# USA Starting 5



## VTRapsfan (Dec 5, 2004)

Made a new thread now that the roster is official and the captains named.

USA Basketball (team captains bolded)

*15 Carmelo Anthony, F, Denver Nuggets/Syracuse*
8 Shane Battier, F, Houston Rockets/Duke
11 Chris Bosh, F, Toronto Raptors/Georgia Tech
14 Elton Brand, F, LA Clippers/Duke
5 Kirk Hinrich, G, Chicago Bulls/Kansas
12 Dwight Howard, F/C, Orlando Magic/Southwest Atlanta Christian Academy
*6 LeBron James, F, Cleveland Cavaliers/St.Vincent - St.Mary HS*
7 Antawn Jamison, F, Washington Wizards/North Carolina
4 Joe Johnson, G/F, Atlanta Hawks/Arkansas
13 Brad Miller, C, Sacramento Kings/Purdue
10 Chris Paul, G, NO/OK Hornets/Wake Forest
*9 Dwyane Wade, G, Miami Heat/Marquette*

So, who do you think should start? Will 'Melo or 'Bron play lots of power forward? Will Bosh and Howard start and play alongside each other a lot? If so, will Paul or Wade come off the bench? So many questions...


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## BG7 (Jun 25, 2003)

I'd say

PG-Kirk Hinrich
SG-Dwyane Wade
SF-Shane Battier
PF-Lebron James
C- Dwight Howard


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## Wayne (May 24, 2006)

I can't believe Team USA has 1 center. NBA centers dominate international teams. Hopefully the other 2 spots will be taken by Elton Brand and Dwight Howard


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## Pain5155 (May 28, 2006)

1- Paul
2- Wade
3- LeBron
4- Bosh
5- Dwight


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## clips_r_teh_wieners (Nov 4, 2005)

Pain5155 said:


> 1- Paul
> 2- Wade
> 3- LeBron
> 4- Bosh
> 5- Dwight


bosh has the offchance to start becuz mike k stresses experimenting with lineups, but he better not be getting more minutes than brand or howard. and that's not my homerism talking, bosh doesnt even fit in the international game as a PF


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## Starbury03 (Aug 12, 2003)

Paul
Wade
Lebron
Melo
Dwight


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## MRedd22 (Jun 10, 2006)

sloth said:


> I'd say
> 
> PG-Kirk Hinrich
> SG-Dwyane Wade
> ...


of course sloth has to put Hinrich in there instead of Paul


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## IbizaXL (Sep 21, 2005)

i know Melo for sure has to be there, hes been one,if not the most, consistent player in this roster.

im loving this team, i honestly dont see any weakness in this USA Team, we can adapt to so many styles, very balanced on O and D. I love watching the bigs like Brand, Bosh and Howard banging inside and just overpowering everybody! Just too much talent and athletism, i hope they can use all of those skills together (so far so good :biggrin: )

edit:

oh yeah, my starters..

G-Heinrich
G-Wade
F-Lebron
F-Melo
C-Howard


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## ZÆ (Aug 1, 2005)

Dwight Howard/Chris Bosh/Brad Miller
Carmelo Anthony/Elton Brand
LeBron James/Antawn Jamison/Shane Battier
Dwyane Wade/Joe Johnson
Chris Paul/Kirk Hinrich


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## beamer05 (Feb 24, 2006)

paul
wade
bron
melo
bosh


I don't think there will be a set starting line up at all. If there was, I think this one would do some nasty things on the court.


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## LamarButler (Apr 16, 2005)

This should be the starting lineup. 

