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FIBA World Championships Open Thread: Team U.S.A. vs. Russia

NEW YORK CITY NY - AUGUST 12:  Kevin Durant #5 looks on during the World Basketball Festival USAB Showcase at Radio City Music Hall on August 12 2010 in New York City. (Photo by Chris Trotman/Getty Images for Nike)
NEW YORK CITY NY - AUGUST 12: Kevin Durant #5 looks on during the World Basketball Festival USAB Showcase at Radio City Music Hall on August 12 2010 in New York City. (Photo by Chris Trotman/Getty Images for Nike)
Getty Images for Nike

Team U.S.A.'s march for the gold medal at the FIBA World Championships continues today when it faces Russia (11 AM, ESPN), which figures to present quite a challenge. As John Schuhmann of NBA.com writes, Russia's size will make it a tough matchup for Team U.S.A., which has but one true center, Tyson Chandler, on the roster. Schuhmann also notes that Russia boasts the fifth-best defense of the tournament so far, thanks largely to its ability to defend the three-point line.

Though Russia's team lacks star power--Andrei Kirilenko isn't participating--it does have Knicks rookie center Timofey Mozgov, who's proven useful so far. Pete Thamel of the New York Times has more on the 7-foot-1 Mozgov here.

Discuss the game live in this thread. This is the knockout round, so a loss for Team U.S.A. will send it home. Today's winner advances to the semifinals, where it'll face the winner of the Lithuania/Argentina match. Here's the official bracket from FIBA's website.