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Eyes on Me

July 26, 2010 in by with 17 Comments

On Friday, LeBron James and Dwyane Wade were kind enough to grace Team USA with their presence. Hands were kissed. Feet were washed. Artists gathered to depict — impossible though it may be to capture either player’s divine essence — both players in grand murals, each welcomed hero complete with a nimbus to signal their divinity. What a privilege it is for the members of this year’s national team to even stand in the same gym as Wade and James, blessed be their names.

Both living legends took time out of their busy summers to remind Team USA of what, or who, they’re missing. Missing not because Mike Krzyzewski and Jerry Colangelo deemed it so, but simply because James and Wade can’t be bothered with the FIBA World Championships. They’re obviously a bit preoccupied with having their cake and eating it, too.

No player is mandated to be a part of Team USA. If James, or Andrew Bynum, or Dominic freaking McGuire want to refuse the program, they’re entitled. There’s also nothing wrong with LeBron choosing to celebrate during the off-season instead. Completely his call. I do have but one humble request for LeBron and Wade, though. Don’t pretend that this is still your team. James claimed to be the leader of the American squad in 2008, and even if that was a reasonable claim at the time, it’s now almost ridiculous. His talent may be undeniable, but is this really LeBron’s (and Wade’s, too) idea of leadership? Ditching out on a commitment to the national team to work on a movie that didn’t happen, and subsequently go from city to city on a party hardy world tour? Again, live it up, ‘Bron, just don’t claim to be the 2012 team’s selfless general, fighting the good fight for the good of the program and the country.

Team USA has fallen into the capable hands of Kevin Durant, and while it’s easy to praise his commitment when KD has yet to even suit up for Team USA in a real game, he actually seems to be the most suitable face for the program going forward. Team USA’s renaissance has always been more about Kobe than LeBron, and it’s Durant that shares Bryant’s ridiculous drive, obsessive focus, and incredible will. The Durantula is humble and hungry, and though he never asked to be the leader of this team — and he won’t, ever — it just makes too much sense for him not to be.

The Talent Show, Live from Summer Camp

July 25, 2010 in by with 5 Comments

The Blue-White Game is, by nature, delightfully irrelevant. Team USA needs to be tested against international players who play an international style, but instead they do what they can: split up and go to work against themselves. The result is an All-Star Game-esque three-point shooting and dunking exhibition, and while the level of competition is ultimately a bit higher than the ASG, there’s no way around just how limited the scrimmage is as an evaluative process.

With that in mind, here are a few thoughts from last night’s scrimmage, complete with evaluative limitations!:

