for Team USA from the point guard spot, but beyond him the elite talent is non-existent.
The French starting lineup is expected to be: Parker at the point, the Portland Trail Blazers' Nicolas Batum at the shooting guard, Mickael Gelabale at small forward, the San Antonio Spurs' Boris Diaw at power forward and L.A. Clippers center Ronny Turiaf in the middle.
Team USA has a plethora of lineups to throw at France that will various matchup problems.
Because Turiaf isn't much of a scoring threat in the middle and Diaw does most of his damage from the outside, Team USA could play LeBron James or Kevin Durant at center in this game and they wouldn't miss a beat.
The Americans will trap Parker on offense, and attack him on defense as he is the engine that makes France go.
Beyond him the others are basically NBA reserves.
My prediction is a 30-point victory as the Americans look to make a statement.
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