Team USA

Mitch Cumsteen

Mitch Cumsteen

250+ Posts
Your national team:
PG - Kidd, Paul, Williams
G - Kobe, Wade, Redd
F - Carmelo, LeBron, Prince
PF - Boozer, Bosh
C - Howard

They are being criticized for only carrying 3 big men... and I think it's pretty valid. Bosh isn't very strong and Boozer isn't very tall. If Howard gets in foul trouble, which is highly likely in FIBA ball (see Duncan 2004) they could have some real problems.

Also, lots of bitching about the whole process... where they didn't have tryouts for the last spots, lack of role players (other than Prince) and how everybody on the team is represented by Nike except for Dwight Howard. And then the only real pure shooter they have is Redd and maybe Kobe and Williams. Truthfully, it doesn't look like they heeded any of the lessons from the past and just put together a Nike-driven all-star team. I don't think this team is constructed all that well.
 
What Kidd is doing on that team, I have no idea. If you replaced Kidd with any of the 3 Celtics it would be much better.
 
Kidd's a role player (his role certainly isn't scoring) and the main guys want him on the team. Krzyzewski already said he was his starter. I'd have dumped D-Whistle for another big man.
 
Tyson Chandler was the other big man. Shot blocking and rebounding apparently aren't a premium these days in international ball.
 
I don't know of any other big men besides Duncan and a healthy Amare that would have made this team that much better. Who else is there - Garnett, Elton Brand, Ben Wallace, Tyson Chandler (as mentioned), Brad Miller, Jermaine O'Neal, Marcus Camby? ... and possibly Aldridge?

The list of potential American post players seems rather short and I'm not sure any of those would have made this a better team other than possibly Garnett and Brand.
 
Is Brand out because of the injury? I know he came back at the end of last year but I assume he is trying to rest up for next year?

The list of post guys isn't impressive but having someone to bang with a center (Yao?) in case Howard gets into foul trouble or gets injured isn't the worst idea I've heard. I haven't paid much attention but I assume Shaq wasn't interested? He could at least give you 10-15 a game. It would have been interesting to see if Oden could have filled that role had he not gotten hurt. Aldridge was an interesting suggestion--not a big body but at least you get some size in there.
 
Tyson Chandler wanted to be there. I also think Chris Kaman would've merited a look. According to Wikipedia, Kaman averaged 40.7 points, 33.7 rebounds, and 10.8 blocks per game this season.
The Link
 
If Chandler wanted to be there, there's no reason he shouldn't be. I'd imagine he and Paul could wreak havoc with their pick and roll.
 
i find the lack of shooters more troubling than the lack of big men. seriously, what happened to the supposedly biggest "lesson" learned from athens? bring shooters who'll force opponents out of zone defenses!

i also don't see the need for 3 PGs, given the fact that kobe, lebron, and wade can bring the ball up, too. i think they just couldn't stomach not bringing in both of the emerging stars of the league (Paul & Williams), even if it unbalances the team. we'll see how it goes. i liked the previous team's chances better, though.
 
Homer pick:

Joe Johnson should've made the team. He did damn good on the 2006 team, can play the 1 ,2, or 3, can shoot, and can play defense.
 
duncan, garnett, and shaq didn't want to do it and chandler was the 12th man in the tournament of the americas, basically just getting in the last few minutes for some dunks. granted, the teams in that tourney weren't great outside of argentina (and they didn't have all their guys), but chandler's size wasn't a big plus and his lack of touch was a bit of a hindrance when he was in, at least relative to the other options.

as for shooting, redd may be the only dead-eye and we lost miller and billups, but this team killed from 3 (with redd not doing that well) in the last tourney. i think they had 36 3's in the last 2 games. kobe, lebron, and melo may not be great 3 point shooters, but kobe and melo make their living from 20 feet (the international 3 distance) and that's where lebron's range goes out to (he was on fire the entire time last summer). add in guys like prince, williams, and paul who are all very solid mid-range guys who can take it out to 20 feet and this is a team that should be able to break any zone (like last summer).

and with the ungodly lebron/kobe/wade/melo swingman quartet, even a zone will basically just have to put all 5 guys in the paint to stop them (which is basically what happened last summer).

this isn't the '04 team that basically had duncan (who the refs screwed) and 11 slashers who weren't comfortable taking open 20 footers and who didn't mesh (b/c they all played the same style). except for kidd and the bigs, almost everyone is comfortable at that distance.