  • Part of the beauty of Team USA is that it offers players an opportunity to thrive in ways they simply aren’t allowed on their current NBA squads. Case in point: Andre Iguodala. The Sixers have a lot of young talent, but no one productive enough to slide Iguodala into a more comfortable role/usage rate. Team USA has point guards coming out of its ears, and all of them will be looking to set Iguodala up for his next huge dunk or three. Meanwhile, Iggy quietly goes to work as the Americans’ top perimeter defender, capable of playing in conservative, shot-altering defenses or in Coach Krzyzewski’s preferred high-pressure approach. His two-way excellence is noted on the NBA level, but when he has other quality players to make up for his weaknesses on offense? He’s fantastic. K called Iguodala “an important part of the team,” and he’s not wrong.
  • No, Jeff Green, your turnaround jumpers will not be needed in Turkey.
  • One thing working in Kevin Love’s favor that goes beyond his rebounding (Though it’s worth noting that Love once gathered three offensive rebounds on a single trip down the floor in the BW Game, kicking it out to an open teammate each time.) is that unlike the other bigs on the roster, Love has legit FIBA three-point range. He’s capable of spotting up in the corner on the weak side to balance the ball action, or even roll out off a screen to set up shop at the free throw line extended. Brook Lopez, judging from his bizarre love affair with the 22-foot set shot last season, only wishes he could be used similarly.
  • The fast breaks were an absolute mess. Though it’s not particularly useful to gauge the team’s strengths and weaknesses in a game like this, it does give us a decent read on the players’ chemistry. Right now, it’s pretty miserable. The stanchion caught more outlet passes than anyone else did. Things got a bit better as the game progressed, but it’s clear that Team USA has a lot of work to do in all areas offensively, even the simplest ones.
  • Both teams took a ton of three-pointers. The Orlando Magic averaged 0.57 three-point attempts per minute last season (27.3 per game), which is fairly remarkable. The White team yesterday? 0.73 attempts per minute. Both Team USA squads were very accurate from beyond the arc, yet I can’t help but feel that they may be missing the point. Having a shorter three-point line is an advantage, and being able to space the floor is paramount. Yet in yesterday’s game, both teams looked like they were shooting threes just to shoot threes.American teams have struggled in the past not because of their reluctance to take the three, but because when all of the other options were shut down, they couldn’t. The players trying out for this year’s squad are desperate to prove that they won’t go the way of their forefathers, so they fire away. To me, it just feels a bit backwards. They’re trying to prove they can create good offensive possessions by generating bad ones; in their effort to prove they can take and make threes in Turkey, Team USA as a collective (in this one scrimmage, anyway) took (and in all fairness, made) all kinds of threes, both good and bad. Something to keep an eye on.
  • JaVale McGee may not be my favorite big on the roster, but he can run the damn floor. He was active in his nine-ish minutes, but my primary concerns still hold: McGee can look good against other teams that don’t have legit centers (he was on the same team as Brook Lopez), but will he really be able to produce and defend against FIBA-caliber bigs?
  • I want to trust Lamar Odom to make the right plays, but how do you not worry about him? Odom does much more right than wrong, but I still feel like this team has almost no margin for error in the World Championships and yet Lamar will inevitably flirt with it.
  • It’s easy to forget just how good Russell Westbrook is. The guy is an absolute lock to make the final roster in my mind, and I wouldn’t be shocked to see him go nuts in Turkey.
  • Tyson Chandler looks like the top center on the roster, particularly because Brook Lopez was rather unimpressive in his exhibition debut. Games like these don’t exactly favor Lopez, but Chandler (and McGee, to an extent) looked far more useful defensively. Despite reports that Chandler came into training camp out of basketball shape, he was mobile and effective last night, helping to deter some — some — of the Blue team’s drives to the basket. There were a few surprisingly productive players in the BW game, but Chandler seriously impressed.
  • Eric Gordon (16 points, 4-of-7 threes, two steals) played rather well, but none of it means a damn thing. It’s not fair, and it doesn’t have to be. Gordon is a solid player, but there just isn’t room for him on this roster. O.J. Mayo shares too many of his strengths but has more explosive scoring capabilities, and the number of point guards that can play off the ball should nudge Gordon out of contention.
  • Ultimately, the Blue-White Game is appropriately labeled a ‘showcase.’ It’s easy to see the things that Team USA does well, and it’s easy to laud the skills — Derrick Rose’s speed with the ball, Kevin Durant’s scoring, the overall roster’s versatility — that make this team so intriguing. But without real competition, it’s almost impossible to properly evaluate this team’s weaknesses, and how much they’ll come to impact USA’s run through the World Championships.

Safety Second

July 24, 2010 in by with 2 Comments

Due to this incarnation of Team USA’s various deficiencies, they’re put in a tough spot. Not only will the Americans be forced to go into Turkey with odd fits at various positions, but in the meantime, they’re forced to compromise talent and performance due to their specific needs. Between Chauncey Billups, Rajon Rondo, Russell Westbrook, Derrick Rose, Stephen Curry, and Tyreke Evans, someone will have to stay home. And in their place will likely be a Tyson Chandler or a JaVale McGee — less effective overall players, but with strengths thought to better complement the rest of the national team.

During most of Team USA’s runs, injury was a threat. If this player goes down, the games are wide open. If that player goes down, Team USA would fall apart. Yet in the case of this year’s squad, not only were various players ruled out beforehand due to injury — Kobe Bryant, Chris Paul, Deron Williams, Kendrick Perkins — but Robin Lopez was declared out on arrival, David Lee is a no-go after injuring his finger, Danny Granger missed a bit with a shin injury, and Tyreke Evans tweaked an ankle. Someone clearly put a hex on the Team USA program (Ron? Gil?), and if they’re not careful, the few centers they have left could be watching (or sulking) from the sidelines.

That’s why I understand the thought process behind keeping all three centers — Brook Lopez, Tyson Chandler and JaVale McGee — on call through the first wave of cuts. I really do. But if I didn’t make it abundantly clear in my previous post, this year’s Team USA has a wonderful opportunity to not only skirt positional rigidity, but attempt something fantastically unique. I’d hate for either one of those things to be ruined because of convention.

