During the remainder of the Olympic men's basketball tournament, FanHouse will give you 5 Things to watch for in each game.

Where's the heart of Argentina? There has been little news regarding the health of Andres Nocioni. One Argentine report (via HoopsHype) said he will not play, but based on Nocioni's record to date it is clear we should not count him out until we see him in blue jeans or John Paxson's invisible dungeon. (Paradox!) Noces was actually a bit terrible Wednesday against Greece, as he limped around on a bum wheel which relegated him to spot-up shooter status. But he's a stud player, maybe Argentina's third most valuable. Any team which loses a top threat will suffer; against an opponent as virile as Team USA, it's almost a pre-emptive death blow. Nocioni needs to be at his best for Argentina to compete diligently.

Another defensive test. Team USA's slashing defense got a test against quick Patrick Mills and the solid backcourt of Australia. Through the first half, Australia kept ahold of the ball and didn't allow Dwyane Wade and the American point guards to get their klepto on. But it fell apart in the third quarter. Can Argentina's Pablo Prigioni, Manu Ginobili and Carlos Delfino keep it up the entire game? Prigioni has been a marvelous protector of the ball, with only four Olympic turnovers in almost 200 minutes (and through 27 assists). Manu will also bring the ball up some, and Delfino took over those duties briefly in the fourth against Greece. The Americans might be able to pressure Manu and Delfino, and certainly bat about at Luis Scola and Fabricio Oberto. But Prigioni should be a tough pastry to smash.

There have been three real tight games in the Olympic men's basketball tournament, but the Argentina-Greece has been without doubt the most entertaining. There were something like 179 lead changes. Greece and Argentina traded spurts through the first three quarters. On the backs of Carlos Delfino and Manu Ginobili, Argentina took slight control in the fourth. But Greece stuck close, nailing improbable three after improbable three.

The most improbable came with 30 seconds left, the shot clock winding down and Argentina up by five. Panagiotis Vasilopoulos (!) banks in an off-balance trey. Argentina by two. A difference of six seconds between the shot clock and game clock. After a timeout, Manu handles the ball up high. He begins his move with about 12 seconds left, steps back and shoots a three. Clank. Greece captures the rebound and -- down two -- races up the court. With three ticks left, Vassilo Spanoulis takes a contested three from the top of the key. Clank. Luis Scola bats the ball around and ... game.

Manu almost saw his team get eliminated by a point after that miss. Given Greece's earlier luck from behind the arc, Spanoulis's shot looked good when it left his hands. The utter ecstacy after the buzzer shown by Argentina looked more like excitement than relief. It tells me this team won't be afraid of the Americans on Friday (in fairness, the Australians weren't afraid either). Argentina might have gotten away by the skin of their scalps, but it was because Greece played phenomenal more than Argentina being a step behind its 2004 version.

If either of Friday's games are anything like Argentina-Greece, we're in for some treats.

During the remainder of the Olympic men's basketball tournament, FanHouse will give you 5 Things to watch for in each game.

It's Always Manu, Manu, Manu!: Yes, that's right. Your favorite Argentinian is here to join us. Manu Ginobili has been his usual spectacular self in Olympic play, leading all players in scoring at 19.6 points per game, and second in assists at 5 per game. Ginobili's likely to face a tougher defense tonight/tomorrow though, with the Greek swarming defense and tight zone. Still, Ginobili's been on quite the tear, and if you're looking for fireworks, look no further.

Welcome To The Danger Zone: Greece's zone has been very effective, holding opponents to 45% shooting (in the Olympics where everyone's percentage is high) and that's after the USA drubbing. Argentina is tied for the second best offense in the Olympics, so Greece will want to do everything they can to make it a knock down, drag-out affair. Even with Argentina's #2 defensive ranking, the Greeks have a much better shot if they can slow the game down and make it a physical scrap. Let the Argentinians get rolling, and this could get out of hand, fast.

There are two undefeated teams left in Olympic Basketball pool play, Lithuania and the United States. FanHouse, along with every other basketball site on the planet, have talked in detail about the secrets to USA's dominance, and the talent advantage they hold over everyone else. There's one aspect in which the two pool leaders are alike, and it's also become a key component for the teams competing.

The first guy off the pine.