PG- Chris Paul
SG- Dwyane Wade
SF- LeBron James
PF- Carmelo Anthony
C- Dwight Howard

We really need to take advantage of our athleticism. As we've seen so far, we feed off of turnovers and we punish teams in the open court. All five are very athletic (Carmelo at PF causes mismatches). Wade and James MUST be the starting wings, as they are REALLY good finishers and just too talented. Anthony should be included because of the good atitude hes shown, and hes been our leading scorer. Between James and Anthony, Anthony should play PF because he is slower and his game is more catered to strength. Dwight is too strong for international C's. On defense, we have three really good ballhawks. Paul, Wade and James can all get a ton of steals and are really quick. Those three are all great rebounders for their position and can rebound and push. Also with Howard blocking shots inside it enables the perimeter players to play more freely and apply pressure, creating more turnovers. Another thing I've noticed is that the 1-3 spots can all act as playmakers, and thats always a godo thing to have.


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## Hairy Midget (Nov 28, 2005)

beamer05 said:


> paul
> wade
> bron
> melo
> ...


No way Bosh would start ahead of Brand AND Dwight.


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## Diable (Apr 26, 2005)

I don't believe there will be an established starting unit,but it's likely that one of our big time scorers will be kept in reserve to give the second unit stability.Coach K will run things as a meritocracy,whoever is playing best will get the minutes and starting isn't going to be that big a deal,especially not in Group D play.


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## beamer05 (Feb 24, 2006)

Hairy Midget said:


> No way Bosh would start ahead of Brand AND Dwight.



Like I said I don't think there would be a set starting line-up and its hard to tell what coach k. is going to do even after these exhibition games. However, I think bosh has a little more range than howard and brand so that could work in his favor.


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## Hairy Midget (Nov 28, 2005)

beamer05 said:


> Like I said I don't think there would be a set starting line-up and its hard to tell what coach k. is going to do even after these exhibition games. However, I think bosh has a little more range than howard and brand so that could work in his favor.


I'm guessing you haven't watched any of the exhibition games?


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## Lebbron (Nov 20, 2005)

I don't care who starts after watching the games what I want to see is a Melo-Wade unit and a Bron-Paul unit because those pairings are the most fun to watch to me they seem to have the best chemistry.


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## beamer05 (Feb 24, 2006)

Hairy Midget said:


> I'm guessing you haven't watched any of the exhibition games?



Bosh started 2 games, dwight started 2, and elton started 1. Not one player started all 5 games- not even lebron. And, bosh can somewhat shoot the 3. So, what is it you think I missed?


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## qross1fan (Dec 28, 2004)

PG: Joe Johnson
SG: Dwyane Wade
SF: Carmelo Anthony
PF: LeBron James
CE: Dwight Howard


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## Hairy Midget (Nov 28, 2005)

beamer05 said:


> Bosh started 2 games, dwight started 2, and elton started 1. Not one player started all 5 games- not even lebron. And, bosh can somewhat shoot the 3. So, what is it you think I missed?


It doesn't matter who started and who didn't in the exhibitions. I'm talking about Bosh playing extremely poorly throughout.


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## raptorsrule15 (Jul 4, 2003)

Imao Wade, Melo, Bron, and howard at C are locks.....the problem is the starting point. None of the other 4 can shoot the 3 well so Hinrich will likely start over Paul, plus he has the better D...Paul is the better playmaker but they have Wade and Bron for that. Paul and JJ will be a good 2nd unit, with Brand and Bosh being the first bigs off the bench.


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## Anima (Jun 3, 2003)

I don't think there will be a set starting lineup, I expect to see a different one each game to match up with who they are playing.


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## Shady* (Jul 3, 2005)

IMO

*PG:* Chris Paul
*SG:* Dwyane Wade
*SF:* Carmelo Anthony
*PF:* Lebron James
*C:* Dwight Howard


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## beamer05 (Feb 24, 2006)

Hairy Midget said:


> It doesn't matter who started and who didn't in the exhibitions. I'm talking about Bosh playing extremely poorly throughout.



Jesus man, does it really matter? I put bosh in the starting line-up, so what? Just because he played 'extremely poorly throughout' doesn't mean he wont break out when it really starts up. And it's not as if howard, brand and even brad miller played a million times better than he did-

Bosh- 12mpg, 5ppg, 3rpg
Brand- 13mpg, 9ppg, 2.8rpg
howard- 11mpg, 5.4ppg, 5.8rpg
miller- 12mpg, 7.4ppg, 1.6rpg

Outplayed slighty? Yes, but it's not as if the other starters [which, as we both seem to agree, wont be a set rotation] wont make up for this 'huge' difference because bosh has played so 'poorly.'


