Team USA

[nextstar1019]

This is the USA's National Basketball Team Roster

Carmelo Anthony
Gilbert Arenas
Shane Battier
Chauncey Billups
Carlos Boozer
Chris Bosh
Bruce Bowen
Elton Brand
Kobe Bryant
Tyson Chandler
Kevin Durant
Kirk Hinrich
Dwight Howard
LeBron James
Antawn Jamison
Joe Johnson
Shawn Marion
Brad Miller
Mike Miller
Adam Morrison
Greg Oden
Lamar Odom
Chris Paul
Paul Pierce
Tayshaun Prince
J.J. Redick
Michael Redd
Luke Ridnour
Amare Stoudemire
Dwyane Wade
Deron Williams

What do you the starting likeup should be for team USA if everyone was participating and was healthy?

[jwfish6]

Kobe, LeBron, Dwayne, Dwight Howard, Amare Stoudemire

[coachjon]

G-Kobe
G-Wade
F- James
F- Boozer
C- Bosh

[mullet is gone]

Wow, it looks like ye've completely forgotten what happened the last time out. You need a point guard and a 3pt shooter. Everyone there can be streaky from the arc. How is Anthony's play forgotten so easily? Its not al all-star game....

Hinrich, Paul or Williams have to start.......

Boozer/Howard type player is the right call though. Baby shaq (wont even attempt to spell it) fiasco wont be repeating itself with them on the block.

[Sed]

PF - Chris Bosh (all around guy, god post and face up scorer, good fundamental defense)
SG - Kobe Bryant (should play every game of the USA for years to come, can't be stopped, can stop everybody !!)
SF - LeBron James (excellent offensive player, can play tight defense, probably won't have to though)
C - Amare Stoudemire (great finisher, rebounder, should study the game of defense a little more)
PG - Deron Williams (in my opinion he has been schooled really well in the fundamentals of the offensive game, he should be able to read the defense when it comes to changing defenses from international teams)

6th man - Joe Johnson (allround gut that can step in at 3 spots)

Dwyane Wade (in my opinion not really suited for international play)

What's J.J. Redick still doing on this list?

[wombat6802]

Kirk Hinrich
Kobe Bryant
Carmelo Anthony
Carlos Boozer
Amare Stoudemire

[Sed]

Wow, it looks like ye've completely forgotten what happened the last time out. You need a point guard and a 3pt shooter. Everyone there can be streaky from the arc. How is Anthony's play forgotten so easily? Its not al all-star game....

Hinrich, Paul or Williams have to start.......

Boozer/Howard type player is the right call though. Baby shaq (wont even attempt to spell it) fiasco wont be repeating itself with them on the block.


Anthony has no business in this team. Still has that lackadaisical attitude.
LBJ can take over a lot of passing from the PG
With Bosh and Stoudamire in the middle, two great finishers! Bosh can even step out a little bit.
All they need is a little pride and joy in their game, it has nothing to do with talent or who they're playing against.
The last couple of years the USA has been overwhelmed by the tactical and fundamental play of the international game. Just work harder than the rest (in my opinion that's what separates USA from the rest of the world)

[Sed]

One question though:
The call for role players was pretty big at one time in the USA, why haven't they ever invited Gerald Wallace ?
I'd prefer him over Bruce Bowen. He can't shoot worth a dime, but can outplay anybody on the defensive side of the court at 4 spots, and has some good offensive go-to moves. If you put him next to a guy like Michael Redd or Kobe. Wow.

[nextstar1019]

i agree with wombat, we need a true point guard in there because everyone else is just a scorer
it should not be the 5 best players on the roster but rather the best 5 players that give us a chance to win (team basketball increases chances of winning, not just running down the court and looking for your own shot)

[nextstar1019]

pg- hinrich or williams
sg- bryant or arenas
sf- james or anthony
pf- marion or boozer
c- amare or bosh

i think that prince, joe johnson, oden, jaminson, chris paul, and durant can help the team

[mullet is gone]

Anthony was the consensus best player last time. He has no business being left out.

[Sed]

Anthony was the consensus best player last time. He has no business being left out.

That's BS, and you know it.
How about the team efficiency when he was on the court?
How about the defense when he was on the court?
Did he win them any games? Not to my knowledge.
May'be I'm just biased, but this guy won't make team USA any better.