Plan A was Dwight Howard with help. Plan B was some combination of Chris Bosh and other bigs. Plan C was Amar’e Stoudemire. Plan D was the Lopez twins. Now that we’re going to Plans E and beyond, is it perhaps time for us to admit that there are greater forces of chaos at work here, pining to see Lamar Odom and Gerald Wallace play center? Have we really come all this way just to see Team USA trot out JaVale McGee?

It was never my intent to turn McGee into a scapegoat, but in this scenario, his positioning is far too convenient. In truth, JaVale is growing as a player, and one day he may be a fine part of a complete starting lineup. He’s just not there yet. That’s not a problem in itself (How many players on this year’s Team USA roster have actually come close to fulfilling their potential?), but with the pool of players given, the team seems to have better options. Even if they aren’t centers. Even if they aren’t conventional power forwards. McGee will be a part of the roster going forward because Team USA needs to cover itself lest the hex strikes again. That’s the safe approach, and the smart approach. Yet one can only hope that when the team is finally ready to dive into the murky waters, they choose to take off their life vest first.

The World Championships are going to be dangerous. Spain is obviously equipped to topple the Americans, but there are plenty of other capable teams that could do the very same. At a point, injuries are going to be a legitimate risk. That doesn’t mean that Mike Krzyzewski should compromise the rest of his game plan to accommodate a nightmare, no matter how destructive its potential.

Yesterday Always Knows

July 23, 2010 in by with 1 Comment

With 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 viable candidates to play the 5 for the Americans this summer, but things seem to have escalated a bit quickly. We’ve gone from toying with the idea of playing a power forward as the team’s starting big (It’s not such a big deal when the power forward is Amar’e Stoudemire, but otherwise?) to potentially having Lamar Odom or Gerald Wallace play minutes in the middle.

Before we make a decision on what exactly that means, let’s all take a deep breath.

Lineups are determined by effectiveness, and positions really only matter in deciding which players should hold which responsibilities. Offensively, there’s a lot of fluidity, particularly with the talent Jerry Colangelo and Coach K have amassed in Vegas; it doesn’t matter which player brings the ball up as long as someone does, and it doesn’t matter who shoots as long as someone can. Is O.J. Mayo a point guard? Sure. Is Kevin Love a center? As long as he can defend one. Care to run Rajon Rondo, Derrick Rose, and Tyreke Evans together? Fine by me, but they’re going to need shooting help from both bigs. With players this versatile, the concern isn’t who plays where, but who can play well together.

That’s why in principle, I’m not opposed to the types of lineups Team USA trotted out in their scrimmage with the Select Team on Thursday…with one exception (per John Schuhmann):

1. Rajon Rondo, Chauncey Billups, Kevin Durant, Kevin Love, Lamar Odom
2. Russell Westbrook, Eric Gordon, Durant, Jeff Green, Gerald Wallace
3. Westbrook, O.J. Mayo, Durant, Jeff Green, JaVale McGee
4. Westbrook, Mayo, Durant, Love, McGee

Honestly, I’m not sure what JaVale McGee would bring to the World Championships. McGee, impressive Summer League dunker though he may be, isn’t a very good rebounder, defender, or even a consistent offensive threat. He can’t create his own shot, and aside from picking up blocks, really isn’t to the point where he can contribute defensively against top-flight competition. McGee may be a center, but it’s not like he’s going to be some great interior defender. He’s still a bit too lean and too jumpy for that.

So what would McGee’s purpose be, aside from having that elusive “C” next to his name on the roster sheet? He’s a center who can’t dominate or defend like one, and to me that makes him more or less useless for Team USA. If the Americans are going to give up something defensively in the middle, I’d rather they just go small and make a run for it. Rather than putting a legitimate center (which they don’t have) or a usable, useful non-center on the floor, they’d be splitting the difference by playing JaVale.

Brook Lopez is a no-brainer for the starting job, but behind him, I’m inclined to go in just about any direction other than JaVale’s. Tyson Chandler gives the team a pretty conventional look, but Chandler’s not even a competent offensive player and he was actually pretty ineffective overall last season. He’s supposedly healthy, but with reports that Chandler is woefully out of shape, I’m inclined to look elsewhere for help in the middle.