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## Marshall_42 (Dec 6, 2004)

beamer05 said:


> Jesus man, does it really matter? I put bosh in the starting line-up, so what? Just because he played 'extremely poorly throughout' doesn't mean he wont break out when it really starts up. And it's not as if howard, brand and even brad miller played a million times better than he did-
> 
> Bosh- 12mpg, 5ppg, 3rpg
> Brand- 13mpg, 9ppg, 2.8rpg
> ...


Don't worry man, Hairy Midget is your typical Orlando fan who gets angry when Bosh gets more love then Howard.


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## AshyLarry (Aug 10, 2006)

Wayne said:


> I can't believe Team USA has 1 center. NBA centers dominate international teams.


I'm sure Jerome James would dunk on everyone in an international comp between Argentina...


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## Kidd's Nets (Jun 10, 2006)

Wayne said:


> I can't believe Team USA has 1 center. NBA centers dominate international teams. Hopefully the other 2 spots will be taken by Elton Brand and Dwight Howard





Pain5155 said:


> 1- Paul
> 2- Wade
> 3- LeBron
> 4- Bosh
> 5- Dwight


so ur both saying that Team USA co-captain Carmelo Anthony isn't starting?


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## crazyfan (Dec 9, 2005)

Shady™ said:


> IMO
> 
> *PG:* Chris Paul
> *SG:* Dwyane Wade
> ...






I agree.


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## Hairy Midget (Nov 28, 2005)

Marshall_42 said:


> Don't worry man, Hairy Midget is your typical Orlando fan who gets angry when Bosh gets more love then Howard.


No I'm not, I'm a rational fan that actually SAW the games. You could start Brand or Howard, I don't care. I just want Team USA to win, and the best way to do that is to start Brand, Howard, or Miller over Bosh.


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## UD40 (May 12, 2005)

Paul
Wade
Bron
Melo
Dwight (or Elton)

There is no way in Hell Melo sits, he's been the best player on the team thus far.


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## matt! (Feb 21, 2005)

I have to back Hairy Midget on this, Bosh was pretty terrible on both sides of the ball during the exhibition games, and I really wouldn't want him starting until he can prove himself coming off the bench a little bit.


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## Benedict_Boozer (Jul 16, 2004)

Shady™ said:


> IMO
> 
> *PG:* Chris Paul
> *SG:* Dwyane Wade
> ...


The only problem with that lineup is teams will zone us to death. Anthony can hit from the outside but I wonder about the backcourt. 

I think Coach K might go with Hinrich in that unit because of his shooting. Either that or start Paul and use JJ at SG.


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## Sir Patchwork (Jan 12, 2005)

This team has enough stars and enough great roleplayers to make two great lineups, and just rotate them in and out. The key is for your lineups to get a good blend of scoring, rebounding, defense, hustle, shooting and so on. The best runs that the team had in the exhibitions is when they had a couple stars, like LeBron and Wade, mixed in some guys like Hinrich and Battier. Coach K has a handle on this and will continue to work the lineups from a chemistry standpoint, and not from a "better players start the game" standpoint.


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## beamer05 (Feb 24, 2006)

Hairy Midget said:


> No I'm not, I'm a rational fan that actually SAW the games. You could start Brand or Howard, I don't care. I just want Team USA to win, and the best way to do that is to start Brand, Howard, or Miller over Bosh.



With the other guys in there, like bron,melo,wade, does it really matter who starts at center? Sure, two of the others got more rebounds and all but it's not like bosh/brand/howard/miller have to play out of their minds for us to win. I just think bosh is a better fit to extend the defense for wade/bron slashing to the hoop and spotting up close to the 3 because he has slightly better range. That's all, but whatever. Go Howard and Brand! Let's hope everyone can SEE the games so we know just how terrible chris bosh is.


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