Spain vs. Brazil: Leandro Barbosa and Company Prove Spaniards Are Overrated

The Spaniards aren’t who we thought they were.

Spain lost vs. Brazil on Monday by the score of 88-82. Spanish supporters will be quick to shrug off the loss and accuse the squad of packing it in to avoid Team USA early in the Olympic playoffs—after all, the Brazilians outscored the Spaniards 31-16 in the fourth quarter.

But then did Spain lose on purpose against Russia, too?

No, the fact is that, after being labeled the greatest gold-medal threat to the U.S., Spain simply isn’t as talented as the hype suggested.

The Spanish lost despite the fact that the Gasol brothers combined for 45 points.

No matter how untalented the American frontcourt is compared to years in the past, if the Spaniards can’t win with that type of frontcourt production, they’re hopeless.

While Spain’s bigs garner all of the hype, their solid but less-than-spectacular wings are often overlooked. Juan Carlos Navarro and the Spanish backcourt allowed Leandro Barbosa to score 23 points and shoot 8-13 from the field.

Now, Barbosa is a talented scorer. But if a player that hasn’t averaged at least 15 points per game since the 2008-09 NBA season goes off against the Spaniards, just imagine what LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook are capable of.

Navarro and Rudy Fernandez are mediocre defenders.

According to 82games.com, Fernandez allowed opposing small forwards to record a player efficiency rating of 16.4 against him (the league average is 15.0).

When he played for the Memphis Grizzlies back in the 2007-08 NBA campaign, Navarro allowed opposing twos to record a PER of 15.4. But now he’s 32 years old and who knows how many steps slower?

They aren’t defensive liabilities, but they’re definitely not top notch, either, and that’s what it’ll take to defeat the explosive Americans. What’s the value in two 7-footers if opposing perimeter players can penetrate at will?

A lot of good that did the Los Angeles Lakers this past postseason.

David Daniels is a featured columnist at Bleacher Report and a syndicated writer.

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