USA Faces Test Against Banged Up Brazil

Filed under: Cavaliers, Spurs, USA Basketball, FIBA World Championship

ISTANBUL -- Team USA gets its first real test Monday. But it might not be as much of one as originally thought.



A week after losing NBA big man Nene for the World Championship due to a leg injury, Brazil officials don't know yet whether they will have another NBA big man available in Anderson Varejao, who hasn't played since he suffered a sprained ankle in an Aug. 18 exhibition game. That includes having missed the first two games of the Worlds.



"I don't know if I'm going to play," Varejao told FanHouse on Sunday. "But I am feeling better, though."



The Cleveland big man could be pivotal to Brazil's chances of pulling an upset in the game that almost certainly will decide Group B. The teams are tied for first at 2-0.



"It is very important," Brazil center Tiago Splitter (above), who recently signed with San Antonio, said of having Varejao in an attempt to defeat the Americans. "I think Anderson is a guy who knows them very well. He is extra energy on the court, and we hope he's OK and he can play."

 

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Full story at http://nba.fanhouse.com/2010/08/29/usa-faces-test-against-banged-up-brazil/