Despite entering the 2010 FIBA World Championship with a shorthanded team, Brazil has been showcasing some excellent basketball in the first week of play. Thus, the team around Leandro Barbosa will be looking for another win when they face Croatia in Istanbul on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. GMT.

While Brazil's victories versus Iran and Tunisia in the first two group games were fairly predictable, very few expected the team to give Kevin Durant and the United States a run for their money on Monday night. After all, Brazil was leading for most of the game before eventually giving it away 68-70 in the last seconds of regulation. Considering that neither Nene Hilario from the Denver Nuggets nor Anderson Varejao from the Cleveland Cavaliers are able to play due to injuries, Brazil's performance is even more impressive. So far, shooting guard Leandro Barbosa from the Toronto Raptors has been carrying the Brazilian offense, averaging 16 points, 3.7 rebounds and 2.0 assists per contest.

Croatia on the other hand did not get off to the start the team was hoping for. More specifically, coach Josip Vrankovic''s squad already suffered two losses versus the United States and their rivals from Slovenia and finds itself in a tough situation heading to their encounter with Brazil. Especially, their defense will have to tighten up as they allowed 108 and 91 points versus the U.S. and Slovenia respectively. At the other end of the floor, former NBA guard Roko Ukic is doing his best to lead Croatia's offense, so far Ukic has been averaging 12.7 points, 5.0 assists and 4.0 rebounds per game. Taking everything into account, Brazil might have an advantage over the Croatian team on Thursday night. After all, the South Americans have an excellent starting five and could be even more dominant as NBA Star Anderson Varejao will most likely be back on the floor versus Croatia.

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