Comments on: Turn Off Your Mind, Relax, and Float Downstream

By: Experimenting with the center rotation for Team USA at the FIBA World Championships -- Brook Lopez, Kevin Love, Tyson Chandler, JaVale McGee, Lamar Odom, Gerald Wallace | Hardwood Paroxysm

Fri, 23 Jul 2010 21:35:41 +0000

[...] Team USA bleeding centers training camp day by training camp day, positional creativity was inevitable. Mike Krzyzewski was going to have to dig deep into the team roster and the select roster to find [...]

By: ryan

ryan — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 00:40:46 +0000

start deron, cp3, kd, j-smoove, and kevin love. four willing passers plus durant=domination. Smith makes up for Love’s lack of defense in the middle.

By: Rob Mahoney

Rob Mahoney — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 19:07:01 +0000

@David: It really just depends on how rigid Colangelo and Krzyzewski are in drawing from the already assembled roster. I mean, the point of having that 30+ man pool is for exactly this kind of occasion, after all. With that in mind, Johnson, Redick, Dudley, Morrow, and Hill would likely be ruled out because they’re not listed on the current roster. Johnson and Redick once were, but they’ve been dropped for whatever reason (Free agency, maybe?). Korver could be a possibility since he was included on the Select Team last summer, but I think this year’s team might need a slightly more versatile player.

Plus, I get the vibe that Colangelo and co. might reconsider the “pure shooter” role. In the last two international competitions — the 2008 Olympics and the 2007 Tournament of the Americas — Team USA brought along a designated shooter only to watch them shoot blanks. They’ll definitely have shooters, but likely more in the Billups/Durant (shooters who can do more than just shoot) mold.

Grant Hill is an incredibly interesting option that I don’t think will ever be fully considered (role playing types haven’t been given much of a chance since Bruce Bowen and Shane Battier failed to make the roster before 2007). Plus, at his age, I’m not sure playing year-round would be in his best interest. Still, his offensive skill set, leadership, and defensive abilities would make him a great addition to this roster, even if he didn’t play major minutes.

By: Beijing Olympics Blog - 2008 Beijing Olympics Unofficial Blog Site

Beijing Olympics Blog - 2008 Beijing Olympics Unofficial Blog Site — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 18:49:11 +0000

[...] Turn Off Your Mind, Relax, and Float DownstreamHardwood ParoxysmMost of the gold medalists should be back in action by the 2012 Olympics, but in the interim, Team USA could actually use a bit of a fresh start. … [...]

By: David A. Arnott

David A. Arnott — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 18:15:39 +0000

I feel like ‘Reke and Iggy are the obvious first two choices to accompany Durant as wings, because they’re not locked in as a “two” or a “three” or in Evans’s case a “one”. Did Joe Johnson say he’s out? Is Kyle Korver too limited? Anthony Morrow? Are Jared Dudley and J.J. Redick just too darn uninspired? What about Grant Hill as the final guy? I feel like USA Basketball is all about outathleticizing their opponents first, outskilling them second (which they do), so Durant, Iggy, ‘Reke are my rotation wings, and a specialist in either threes or defense is my last guy. Off the top of my head, if my first two are taken, I’d probably choose Korver, just because I still subscribe to the threes-uber-alles theory and because he’s not terrible at defense like Mike Miller is.