After a rather disappointing third place finish at the 2006 FIBA World Championship, the United States are hoping to get back to the top at this year's tournament in Turkey. Continuing their series of exhibition games, Kevin Durant and the United States will face Spain in Madrid on Sunday at 8 p.m. GMT.

Much like the U.S., Spain is also missing some key players and will head to the 2010 FIBA World Championship with a slightly different squad compared to the Olympic Games two years ago. Most importantly, the Spaniards will sorely miss the presence of All-Star forward Pau Gasol from the Los Angeles Lakers. Arguably one of the best big men in the NBA, Gasol averaged no less than 18.3 points, 11.3 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.7 blocks per contest in 2009-10. However, Spain will be able to field a very competitive squad nonetheless and is generally considered as one of the best teams in the tournament. While Jose Calderon from the Toronto Raptors and Ricky Rubio will run Spain's offense, Rudy Fernandez from the Portland Trailblazers and Marc Gasol from the Memphis Grizzlies are expected to put a lot of pressure on opposing defensive lines in Turkey.

The Americans on the other hand a very confident to win it all next month after a good month of training camp under coach Mike Krzyzewski and several exhibition games prior to the actual tournament. Especially the United State's backcourt and wing players will be extremely difficult to defend. More precisely, guards Rajon Rondo from the Boston Celtics, Derrick Rose from the Chicago Bulls and Russell Westbrook from the Oklahoma City Thunder have shown that their ability to penetrate in the lane can easily break down opposing teams and usually leads to easy buckets down the stretch. Likewise, All-Star Kevin Durant can be expected to be the team's leader on and off the court. Therefore, the United States should have a slight edge over Spain on Sunday night, although the Spaniards should not be underestimated as they are one of the better teams as far as individual talent and teamplay are concerned.

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