By now you're probably aware of Dwyane Wade 2.0, the upgraded version of the Miami small guard. So far in Beijing he has displayed the speed, quickness, and slashing ability of Dwyane Wade 1.0, but with a larger frame, an increased ability to absorb contact, and a downright frightening dedication to proving everyone who questioned 1.0's ability to recover horribly , horribly wrong. We don't know what 2.0 did with 1.0, but please, don't bring him back. It's like Wade's wearing body armor at this point.

For Lithuania, it's also been an NBA star, but their own. Denver's Linas Kleiza has been downright brilliant for his home country, averaging 14.3 points per game, along with 6 rebounds and shooting 58% from the arc. Yeah. 58%. Kleiza's kept coming off the bench, and it's been a formidable counterpunch for the Lithuanian squad, including his 18 point, 4 rebound game today against Croatia.

Meanwhile, Spain had been bowling over it's competition, but has suffered without a true presence off the bench. Ricky Rubio has shown why he's a potential first round pick, but after all, the kid's still 17. Today when Spain's first line had held USA to at least within reason, they were simply overwhelmed by Team USA's second line and Wade, much like Greece before them.

Last summer, Europe was a threat for indignant NBA stars like Andrei Kirilenko. This year, the Old World leagues are having a measure of actual NBA impact, grabbing a would-be one-and-done teenager and pulling NBA-level players like Juan Carlos Navarro and Jorge Garbajosa. Add Carlos Delfino, as a Hebrew-to-English translation from Detroit Bad Boys reveals the former Piston and Raptor has signed with Khimki Moscow.

Delfino was one of 3,000 marginal swingmen in Toronto last season, splitting minutes with Anthony Parker, Jamario Moon, Jason Kapono, Joey Graham, Andrea Bargnani, and Juan Dixon. The Piston had been rumored to be interested in bringing the Argentine (a fan favorite in Motown) back to Detroit. Truth be told, adding another swingman with the roster in flux (pending Joe Dumars' plans) wouldn't have been prudent at this juncture. Delfino has a secure income early in the transaction period this way; he might have been awaiting an NBA answer as late as Labor Day.

The interesting note to me: Khimki won't compete at Europe's top level next season. The team isn't one of the 16 set for the Euroleague competition, instead a contestant in the ULEB Eurocup. Khimki is said to also be chasing Garbajosa, and is most certainly making a play to get into the Euroleague in 2009-10. Still, it's a bit nutty that a legit NBA player like Delfino would opt for Europe's second tier -- and maybe only the third best team in Moscow -- over waiting out a new NBA deal.

In another of our continuing series, five things to keep an eye out for tonight in the Magic-Raptors Game 4 tonight.

1. As Go The Backcourts: So goes this series. In Games 1 and 2, Jameer Nelson, Keyon Dooling, and Maurice Evans were lights out, leading a three point barrage on the Raptors. In Game 3, the Raptors responded to the home cooking, and T.J. Ford scored 21, while Jose Calderon had 18 points. Calderon is also averaging 8.3 assists per game. Coach Stan Van Gundy is particularly worried about Calderon, stating after Game 3 that Calderon was playing the pick and roll as anyone in the league "this side of Steve Nash." If the Magic are going to retake momentum and deliver a deathblow to the Raps, Keyon Dooling is going to need to knock down three pointers and Jameer Nelson needs to have his back spasms better stay away. Or it could be another long day for the Magic in Toronto.

2. Howard Gets His: The tactics by Sam Mitchell suggest that the Raptors plan is to let Dwight Howard get his, and try and contain his teammates' ability to get Howard involved. Howard had a down night in Game 3, scoring "only" 19 points with 12 rebounds while picking up 5 fouls. The odds are not likely that they'll be able to keep Howard down again, but if they can keep Hedo Tukoglu and Rashard Lewis under 20 points and 5 assists each, it will allow them to more effectively bring the double team.

In another of our continuing series, five things to keep an eye out for today in Raptors vs. Magic, game 1.

1. Guard FAIL: There's FAIL. There's Epic FAIL, and then there's the Raptors' perimeter defense. Here, take a gander at opponents' three point field goal percentage. What's the worst playoff team on that list? If you guessed the ones named after a Michael Crichton film, you are correct, sir! I keep trying to watch the Raptors game because I genuinely like their roster. But then there will be a sequence that usually involves two, possibly three perimeter defenders that are not only out of position, but are utterly and completely lost in terms of what they should do defensively.

