# US basketball team



## hroz

US team

Not enough bigs?
Only three were choosen Dwight Bosh Boozer.

Tyson Chandler or Amaré Stoudemire would have been awesome additions to this team anyone know why they werent chosen?

TEAM:
-C: Dwight Howard (Orlando Magic);
PF: Carlos Boozer (Utah Jazz); Chris Bosh (Toronto Raptors); 
SF: LeBron James (Cleveland Cavaliers); Carmelo Anthony (Denver Nuggets); Tayshaun Prince (Detroit Pistons);
SG: Kobe Bryant (Los Angeles Lakers); Michael Redd (Milwaukee Bucks); Dwyane Wade (Miami Heat);
PG: Chris Paul (New Orleans Hornets); Deron Williams (Utah Jazz); Jason Kidd (Dallas Mavericks);


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## King Sancho Fantastic

I could care less about Chandler but we could use Amare.


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## chapi

once again went with the stars and I'm not sure it's the right thing. the team is missing Amare and Mike Miller. I don't think that Wade will help much.


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## Dornado

I thought Amare removed himself from consideration.

Also... I'd argue that Tyson Chandler would have been a more valuable addition to the team anyway... we have enough guys that can put the ball through the hoop against international big men... we'll probably even run Lebron and Melo at the 4 for decent chunks of time, which will allow Bosh to play a lot of Center...

What we need is defense, and a way to score against the zone... Prince is a nice start but Chandler's defensive presence would have been great... Michael Redd and Kobe Bryant will have to break up the zones we'll see sent our way...


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## croco

I think they should have added one or two more big men as Howard will certainly get in foul trouble in a lot of games and I'm not sure if Boozer will get it done. The talent level is still overwhelming though and if they handle themselves in a right manner, not become overconfident and play hard Team USA is the favorite to win the gold medal.


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## argusa

Chandler would have been the perfect defender. I hope Boozer can get it done. I would have liked Miller instead of Wade. He could have provided some fire power off the bench and did some dirty work. How do you leave Wade out though? He was there in Japan and would have been in Vegas if not for the injury. His commitment to the team cannot be questioned.


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## Krstic All-Star

We're going to see a lot of Carmelo at the 4.


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## HKF

This team will not dominate. This is dumb, why are they so hell bent on playing small ball in the Olympics. I know they want to sell jersey's but jeez.


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## luther

I would have liked to see Chandler more than anyone else who failed to make it. But I read Colangelo saying that they don't believe they need NBA-size bigs, necessarily, and that is true to an extent. After all, Dream Team often had Karl Malone at center when Ewing and Robinson would get in ridiculous, early foul trouble. I think it will be more important for whoever is on the court to be mentally prepared and working hard at the complete game than for them to fill traditional (largely NBA/American anyway) positional roles. All that said, I'd still prefer Chandler to have been there. Insurance.


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## CSILASVEGAS

i like the balance of this team. a good mix of veterans and young players with at least one veteran player in each position although i would have wanted paul pierce in this lineup also. this team has a good balance of outside shooters and inside players. its about time USA Basketball finally take the rest of the world seriously. i expect nothing less of a gold medal for this team in august. also a majority of these players played together with team USA in the past 2 years so the continuity and chemistry will be a big plus factor.


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## rocketeer

lebron and carmelo will both play pf at times which makes this team impossible to defend.

they didn't bring a lot of guys with size but it looks like they'll be focused on running other teams off the court and this roster definitely looks capable of doing that.

and if they get stuck in a halfcourt game kobe, deron, and redd can provide outside shooting and they have plenty of guys that can consistently knock down midrange shots.


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## IbizaXL

Team USA is finally taking it serious. and so are the fans. we used to never care because we were beating other teams by 30 points. now theres actually something to look forward to. the coaches and players have also made a commitment, unlike before when we used to just round out some guys for a couple of weeks and do whatever.


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## X Dah Creator

Yeah, what Dornado said about LBJ or Carmelo at the 4. I think they ran this last year in the qualifying a few times.. Even though they had more bigs in the qualifying tournament than they do now I think they were playing at that position. I could be wrong but I think they got the strength to take care of some of the international big men. Oh man... I can't wait for this to start.


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## gi0rdun

We're also gonna see a lot of 2 Point Guards on at the time. Chris Paul and Deron Williams on the floor at the same time on the same team! A lot of players are going to go up one position.


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## croco

giordun said:


> We're also gonna see a lot of 2 Point Guards on at the time. Chris Paul and Deron Williams on the floor at the same time on the same team! A lot of players are going to go up one position.


I doubt it with Kobe Bryant and Dwyane Wade on the roster. Kidd will probably get the starting nod and the most minutes at point guard for whatever reason, Paul will be his backup and Deron Williams might not see much action at all.


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## Porn Player

croco said:


> I doubt it with Kobe Bryant and Dwyane Wade on the roster. Kidd will probably get the starting nod and the most minutes at point guard for whatever reason, Paul will be his backup and Deron Williams might not see much action at all.


Agreed with what you said about Kidd starting, however I think minutes for Paul and Williams will depend on the type of team they are going up against. If a team has a bigger PG then Deron will see the floor if they are smaller Paul will be suiting up. I can see there minutes being pretty similar, maybe with Deron with the slight edge if Team USA make it to the advanced stages.


