And Then There Were 15
Yesterday, USA Basketball trimmed its roster from 18 to 15 players. Adam Morrison and Luke Ridnour were the two players left off the roster along with Shawn Marion who suffered a minor knee injury earlier this week.
The 15 players that did make it are: Gilbert Arenas, Kirk Hinrich, Chris Paul, Dwayne Wade, Joe Johnson, LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Antawn Jamison, Shane Battier, Bruce Bowen, Elton Brand, Chris Bosh, Dwight Howard, Amare Stoudamire, and Brad Miller. That’s not a bad collection of players.
The departures of Morrison and Ridnour are not surprising seeing as Morrison was the only remaining invitee without NBA experience and Ridnour, while a good player, does not have the talent that Arenas, Hinrich, or Paul have.
The 15 remaining players will continue to practice until August 3 when they will play an exhibition game in Las Vegas against Puerto Rico, who beat Team USA at the 2004 Olympics. Then they will travel to Asia for four more exhibition games before the 2006 FIBA World Championship on August 19 in Japan.
The team roster must be trimmed down to 12 before the world championship begins. And as a public service I decided to offer my advice to as to who should get the ax.
The most obvious candidate is Bruce Bowen. One of the criticisms of the most recent USA basketball teams is the lack of role players on the team. The argument was that the team needed players who would do some of the little stuff like play good defense and make perimeter shots. I can appreciate that argument and Bruce Bowen does fill that role. But I have to wonder how much he has left in the tank at age 35. In addition, it’s not clear that his aggressive defense will be tolerated in the international game. Finally, he plays for the San Antonio Spurs and the Spurs suck, at least in the eyes of this Laker fan.
The next cut is a difficult one. Even without Bowen, the team has four small forwards on the team in James, Anthony, Jamison, and Battier. James can play shooting guard and Jamison plays power forward for the Wizards. But it still seems the next cut should come from this group. James and Anthony are the two most talented. Jamison’s perimeter game would appear to be well suited to the international game. Battier also has a good perimeter game, plays good defense, and would be a great role player.
My initial inclination would be to cut Battier but after some reflection, the choice would be Anthony. Anthony is a great player but it’s not clear that his game is well suited to international play. In addition, it seems there is nothing he can add that isn’t already provided by another player. There are enough scorers on this team. There are better rebounders and perimeter shooters. Anthony is a great clutch shooter, but Wade can fill that role. This doesn’t mean I would exclude Anthony from future USA teams, just from this year’s team.
The final cut I would make would be one of the five big men: Brand, Howard, Bosh, Stoudamire, and Miller. Brand is probably the best post player of the five and Miller is the only true center on the team so they both make the roster. Although Bosh is a tremendous player and would look great in a Laker jersey, the few times I’ve seen him play it has appeared that his game is a little soft. While that’s not necessarily bad for the international game, it does raise some concerns.
However, my final cut would be Stoudamire. While he has apparently done well in practice scrimmages, that fact that he is still trying to come back from a major knee injury makes him too risky a pick for the team. If he is able to fully recover and has a strong season next year, then he clearly belongs on the 2008 Olympic team, assuming the United States qualifies. But for now, he doesn’t belong on the roster.
Of course, a lot can happen in the next three weeks as the team gets ready for the world championship. Fortunately for Team USA coach Mike Krzyzewski and managing director Jerry Colangelo, they won’t have to make their final decisions until August 18. Let’s just hope they follow my advice and makes the right ones.
The 15 players that did make it are: Gilbert Arenas, Kirk Hinrich, Chris Paul, Dwayne Wade, Joe Johnson, LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Antawn Jamison, Shane Battier, Bruce Bowen, Elton Brand, Chris Bosh, Dwight Howard, Amare Stoudamire, and Brad Miller. That’s not a bad collection of players.
The departures of Morrison and Ridnour are not surprising seeing as Morrison was the only remaining invitee without NBA experience and Ridnour, while a good player, does not have the talent that Arenas, Hinrich, or Paul have.
The 15 remaining players will continue to practice until August 3 when they will play an exhibition game in Las Vegas against Puerto Rico, who beat Team USA at the 2004 Olympics. Then they will travel to Asia for four more exhibition games before the 2006 FIBA World Championship on August 19 in Japan.
The team roster must be trimmed down to 12 before the world championship begins. And as a public service I decided to offer my advice to as to who should get the ax.
The most obvious candidate is Bruce Bowen. One of the criticisms of the most recent USA basketball teams is the lack of role players on the team. The argument was that the team needed players who would do some of the little stuff like play good defense and make perimeter shots. I can appreciate that argument and Bruce Bowen does fill that role. But I have to wonder how much he has left in the tank at age 35. In addition, it’s not clear that his aggressive defense will be tolerated in the international game. Finally, he plays for the San Antonio Spurs and the Spurs suck, at least in the eyes of this Laker fan.
The next cut is a difficult one. Even without Bowen, the team has four small forwards on the team in James, Anthony, Jamison, and Battier. James can play shooting guard and Jamison plays power forward for the Wizards. But it still seems the next cut should come from this group. James and Anthony are the two most talented. Jamison’s perimeter game would appear to be well suited to the international game. Battier also has a good perimeter game, plays good defense, and would be a great role player.
My initial inclination would be to cut Battier but after some reflection, the choice would be Anthony. Anthony is a great player but it’s not clear that his game is well suited to international play. In addition, it seems there is nothing he can add that isn’t already provided by another player. There are enough scorers on this team. There are better rebounders and perimeter shooters. Anthony is a great clutch shooter, but Wade can fill that role. This doesn’t mean I would exclude Anthony from future USA teams, just from this year’s team.
The final cut I would make would be one of the five big men: Brand, Howard, Bosh, Stoudamire, and Miller. Brand is probably the best post player of the five and Miller is the only true center on the team so they both make the roster. Although Bosh is a tremendous player and would look great in a Laker jersey, the few times I’ve seen him play it has appeared that his game is a little soft. While that’s not necessarily bad for the international game, it does raise some concerns.
However, my final cut would be Stoudamire. While he has apparently done well in practice scrimmages, that fact that he is still trying to come back from a major knee injury makes him too risky a pick for the team. If he is able to fully recover and has a strong season next year, then he clearly belongs on the 2008 Olympic team, assuming the United States qualifies. But for now, he doesn’t belong on the roster.
Of course, a lot can happen in the next three weeks as the team gets ready for the world championship. Fortunately for Team USA coach Mike Krzyzewski and managing director Jerry Colangelo, they won’t have to make their final decisions until August 18. Let’s just hope they follow my advice and makes the right ones.
posted by The Pocho at 12:28 PM
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