Olympic spot looking easy for U.S.; setting roster, not so much
Despite beating Venezuela by 43 points in its first outing at the FIBA Americas Championships, there are no plans to block off traffic on the Las Vegas strip for a championship parade following the Sept. 2 gold medal game just yet. Still, after getting a whiff of the competition, it's safe to assume the U.S. National Team will be in that final, will take home the gold and should start working on its conversational Mandarin in preparation for next summer's Olympic games in Beijing.
That might reek of the same pompous air Americans have been accused of stubbornly clutching onto even as their grip on global basketball dominance slipped away, but in this instance, it seems smart to start thinking ahead.
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| The way seems to be clear for Michael Redd and USA. (AP) |
That leaves the Americans to chase themselves, striving for improvement and chemistry while members look to cement their place on the Olympic roster. Forget replicating the Dream Team. Those days are over, and generally should've been a one-time thing as it was. The U.S. got into trouble when we all started messing around with sequels, much like the I Know What You Did Last Summer series, which just wound up getting plain silly. Ditto with Dream Teams. We got up to like VI: Revenge of the Round Mound.
Michael Jordan, Charles Barkley, Larry Bird and Magic Johnson aren't walking through that door. Let's call this latest version "Generation Next" and call it a day. Actually, let's not call them anything until it delivers the goods.
This Kobe Bryant guy seems to be a keeper. Showing off a slimmed down physique, he has requested guarding the opposing team's primary threat and accepted the responsibility of putting a target on his back. Judging by the look of horror on the face of Maryland's Greivis Vasquez while he tried to get the ball down the floor and get Venezuela into its offensive sets Wednesday night, Bryant is serious about being the U.S. team's stopper. His on-the-ball pressure is going to make a major difference.
You can presumably count on LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Carmelo Anthony, the tri-captains of the 2006 world championship squad, in for next year's chase. Michael Redd looks at home in his role as the designated shooter off the bench.
Jason Kidd is the perfect point guard for this team, the American version of Steve Nash, a distributor who won't take shots unless they're open layups. Considering the amount of talent that can put the ball in the basket, a pass-first guard is essential to making everything click, and because of everything he has accomplished, the elder statesman commands the ultimate respect. Chauncey Billups is the perfect backup, able to run the team, defend and, of course, knock down the clutch perimeter shot.
Up front, you need Dwight Howard, Amare Stoudemire and Chris Bosh, once healthy, to handle things inside. Each can alter shots, rebound and finish close to the basket, and all will have satisfactory experience in international competition to know what they can and can't get away with.
That brings us up to 10 players, with two spots remaining to round out the roster. This is where it gets tricky.
Ideally, you'd love to have a couple more big men, a few more shooters, a third point guard and another versatile piece or two, but that's not possible. Since we have to pick and choose, I'd slice the third point out of the equation. Sorry, Deron Williams and Chris Paul, but if there's an injury to Billups or Kidd, Wade can slide over and handle the ball. For that matter, so can Bryant.
Carrying another post player is a must. Brazil almost lost to Canada at these FIBAs because Nene and Tiago Splitter fouled out late, and Varejao was absent. Luckily, it still had a kid named Murilo Da Rosa to bail it out. FIBA rules give you only five fouls to use up, so it's easy to get into trouble. Given how a lot of these international referees are as fickle with the whistle as Tim Donaghy, you need to prepare yourself.
If Elton Brand is fully healed after surgery to repair a ruptured Achilles', he's my guy. He has international experience, rebounds extremely well and can knock down the mid-range jumper. If unavailable, the choice would come down to Carlos Boozer, Tyson Chandler and Greg Oden. Packing a 7-foot shot-blocker would be great, but realistically, you would have to carry the better player, which would be Boozer.
It's gut-wrenching, but the final spot on my squad would go to Tayshaun Prince. He's a glue guy who can play three positions, guard four and consistently knock down the open 3-pointer. Team USA's coaching staff has raved about his ability to blend in, and he fits the role of the ultimate role player the whole "Dream Team" moniker has historically excluded. Shawn Marion would also be a great fit for all the above reasons.
To put into perspective how difficult the final few cuts will be for next year's team, guys like Joe Johnson, Paul Pierce, Mike Miler and Kevin Durant would be among those left behind.
Expect this to be a major topic of conversation over the next calendar year, because once these FIBA Americas Championships are over, reservations to China will undoubtedly be booked. Sorry to sound presumptuous, but given the drought the U.S. has fallen into, it would be irresponsible if the wheels upstairs weren't already turning.
