If you were in charge of building the Olympic team who would you have (Assuming everyone was healthy and wanted to play)? This is not necessarily the 12 best players in the game but rather how you would want to build a team to win and not just entertain.
Cs-Howard, Bynum
PFs-Love, KG
SFs-Lebron, Durant
SGs-Kobe, Westbrook
PGs-Rondo, Rose
Shooter-Ray
Defensive specialist-Tony Allen
Yeah, yeah I know, totally biased towards the Cs but hear me out.
No brainers are Howard, Lebron, Durant, & Kobe. They make the team regardless of fit. The rest of the team is added to fit them.
Bynum- Offensively, the most talented big in the game and provides the US with the dominating offensive post play that Howard lacks.
Love- Made for Int'l ball. A three point shooting big who is a great rebounder and passer
KG- Allows the US to have an int'l type of center. A stretch 5. Replaces what Chandler brings to the table with a much better offensive game well suited for int'l play. Like Love a great shooter and passer but at the center position. Provides the US with 3 different type of centers, all who bring something different. With a team this deep won't have to play a lot of minutes.
Westbrook- Hate his play in the traditional NBA game but boy was he made for international play. Just flies around and overwhelms his opponents. I have him at shooting guard. A position he should play with the Thunder.
Rose- Tough call between him and DWill as the scoring PG or combo guard. I give the nod to a healthy DRose.
Rondo-Gets the nod over CP3 as the traditional PG. Rondo is the best passer in the game and the best in the game at running a team. A player who can dominate a game without scoring a point and this will be important for a team with this much scoring punch and ego.
Ray- Lets pretend there is no riff with him and Rondo. Kobe, Rose, Rondo, Westbrook, & Lebron are not great shooters. Only Durant and Love are proficient from behind the arc. Enter Ray Allen, still the best 3 pt shooter in the game (when healthy)
Tony Allen- Widely considered the best perimeter defender and best on ball defender in the NBA. He get's the nod over Iguodala for defensive specialist despite the fact that Iggy is by far the better offensive player. If the game is tight and I need a stop. I want the very best defensive option out there. This team has more than enough of Iggy types offensively. If I want a guy to take Ginobili one on one with 10 seconds left in the game I'll take Tony.
Topic: Build your US basketball team (Read 818 times)