That’s where Kevin Love comes in. He’s not a center, which means that there is a 100% assurance that he is not JaVale McGee. Yet Love, when plugged in at the 5 (if that’s what you care to call it) can contribute to a team. He can act as a big body between a post player and the basket, even if he’s just as poor of a defender. Yet offensively, Love can both facilitate and score, and above all, he’s going to hit the boards. Hard. Love led the league in offensive rebounding rate as a rookie, and would have done so again as a sophomore if he had played enough to qualify as a statistical leader. His defensive rebounding rate (28.6) was also top-5 last season, making Love about as good of a rebounder as anyone in the NBA. That’s what Team USA needs. They’re not going to have an elite defender manning the paint and aside from Lopez, the potential for low-post offense is limited. That makes rebounding even more important, and in that realm, McGee and Chandler can’t even compete with Love.

Odom and Wallace may be taking the undersized center concept a bit too far, but I’m curious to see how it would turn out. We know what McGee and Chandler can do as centers, but those two? Maybe they could ignite a fast-breaking offense that would allow Team USA to compensate for its defensive limitations. Or maybe they could cue a pesky, frenetic, 2007 Warriors-style defense that forces all kinds of turnovers in lieu of grind-it-out defensive stops. The bottom line is that nobody really knows how a team with Odom or Wallace at center would fair against international competition, and that at least presents an intriguing possibility.

There may not be many true superstars on the roster, but Team USA has talent. A lot of it. It fits together in odd fashion and looks a bit funny as a collective whole, but there are capable players that should play very well in Turkey. JaVale McGee and Tyson Chandler just aren’t them, and it’d be a shame that if after all of this talk of versatility and positional fluidity, Coach K neglects truly talented and productive impact players for an arbitrary positional standard.

The Western Wing: Time For The Warriors To Break Up With The Big Guy

July 22, 2010 in by with 1 Comment

Nelson is the Warriors’ college girlfriend. It was a great run – lots of beer pong, Family Guy and tons of scoring. But they grew apart and wanted different things … they needed different things. So the two sides went their own way. Nelson had a fling with New York before jumping into a long-term relationship with Dallas. Meanwhile, Golden State flirted with lots of different coaches but never settled down; never found true happiness.

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Would You Like to Know More?

July 22, 2010 in by with 2 Comments

The somewhat insidious union of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh has already become a tall tale. We know where they are, but not how they got there; through some turn of events — either perfectly ordinary, completely bizarre, or flat-out devilish, depending on who you talk to — three of the league’s biggest stars decided to sign with the same team. Their paths are convoluted and their motives unclear. However, the 2008 Olympics are almost universally considered to be the genesis of the idea, and yet no one seems all that interested in the possibility of a repeat occurrence.

That same tier of stars may not be redeeming Team USA this summer, but all kinds of NBA talents will be forming preliminary bonds at this year’s World Championships. Kevin Durant is the headliner, and his name alone should be enough to spark a discussion. Yet how about this for an interesting turn: With Durant’s cozy seat in OKC, a great set-up with Sam Presti and Scott Brooks running the show, and even his Thunder teammates Russell Westbrook and Jeff Green along for the ride, what if it’s KD and the Thunder pulling the coup?

OKC already has one of the top defenses in the league and one of its most dynamic stars, so to have the faces of the franchise potentially playing recruiter to the NBA’s near-elite is an invaluable opportunity. The Thunder don’t need LeBron James and Chris Bosh to make the leap. Instead, what if Durant, Westbrook, and Green made a subtle pitch to Brook Lopez? Or Kevin Love? All prospective additions will likely sound a bit far-fetched now. That’s probably because they are. After all, in 2008, who would have believed the events that have transpired this summer?

It’s just curious that shortly after delving into the hijinx James and Co. got into at summer camp, we’re witnessing teams all across the league send their stars to canoodle without the slightest hesitancy. With newly christened free agents like David Lee or Rudy Gay, there’s hardly need for alarm. Yet for teams delegating young, talented players just a few seasons away from testing the free agent waters? The very possibility of Superfriends Redux should make those GMs shake in their boots.

Durant aside, there aren’t any established (Sorry, not yet, ‘Reke and Rose) franchise-making stars of the bunch, but that doesn’t mean their departure wouldn’t do serious damage to the plans of their respective squads. Team USA isn’t just collecting these players because they smile well for the cameras. These are some of the best and brightest young talents in the league, and while there’s nothing to stop their extracurricular talking and plotting in normal settings, international competitions like this one offer a unique opportunity to compete with their fellow stars under highly competitive conditions. The strongest bonds are those that have been tested, and this year’s national team will walk through the fire together. If they come out with shiny new gold medals on the other side, this year’s World Championships could potentially influence the members of Team USA the same way that the 2008 Olympics did.

