This was the pool of players that USA Basketball had to choose from. Several of these players, like Billups, Battier, and Stoudemire, pulled out. Guys like KG and Tim Duncan didn't want to be involved, so it's pointless to suggest that they should have been on the team. Notably, Paul Pierce is on that list. I don't think 3pt shooting is a problem here. Lots of people are saying things like "Redd is the only pure shooter on this team." But why does someone need to be "pure," which is sometimes a euphemism for "limited?" Guys like Kobe Bryant, Chris Paul, Deron Williams can shoot the 3 while also being talented in other areas. Carmelo isn't a good NBA 3pt shooter, but he proved that he can shoot it well from the shorter FIBA arc. Wade can't shoot but make no mistake about it, he was a dominant offensive player in the World Championships. The team that lost in the 2006 had tournament-best offense; they lost because of defense. You do need 3pt shooters in FIBA ball (the horrible 2004 Olympic Team proved that), but shooting and scoring won't be a problem for the current incarnation of Team USA. If it were up to me, the team would put focus on defense: Prince stays. Kidd would definately be booted. This team has a glut at PG, and it's ridiculous that KIDD is the favorite for the starting position right now. The roster spot opened up by dropping Kidd would be used on either Bruce Bowen or Tyson Chandler. Even without that opening, I would consider Chandler over one of the current bigs.
This alone lets me know you don't know much about FIBA basketball. Kidd is the best point guard the US has. I know you'll probably argue that he is "old", "can't shoot", blah blah, but what Kidd lacks he makes up by more important qualities needed in USA basketball. His leadership and his experience is vital for the US having a chance at competing. In 2004 olympics I believe we had Wade, Iverson, and Marbury manning the point. All a bunch of scoring guards with not much defensive skills nor physicality. In FIBA there is a lot of physical defense played on the perimeter players. Players like Wade don't fit this kind of basketball. Wade was pretty horrible in the olympics and his non-shooting ability costs us in the 06 World Championships. Pay close attention to these coming olympics and you'll see what I mean. Kidd brings a lot more to the table than what you might think. There is a reason he is undefeated in World play. It wasn't just a coincidence.
So Chris Paul and Deron Williams are "scoring guards" now? Don't even compare them to Iverson and Marbury. What does Kidd bring that these guys don't do better at this point? Team USA 2006 WC stats. Wade scored 19.3 ppg in just 22.9 mpg, on 0.576 FG%. He was just a shade under Melo for leading scorer on the team. FIBA shows that Wade was the #7 scorer in the tournament. One of the 6 guys above him was Melo, the rest literally got about 10 more mpg than him. But he's not a 3pt shooter so he obviously doesn't fit international ball. Wade just can't play against that tough FIBA defense. That was rookie Wade, when he wasn't nearly as good as he is now. His play in the 2006 WC supercedes that. That 19.3 ppg on 0.576 FG% sure cost us. You bash Wade for his non-shooting and dismiss the all-around offensive greatness he brought to the 2006 team, yet you let Kidd, a far WORSE shooter, off the hook? What kind of argument is THIS?! Kidd played in the 2000 Olympics (before American basketball as a whole took a dive, though they cut it close against Lithuania) and a couple qualifying tournaments restricted to just North and South American countries. In those Americas tournaments the only two teams worth a damn are USA and Argentina. No Spain, Italy, Greece, or Lithuania. Argentina didn't even bother sending Ginobili in the last one. Don't act like Kidd was the reason those USA teams went undefeated.
Why should we since you obviously didn't? Besides Melo, nobody on Team USA has a game that adapts better to FIBA than Wade. "Pay close attention...and you'll see what I mean".
Kidd is washed up, period. Yes he'll still be effective in international play, but why give him major minutes when you have Chris Paul and Deron Williams?! Paul and Williams should split the PG minutes while I favor Paul to start. The starting lineup of Paul, Bryant, LBJ, Melo and Howard sounds menacing enough, but team chemistry is a must. Boozer got on the team because of the Duke connection with Coach K. Why else would you include a finesse-oriented big with limited range and suspect defense? But he might somehow contribute to the team chemistry. And the Chinese squad is still hopeless. We need good guards. They don't have to be great, but they can't be no-defense, lead-footed, no-penetration crappy players that they are right now. I will admit that even Damon Jones may be an upgrade at the guard positions (albeit a small upgrade), and lord knows I loathe Damon Jones the NBA b**** until the end of the world.