[nextstar1019]

what do you guys think about the addition of tyson chandler?

[Sed]

what do you guys think about the addition of tyson chandler?
With his lack of fundamentals and his pretty much worthless offensive arsenal, how will he read the complex zone defenses the international teams throw at the USA?

[mullet is gone]

That's BS, and you know it.
How about the team efficiency when he was on the court?
How about the defense when he was on the court?
Did he win them any games? Not to my knowledge.
May'be I'm just biased, but this guy won't make team USA any better.

I do? Dang, I wish Id have told me before I went and ran my mouth off.

Who won them the games exactly?

Anthony can score against international defences. This is something that can be used to win games.

Regarding your comment on Tyson Chandler, all five players dont have to score 20 for the US to win. Im pretty sure they come home without the gold again if they try to play that way. Chandler can rebound and block shots. This can also be used to win games.

[wombat6802]

Anthony was the best player, offensive and defensive, on the court. The evolution of his game this NBA season was preceded by his improvements that he showed for Team USA. Chandler is a good guy to have, but not a good guy to start. The way that most international programs run with their bigs, is different than in the US, making it most effective to have a mobile guy like Amare in who can stretch the defense and allow the more established post scorer, like Boozer, to work in the post. The problem is, however, that Amare is not a good defender. While his defense will look better against international mobile centers than it did against Tim Duncan, he'll still be a poor defender. I wonder if Coach K can figure out his team's strengths this time around and work out a way to play Tyson Chandler more mobile and perimeter oriented on defense. But back to Anthony. Anyone who watched Team USA knew that the reason that they lost was because of poor post play and Dwayne Wade who was an absolute bane to their offensive flow. You could also go back to the fact that LeBron James was underutilized too and his efficiency was minimized by his role.

Want Team USA to win?
Cut Wade.
Start Anthony.
Figure out a way to make a successful low-post rotation of Chandler and Stoudemire.

Oh and Chris Paul isn't participating this time around due to injury/surgery. Otherwise he'd be starting again at point guard. He had a magical performance during the WBC.

[planaria]

That's BS, and you know it.
How about the team efficiency when he was on the court?
How about the defense when he was on the court?
Did he win them any games? Not to my knowledge.
May'be I'm just biased, but this guy won't make team USA any better.

Yes, you are been biased. The guy was the best player in the team by far and the only one to make the Tournament All-Team.

He also played impressive defense that summer.

[Sed]

Please.. listen and learn a bit.

True, the USA should start picking some players that are not so much focused on themselves (like Anthony) but more on a teamconcept. Still, that does not mean picking inferior players like Chandler (or Bowen for that matter).

Rebounding and blocking shots is not enough to win a game. He should be able to receive a pass and know what to do with it, ala a guy like Vujcic or Scola (to name a couple of international players). When has Chandler even shown a clue what to do with the ball in his his hands?

Anthony just doesn't make the cut in my eyes, you could have placed any USA all star on the same spot and he would've done the same things for this pathetic 'team'. Just making some shots and playing decent defense doesn't make you a good team player. Don't be so influenced by his stats. Wade and Anthony were just awful for the team concept.
Like I said before, you need balance and good defense. A guy like Stoudamire on the 5 spot will give you a good finisher and some blocked shots, but don't count on him to ake out the other teams best player. Mostly because that isn't his task, what do you expect from your players? Stoudamire will never be a top notch defensive player.
To say that a guy like Stoudamire stretches the defense is probably the dummiest thing to say. How many outside shots has he hit in his career?

A line up with Bosh and Stoudamire would wreak havoc on any team! Bosh doesn't really have 3-pnt distance but he can hit the international 3, and take the ball a bit further out. Boozer and Stud is two of the same, although Boozer is probably more fundamentaly sound.

Futhermore, at the point I would really like to see TJ Ford and Deron Williams.

[nextstar1019]

i love the players you named and the roles you gave then
i think anthony should be on the roster over wade...i am not a fan of either one of them though

[wombat6802]

Listen and learn a bit, Sed? You give as much evidence as a fourth-grade research paper. Wade and Anthony were nothing alike. Wade ran isolations and turned the ball over a lot. The tape proves that when Wade was in the game, there was a complete lack of flow. He was a one-man-team. Anthony was the ideal roleplayer on this team. He only scored so much becuase he had to. He passed well, played amazing defense, and hustled every time he was on the court. He was clearly the best player on the floor and was the only player that benefitted from Coach K's offense. He was also, with Battier, one of Team USA's defensive anchors.