the point guards are exceptional and looked to pass all the time last tourney, the wings are the best ever assembled, and the bigs can either hit a jumper or are beasts (howard).

if this team loses, it won't be because they don't have chemistry (did you see the tournament of the americas, they came together from the very start), because they don't know how to play (paul, williams, kobe, lebron, wade, boozer, kidd, bosh, these guys don't know how to play?), because they can't shoot, or because their are too many stars (going with subpar "stars" because the real stars haven't been there has been the problem, not the abundance of stars) .

they will only lose b/c this is still sports and on any given day one team can play out of its mind and the other can suck and that's all it takes in the single elimination medal round. i would say they shouldn't lose any game where they hit at least 33% of their 3's. and even then, they could still win depending on the other team's 3's.

i know everyone is just waiting for them to lose so they can rub it in on guys who actually take their offseason to represent their country and to talk about how great guys in the 80's were like they always do after a loss, but i'd really like to see them live up to their potential and beat everyone soundly, which they can certainly do.
 
I wouldn't even say Kidd isn't comfortable at that distance. He's certainly not a very good shooter, but he's comfortable enough taking the open shot when he needs to so the defense can't just ignore him out there and if it comes down to crunch time, he knows when to dish and when to take it.

I know Chandler isn't much of a shooter, but I don't think he would need to shoot much as much as be a presence inside on defense. If what I saw of him on Duncan in this years' playoffs was any indication, he should be great for guarding guys like Yao Ming and Pau Gasol.
 
My reasoning is that in Boozer we've already got a very good midrange jump shooting PF, and I don't know if Bosh is strong enough that we'll be in good shape if Howard is in foul trouble, since we don't really have a key post defender on the team.
 
I like the team and I don't buy into the "need a big man" argument. We haven't exactly been winning with big men. Instead we have players that played well together a couple of years ago along with the two best players in the world.

I like this team and the thought of CP3 creating for Lebron & Kobe is pretty fun to think about. I would also love to see Lebron play the 1 some of the time. It is amazing how great he is at the 1, 2 & 3.
 
I heard a rumor we had a US national team. Are they going to bother to play any tune-up games before the Olympics? Aren't the Olympics like a month away? I assume they're practicing and I keep checking ESPN and the NBA channel, thinking eventually I'll find a game between our national team and somebody. I guess they're so talented they don't need any tune-up games - they’re just going to show up in China and kick everybody’s ***.
 
Thanks for the link. I read the article twice, and I don't see anything about 5 exhibition games. It reads to me as though there is one exhibition game against Canada on July 25. Our preparation for the Olympics seems to consist of the following:

* a 3 day mini-camp in late June
* 5 days of training in late July, plus an exhibition game against Canada
* 10 days of training in Asia in late July, early August

Okay, I realize these guys have lives of their own, that they play a long season and the off-season is short and they are making personal sacrifices in order to represent our country. I understand that and am appreciative of their efforts. But color me thoroughly underwhelmed with the preparation process for these Olympic games. At the mini-camp in June, the team was not set yet. That gives this group of players exactly 15 days to prepare together as a unit before the Olympics begin, with one exhibition game.

I don't know how that compares to other countries, so maybe I'm speaking out of turn here.

I do remember the Dream Team, and how that group of guys played a ton of games together before the Olympics began. Granted circumstances were different - I seem to recall a bunch of qualification games, whereas this go round, apparently, the qualification games took place long ago. Bottom line is, those guys were one hell of a cohesive group before the Olympics even started. These guys, not so much.
 
i would guess that 15 days or training and 5 exhibition games is not insignificant compared to most.

and more importantly, while there have been a few changes, the majority of this team has already been through an entire tournament and the preparation for it just one year ago. i think they were together practicing a decent amount of time then and the tournament itself involved 10 actual games + any exhibition games they played beforehand. i would guess none of the USA teams with professionals, even the Dream Team, have had the cohesiveness of this team. of course the Dream Team didn't need it given the state of world basketball in 1992. they could've all met the morning of the first game and won every game by 40.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Weekly Prediction Contest

* Predict HORNS-AGGIES *
Sat, Nov 30 • 6:30 PM on ABC

Recent Threads

Prediction Results Threads

2024 Schedules

Back
Top