The U.S. men's Olympic basketball team will be announced on Monday...Duke head basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski will be the Olympic coach....if I had to assemble the U.S. team, I would not load it with NBA All-Stars and egos...the international game is quite different than the NBA because it relies on outside shooting....here is who I would want....Starting Five
Forward - LeBron James - James (photo) is the best player in the game...he is a must...he has an open invitation for the Olympic team for the rest of his career...
Forward - Carmelo Anthony - Anthony has played exceptionally well in international competition...he may be the best player on the team....
Center - Dwight Howard - big men do not have a major impact in the international game but every team needs at least one stud in the middle....Howard is the best young big man in the game....
Point guard - Jason Kidd - Kidd has never lost a game in international play....he is a bigger point guard who can rebound too.
...Kidd does not have to score....he understands his role....Shooting guard - Kobe Bryant - Kobe (photo) is the second best player in the game....
Bench
Forward - Shane Battier - Battier is a defensive stopper who has the ability to hit the 3 ball...plus he played for Coach K at Duke and undestands his system....
Forward - Richard Hamilton - Rip is one of the NBA's better 3-point shooters....he is another outside threat....give me shooters!!!!....
Point guard - Deron Williams - Williams is a true point guard who is big enough not to get muscled....
Shooting guard - Dwayne Wade - he is the 6th man on this team...his role is to be like Vinnie Johnson was with the Pistons - the Microwave....he needs to heat it up when he comes in....
Shooting guard - Michael Redd - the U.S. can always use another outside shooter and Redd fits that bill....
Final Two
These final two spots are my luxury spots....
Point guard - Chris Paul - I would feel better with 3 quality true point guards on this team....with Kidd in his mid-30s, he is prone to injury....point guard play is important in the Olympics....
Center/forward - Kevin Garnett - Garnett can play either the 3, 4, or 5 spot....he is the NBA Defensive Player of the Year who can also score if needed....his versatility makes him a must...
BRING IT ON WORLD!!!!
Actually, Rick, Hamilton is statistically one of the worst 3 point shooters in the league (along with LeBron).
ReplyDeleteI like the team but give me Prince over Battier and Boozer over Garnett. KG played waaay too many games this year and probably wouldn't go anyway.