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## rocketeer

croco said:


> I doubt it with Kobe Bryant and Dwyane Wade on the roster. Kidd will probably get the starting nod and the most minutes at point guard for whatever reason, Paul will be his backup and Deron Williams might not see much action at all.


i hope kidd never steps onto the court. no reason to play him when paul and deron are around. the only way shooting will be a problem is if they want to play kidd significant minutes.


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## croco

rocketeer said:


> i hope kidd never steps onto the court. no reason to play him when paul and deron are around. the only way shooting will be a problem is if they want to play kidd significant minutes.


Playing Kidd only makes sense if you want to go big, but that's not the intention with this squad. I mean it's a flawed logic if you put a washed up Kidd who can't shoot at the point and want Carmelo Anthony at the 4. If they are serious about outscoring other teams (which is not going to happen in the semifinal or final) they need to go all in or play a traditional lineup. It will be much easier to contain the drives of a Lebron because of the zones that are allowed and the smaller court. I just don't understand why they can't put together a normal roster with a normal approach.


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## rocketeer

croco said:


> Playing Kidd only makes sense if you want to go big, but that's not the intention with this squad. I mean it's a flawed logic if you put a washed up Kidd who can't shoot at the point and want Carmelo Anthony at the 4. If they are serious about outscoring other teams (which is not going to happen in the semifinal or final) they need to go all in or play a traditional lineup. It will be much easier to contain the drives of a Lebron because of the zones that are allowed and the smaller court. I just don't understand why they can't put together a normal roster with a normal approach.


even if you want to go big, deron would be better than kidd.

or they could always go with a huge lineup with lebron, kobe, carmelo, bosh, and howard all on the court together.


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## bball2223

rocketeer said:


> i hope kidd never steps onto the court. no reason to play him when paul and deron are around. the only way shooting will be a problem is if they want to play kidd significant minutes.


I agree with Kidd. Paul should start and Deron should play big minutes off the bench. Kidd is over the hill and if he starts I think we will struggle to medal. We should have added anohter big and another shooter. Joe Johnson and Tyson Chandler would have been nice.


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## croco

rocketeer said:


> even if you want to go big, deron would be better than kidd.
> 
> or they could always go with a huge lineup with lebron, kobe, carmelo, bosh, and howard all on the court together.


True, the only advantage Kidd has on both is experience, but Paul and Williams are so much better than him that it's clear who should be starting and get the minutes. I would just split the 40 minutes between Paul and Williams, keeps them fresh and you have your team in good hands for the full duration of the game.


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## Diable

Right now Wade isn't worth the risk.Even if he's completely healthy he's not going to provide anything you couldn't get by playing Lebron and Kobe heavy minutes,especially since you're going to be seeing a lot of zones where you'll need to play Redd and Prince on the wings instead of guys who can't shoot.


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## pac4eva5

why does everybody fail to realize that melo is the starting PF and has been for some time now?

according to matchups and olympic rules and what not, imo the best starting lineup for usa should be:

deron
kobe
lebron
melo
howard


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## Porn Player

pac4eva5 said:


> why does everybody fail to realize that melo is the starting PF and has been for some time now?
> 
> according to matchups and olympic rules and what not, imo the best starting lineup for usa should be:
> 
> deron
> kobe
> lebron
> melo
> howard




Bosh will be seeing a lot of minutes at Centre me thinks. I don't really like that starting 5 as it seems very one dimensional. There is no real sharp shooter to spread the floor which I like to see employed (also Redd always plays very well for Team USA imo) .. However that is a seriously talented line up. Shoul be a great tournament, that I am very much looking forward to.


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## rocketeer

Porn_Player said:


> Bosh will be seeing a lot of minutes at Centre me thinks. I don't really like that starting 5 as it seems very one dimensional. There is no real sharp shooter to spread the floor which I like to see employed (also Redd always plays very well for Team USA imo) .. However that is a seriously talented line up. Shoul be a great tournament, that I am very much looking forward to.


deron and kobe both can shoot the ball a little bit. melo is also a very good shooter at the pf position. shooting really shouldn't be a problem. yes they don't have a lot of guys whose only skill is shooting, but the guys they have can shoot the ball well enough.


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## Porn Player

rocketeer said:


> deron and kobe both can shoot the ball a little bit. melo is also a very good shooter at the pf position. shooting really shouldn't be a problem. yes they don't have a lot of guys whose only skill is shooting, but the guys they have can shoot the ball well enough.


It's the ability to scare opponents into falling out of position to stop a shooter, that I was attempting to refer to. While I agree Deron and Kobe are both good shooters they will not be able to camp on the 3-Point line and have a defender to scared to leave them alone, which inturn would open up the lane for their actual skills, which lay in driving towards the hoop or giving it to the big men down low. 

The European teams mostly all have deadly shooters at most postions which is the only way I can see them defeating the powerhouse that will be Team USA.


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## someone

They couldn't find a better PF than boozer? How about KG or Duncan?


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## TM

^both said no a long time ago


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## someone

TM said:


> ^both said no a long time ago


ah ok, thanks for the info


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## gi0rdun

Oh yea I just remembered that Carmelo is like Mr. International Basketball.

Yea that is a team with a lot of talented guys to fit on 1 roster.


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