2. The Most Subtle Dinosaur You'll Meet: Chris Bosh is usually a great player. Against the Magic this season? He's a beast. 33 points, 7.5 rebounds, 3 assists. The lack of a true power forward causes problems for the Magic with Bosh's versatility and athleticism. And Bosh also gets a genuine kick out of facing the kid that's taken the title of "premier young big guy" from him. It'll be interesting to see what SVG cooks up against Bosh, whether they immediately bring the double or try and muscle him with Dwight Howard.

With the NBA trade deadline looming, Trade Machinations rounds up real rumors (and creates fake ones) of moves that'd make the NBA a better, brighter place.

The proposed deal - made a little awkward by the Warriors not wanting to burn up their trade exception just to dump Mickael Pietrus - would be Pietrus and Austin Croshere for Joey Graham and Juan Dixon, the two names that have apparently been tossed around.

This trade helps both teams to a certain degree, but more than anything it rids each one of their most recent malcontent (that being Pietrus and Dixon). Croshere helps out the Raptors because his contract, although a small one, is an expiring deal, freeing up more room for Toronto to resign Carlos Delfino and Jose Calderon. Pietrus' contract is also expiring and he has purportedly agreed to waive his George Bird Rights should Golden State find him a new locale.

From a basketball standpoint, Pietrus would give the Raptors a more scoring-capable option at the three than Jamario Moon currently provides in addition to lineup flexibility. Croshere provides a little frontcourt depth while Graham gives the Warriors a tougher body in the post (neither has really played in 2008, both have expiring deals, the money works out to save the Warriors' exception from the Jason Richardson trade).

Will it happen? It certainly could. Both Pietrus and Dixon are likely to get moved before the deadline and in this case, each team gets something useful in exchange for their unhappy player.

NBA FanHouse walks through the Valley of the Most Likely; we shall fear no topic.

I became a Raptors fan last season. They went about re-building their roster the right way, bringing on a brilliant GM and letting him orchestrate a rather unique plan that basically consisted of flooding the roster with as many foreign guys as possible.

There was more to it than that, of course; Bryan Colangelo also had the balls and foresight to trade Charlie Villanueva for T.J. Ford, which not only defied conventional "never trade big for small" wisdom but also seemed like a huge risk given Ford's injury history. Plus, he found diamonds in the rough in Anthony Parker and Jorge Garbajosa, undervalued veterans who were playing in Europe that every other team in the NBA had a chance to sign but didn't.

So what happened? The team quit being "Chris Bosh and some other guys" and actually became a team. Ford had a breakout year, the Euros (Garbajosa, Andrea Bargnani and Jose Calderon) all found a productive niche and Parker started every game he played. The team survived a mini-scare when Bosh missed time with a knee injury and managed to win without him, which was just unheard of in the past. By the end of the year, they had claimed their first division title with a convincing 47-35 record. But if things were so peachy, why am I down on them this year?

I'm guessing Bryan Colangelo isn't a popular man in Spain right about now. Just a hunch. From the Toronto Star:

The Raptors have ruled forward Jorge Garbajosa out of playing for Spain at the upcoming EuroBasket tournament, the club announced yesterday.

"Despite Jorge feeling and looking ready to play, the medical findings suggest otherwise," Raptors president and general manager Bryan Colangelo said in a statement.

Garbajosa suffered a broken fibula and torn ankle ligaments during a Raptors game in Boston in March.

The Raptors said Garbajosa was recently evaluated in Toronto by Raptors medical, training and coaching staffs, and was able to perform on-court drills proficiently and without pain. But a detailed review and assessment of the various images and scans taken have revealed insufficient healing of the fractured fibula.

To their credit, the Raptors did try to make this happen, but apparently the team was unable to find an adequate insurance policy should Garbajosa re-injure himself. Considering Garbajosa saw Pau Gasol, his teammate on Spain's national team, break his foot during the World Championships last summer, I'm sure he has to understand.

Besides, there's no room for moping in Toronto's locker room: Chris Bosh, a sure-fire lock to make Team USA, also pulled out of international competition this summer before of lingering plantar fasciitis in his right foot. The newly-acquired Carlos Delfino suffered a knee injury last week and almost had to pull out of the FIBA Americas tournament in Las Vegas, but it turns out his injury wasn't all that serious and he was in fact able to play for Argentina.

Previously on FanHouse:
Jorge Garbajosa Is Ready to Play