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Team USA's Gold Standard
posted: Friday, January 13, 2006 | Feedback
USA Basketball is still trying to come up with a plan to put Team USA back on top of the basketball world. After the first major defeat at the 2002 World Championships, the thinking was that the talent level of the team had become diluted and that it needed more stars. Many of the top NBA stars like Tim Duncan and Allen Iverson came to the rescue in 2004, and the team fared better. But no one wanted the bronze in Athens. Folks in the USA expect nothing but the gold.
The plan this year doesn't seem much different: try to fill the team with even better players and hope that our talent beats their teamwork and chemistry.
Asking Suns president Jerry Colangelo to head the selection process was a great idea. Colangelo is one of the brightest and most respected people in the industry.
But he's already off to a shaky start.
The hiring of Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski is troubling. Everyone respects Krzyzewski as possibly the best college coach ever. Kobe Bryant is known to respect him, and that helps. But Krzyzewski has no experience coaching NBA players (many of whom have never played a minute of college basketball) or coaching international basketball. The strange thing is that the perfect guy for the job, Mike D'Antoni, is currently employed as Colangelo's own head coach in Phoenix. D'Antoni will instead be an assistant to Krzyzewski.
Like just about everyone else connected to USA Basketball, Colangelo seems to get stars in his eyes when thinking about putting together a team that can compete internationally. That's a great strategy if you want to sell jerseys and Happy Meals. However, I believe strongly that having more than three or four stars on the team is a mistake if they actually want to win an international tournament, for two reasons.
One, basketball is still a team sport. When you put 12 players on the roster and each is used to being the best player on his team, they all tend to want minutes and to be the leader. All 12 can't have that. What's happened in the past is that coaches have tried to play everyone to keep all the players happy, and no chemistry ever developed.
Two, the international game is a different animal than the NBA. The style of play is different. The rules are different. The refs call the game differently. And maybe most importantly, the stakes appear to be much higher for most of the countries Team USA competes against. We're trying not to lose. Everyone else is trying to win.
To win in international ball, you need players who can move the ball and stretch the defenses. Bigs need to be mobile enough to guard opposing players on the perimeter. You need a strong point guard who can make sure that the ball is getting distributed evenly to all of the stars.
The 2004 team was deficient in all of those areas. No lights-out shooter. No real point guard. And our most mobile big, Amare Stoudemire, spent way too much time on the bench. Factor in the host of egos on board and it's a little surprising the team won the bronze.
With the selection committee narrowing down their choices for this year's team, here are my recommendations:
First, I'm working on the assumption that Kevin Garnett, Tracy McGrady, and Duncan aren't available.
Point guards
Jason Kidd: His skills are starting to decline, but the team needs a veteran presence who is unselfish and will get the break going, find the open man and serve as a leader on the floor. Even if Kidd were limited to 15 minutes a game, his presence on the team would be important.
Chauncey Billups: Billups is not a "pure" point guard, but his experience with Larry Brown over the past few years has turned him into one of the best in the game. Billups strikes the right balance in his ability to run the break, distribute and step up and hit the big shot with the game on the line. Having a championship MVP award under his belt doesn't hurt his credentials.
Chris Paul: The team can't play a 12-man rotation. But they should have a young player that they're developing to eventually take over. Kidd may be able to go in 2006, but he probably won't make it to 2008. By that time, Paul will be ready to take over the reins. His play on the junior team for Team USA gives him some international experience that other point guards don't have.
Other good options: Dwyane Wade, Kirk Hinrich, Mike Bibby
Swing men:
LeBron James: He is the most complete player in the NBA -- a fantastic scorer, rebounder and passer who can take over a game when he needs to. Normally you want players who are better shooters, but James brings so much else to the table it doesn't matter.
Kobe Bryant: Colangelo loves Kobe, so if he wants to come, he's in. The ball hogging won't work at the international level, but Kobe has the tools to play within the team system when the talent around him warrants it. He's intense and hates to lose, and he might see Team USA as a way to repair his tattered image. Scoring has to come from somewhere and Kobe is the best scorer in the league right now.
Joe Johnson: Johnson is one of the best shooters and most versatile players in the league. He can play three positions, is a good defender and most importantly, doesn't need to be the man. He was comfortable fitting into the Suns' supercharged offense last season and would be a great fit here. It's a tough call between Johnson and Michael Redd, but Johnson gets the nod because of his versatility.
Rashard Lewis: Lewis is another guy who can shoot the lights out, but is also comfortable taking a back seat to other stars when they get it going. He'd be the fourth man in this rotation, but is another guy who can really spread the defense.
Adam Morrison: By the time the team heads to Japan, Morrison will likely be a high lottery pick for an NBA team. Morrison is the best player in college basketball and his game is perfectly suited to the international game. He wouldn't play much on this squad, but he's another guy with experience on the junior U.S. team who could be developed for the 2008 Olympics.
Other good options: Redd, Richard Hamilton, Shane Battier, Mike Miller, Tayshaun Prince.
Bigs:
Chris Bosh: Bosh is having an All-Star year for Toronto and is the perfect fit for the international game. He's a long, mobile big man who can score both inside and outside and has the quickness to get out and guard the more mobile and perimeter-oriented European bigs. He should start at power forward for Team USA. That's how good a fit he is.
Amare Stoudemire: Assuming he's back and healthy, he's the best choice as the team's starting center. He would give the team a third star (along with Kobe and LeBron) and a fantastic low-post scorer. He's not the world's best defender or rebounder, but that's what the next guy is for.
Dwight Howard: Stoudemire and Howard are the two most athletic bigs in the league, but their strengths are very different. Stoudemire is an offensive nightmare for opponents. Howard is a defensive one. Howard would be the team's best rebounder and shot blocker. While he struggles a bit guarding perimeter-oriented players, the team has plenty of other players who can handle it. If he ever figures it out offensively, he's going to be a perennial All-Star.
Channing Frye: Frye is off to an amazing start to his rookie season. His PER ranks fourth among all centers in the league and ninth among all power forwards. His mobility and excellent jump shot make him a great fit offensively in the European game. Like Paul and Morrison, Frye would be there as a bench player this year and ready for a bigger role in 2008. Texas sophomore LaMarcus Aldridge, who is a legit candidate for the No. 1 pick in the draft this summer, would also be a great fit and an excellent candidate for the team.
Other good options: Jermaine O'Neal, Brad Miller, Rasheed Wallace, Troy Murphy.
Put that team on the floor at the World Championships in Japan in 2006, and barring major injuries, they'd bring home the gold.
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