The Western Wing: LeBron and His Popular Friends Think You are a Loser

July 15, 2010 in by with 5 Comments

If you think that LeBron, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh won’t be successful, you’re an idiot. The good news is that you’re in the company of other idiots, haters and those who obviously haven’t played or understood basketball.

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Unamerican Activities

July 9, 2010 in by with 1 Comment

Amidst the flurry of perspectives, emotions, and retorts regarding last night’s proceedings, one element was understandably ignored. LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh are about somehow maneuver the NBA even more comfortably into the palm of their collective hands, and everything else is just foreplay.

Except LeBron James’ decision — while obviously affecting just about every NBA team in myriad ways, as well as Clevelanders, businesses, consumers, fans of every ilk, and various household pets — does have one implication that has yet to be accounted for: He has just made Pat Riley one of the most important figures in USA Basketball.

Players who represent their country in international competition face an ongoing struggle with ownership and management types. It rarely serves the NBA team in any way for them to risk their multi-million dollar investment with little possible gain, and the most disastrous possibilities far outweigh any potentially positive ones. It’s never been a matter of principle, just of responsibility; if Manu Ginobili injures himself (as he has before) playing for Argentina, who is going to compensate the Spurs for their lost season? There is simply no entity in existence that can make things right for San Antonio in such a scenario, which is exactly why owners often hate to see their golden calves put to work elsewhere.

Now, while owners, managers, and coaches can stand in direct opposition to their players’ participation, they can’t exactly stand in the way. If Dirk Nowitzki or Pau Gasol wants to play in the Olympics or the FIBA World Championships or wherever, it’s their right. That doesn’t mean team reps can’t try to persuade the hell out of them, and it doesn’t mean that such methods don’t work. Manu Ginobili is skipping out on the Argentine national team, in part because of his new extension with the Spurs. A number of the typical participants are sitting out due to injury, recovery, or rehab. A few more are staying home after signing with a new team. These are all situations in which players are dissuaded from playing even when they may be physically able to, and that’s exactly the kind of sway Pat Riley now has over three of the most influential players on Team USA.

If Riles was able to convince Wade, James, and Bosh to all sign with the Heat, where they could be surrounded by Mike Miller, second rounders, and vet minimum guys, wouldn’t he have some sway over their futures playing in international competitions? It’s a non-issue for this summer, as all three have already voiced their preference to get settled in after free agency, but if the 2011 FIBA Tournament of the Americas is in play? Or even the 2012 Olympics? Riley could have some serious influence on whether or not three key cogs in the Team USA machine even show up for work. I’m not saying that Riley would or should (okay, he probably should if he’s looking out for his team’s best interests) try to dissuade LeBron, Dwyane, and Chris from participating, just that he could. Maybe. He could try, and Riles trying seems to have some pretty impressive results.

That endgame wouldn’t quite signal the end of Team USA as we know it, but it would set the program back a bit. Part of the allure for players is being able to play alongside the league’s elite, but if those three are too good for the program, Carmelo Anthony would surely follow. Then maybe Dwight Howard, or Chris Paul, or Deron Williams. Kevin Durant and Kobe Bryant would be the closest thing Team USA would have to locked-in superstars, but I wouldn’t even write their names in sharpie.

At this point, everything regarding the Miami Heat is about potential. With the regular season still a few months away, all we have is guesswork. Yet it’s important to know who holds the power and, perhaps more importantly, who knows how to wield it. LeBron James clearly has an incredible command over the national consciousness, as he demonstrated on the airwaves last night. But Pat Riley, the architect who defied gravity in somehow putting this team together, now has an absolutely ridiculous amount of influence. Riles may not sow the wind, but he’ll still have the power that comes with operating the sails.

The Western Wing: A Return Letter To Dan Gilbert

July 9, 2010 in by with 20 Comments

But stop acting surprised. You were a big part of raising LeBron. If he’s the son of Cleveland, then you are the dad who catered to his ego for years and would have done so for another six years in a heartbeat.

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The Western Wing: Warriors Offer Too Much Steak, No Sizzle

July 7, 2010 in by with 3 Comments

Last season’s dish was the mystifying pairing of nearly identical undersized guards, Monta Ellis and Stephen Curry – two great cuts that simply don’t go together.

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