If you think Carmelo was a bad player, and bad in the same way that Wade was bad, please provide information and evidence. Uninformed posts that neutralize a player's accomplishments are counterproductive. Thanks.

[nextstar1019]

what do you guys think of this lineup/depth chart:

pg...d williams/ hinerich/ arenas
sg...j johnson or kobe/ kobe or sohnson/ arenas
sf...anthony/ lebron/ marion
pf...bosh/ boozer/ marion
c...amare/ bosh/ oden

[mullet is gone]

Rebounding and blocking is not enough to win games............fascinating insight there. I fear your genius may be wasted on me but Ill struggle on.
Basketball players tend to have "skills". Players can have different "skills", placing them in them particular "positions" suitable to their "skills" can help maximise a teams performance...i.e. playing five centres would probably be a bad idea....A coach may use Chandlers defense and rebounding in combination with another players who has different "skills", probably a player who has offensive "skills".


Bowen is an inferior player? Hard nosed defensive stalwart and decent three point shooter.....multiple championship experience...nothing a team could use there really..... Chris Bosh will cover the three point shooting anyway........

You are taking the piss right? This just a windup and we've all fallen for it.

[mullet is gone]

Oh and Chris Paul isn't participating this time around due to injury/surgery. Otherwise he'd be starting again at point guard. He had a magical performance during the WBC.


He was good against weaker teams but when the going got tough Paul was often missing in action, along with most of the squad. I remember watching the greece game and it was obvious as time wound down that Hinrich was the only one on the roster with the balls to go for it.
NBA players can be ineffective outside their comfort zone. We've had this conversation already but I think Williams is a better player and while its true Paul has rarely been healthy Williams has been amazing this season. Williams should be starting over Paul, even if he was healthy.

[Sed]

Rebounding and blocking is not enough to win games............fascinating insight there. I fear your genius may be wasted on me but Ill struggle on.
Basketball players tend to have "skills". Players can have different "skills", placing them in them particular "positions" suitable to their "skills" can help maximise a teams performance...i.e. playing five centres would probably be a bad idea....A coach may use Chandlers defense and rebounding in combination with another players who has different "skills", probably a player who has offensive "skills".


Bowen is an inferior player? Hard nosed defensive stalwart and decent three point shooter.....multiple championship experience...nothing a team could use there really..... Chris Bosh will cover the three point shooting anyway........

You are taking the piss right? This just a windup and we've all fallen for it.

We'll see who Colangelo selects..

My opinion about Chandler and Bowen won't change. It's pretty simple really, it's all about attitude, if the so-called stars won't play full out defense, take the next guy. There are enough MORE allround players in the league!
Really, who would you take, choosing between a scorer like Redd who can play decent defense, or a 'stalwart' on defense like Bowen who'll give you not much on offense?

You can tell me that Chandler will do a far better job than Bosh against a player like Vujcic on defense, sure, that's his main job on a daily basis. But, on offense they need all 5 players to be able to 'play' ! For example, overloading against a zone and picking the right spots. Will Chandler be able to read this in a pressure packed game?

Your point of view (picking specialty players approach) might work in the NBA (isolations, 1 on 1, 2 on 2 etc etc) but I think it has been made clear that it wont work internationally.

I watched the tapes of the games again for the sake of this thread, i have to get back on my opinion about Anthony a little bit. Still i don't believe he was the best player, but he showed some effort. More than what was left hanging in my mind. Wade and Paul certainly weren't the right players/distributors for this team.

[mullet is gone]

Who was the best player, as a matter of interest?

[mullet is gone]

and as I still havent put down my team yet.....Ill get off the fence

Williams/Hinrich/Kidd I'd settle for any of those three to be honest
Kobe/Redd/Joe J Shoot the 3, play some d and handle
Marion/Battier/Miller Marion can guard anyone
Boozer/Bosh Boozer is the big weapon, power game essential
Oden/Stoudamire Oden is big enough and athletic enough now