having kidd is like having a second coach. I guess he will not play that much, but he will set the tempo of the game, or coming in when things are tight. But, so many wings? You have bryant, wade, lebron, melo, prince and redd. Thats 6 wings there. Why have melo or lebron plays the 4 position, its not like there is a lack of talents in the 4/5 position, aldridge, chandler and brad miller could fill the team. If its shooting you want, bryant, lebron, wade and melo will do all the shooting for you. Other than melo, the other 3 are no slouch in defense, why have prince who excel in defense and redd who only shoots in the team? The international rule for the big men is very different from the NBA rules, foul trouble and physical fatigue is certainly an issue. Dwight might be superman, but other than his blocks, he cant defend. Remember scola? And there is alot of jump shot happy big men, which will force dwight out of his comfort zone. PnR will not be such a big issue this time, but i see the USA team having problem with the big men. Size will certainly be an issue.
I have no problem with Kidd on the team. One of the things Colangelo wanted to do was change the culture of Team USA. He demanded long-term commitments from players and Kidd was there from the beginning. He deserves the spot for his leadership, enthusiasm, dedication to the cause and the other players very much want him on the squad because he's earned their respect. If he's as bad as some of you think he is, we can hope Deron Williams and Chris Paul are big enough to handle the job. I wish all of the top-level NBA players had the same pride and felt as strongly about our Olympic team as Kidd does. If that ever happened (which it never will), you could pencil us in for a gold. I may not agree with every roster decision (like leaving Chandler and taking Prince), but Colangelo and the players deserve major props for their effort the last 3 years. Unlike the dysfunctional 2004 squad which was hard to love (starting with the neurotic coach), I will be more emotionally involved with Team USA this year. They aren't our 12 best players but we can still be proud of them.
I was thinking the same thing about the shooting. We lost at the World Championships to Greece because they packed the lane defensively with a zone daring us to make our outside shots. On offense, they pick and rolled us to death. But against Greece, Coach K gave it the old college try, and that seemed to backfire. Throughout the tournament the U.S. played pressure defense, one of the staples of the college game. But the Greeks countered by drawing amped-up U.S. defenders out high, and slipping their big men — like 6-10, 280-pound baby-Shaq center Sofoklis Schortsanitis — down low, where they were open for easy buckets (Schortsanitis finished with 14 points on 6 of 7 shooting). Without a single NBA player on their roster, the Greeks executed the most basic NBA-type play — the pick and roll — to near-perfection. So here's another one of those questions: Would a pro head coach — who sees the pick and roll in his sleep — have designed a better defense, or adjusted sooner? http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1521274,00.html
With Kobe Bryant in the team, you don't need the third point guard in Jason Kidd. Jason Kidd will become a liability on the court. Plus Chris Paul and Deron Williams will do fine at the point guiard spot, and if they get in trouble, I'm sure Kobe, as mentioned before can handle the point. Team USA diffenatly should have gone with another big man instead of Jason Kidd.
I think most FIBA experts (not ESPN idiots) would say otherwise. Wade on the team is going to back fire. He needs the ball in his hands to be effective. He has a crappy jump shot and it's going to hurt us in these coming games. You can bring my posts back up when the games are finished. Proof from 06-07 season that the reason his FG% is so dam high is because of his paint points. The below quote is right on target.
I have no problem with Kidd as a coach. Just shouldn't have taken a roster spot. It is only a slight stretch to say he is a better fit than our own Rafer Alston. Deron should start IMO. Deron, Billips (who should have been cultivated instead of Kidd as the "veteran point" for that team, remember this is a guy who has a playoff MVP on his shelf and is known as Mr Big Shot) and Nash (Candian) are the 3 most shooting efficient PGs in the world. All can pass too, it isn't like they are shooting guards playing PG, they are rock solid PGs who can shoot. Have Paul lead an uptempo 2nd unit, But I like DW to start and set things up for guys like Lebron and Kobe then spot up away from them.
The main thing that killed us with the last USA team was that for some reason they kept putting Wade, Lebron, and Melo on the court at the same time. Neither of them are good shooters and it didn't help that they didn't have the best of PG play. I think they'll be fine when they bring Wade off the bench with Redd or keep Kobe in with him.
This team does not intend to play much half court, set 'em up basketball which Deron and Billups flourish at. They intend to run the heck out of the other teams utilizing Melo and Lebron at the 4 quite a bit, which is what Kidd is the best at. Of course, they have guys like Dwight, Bosh, and Boozer there for when the game slows down but they want take advantage of their superior atheleticism.
We'll see what happens. I just wanted to point out what you said about Wade in 2006 was nonsense. 2008 could be a different story. If he's fully healthy, I expect him to be a very good 6th man in limited minutes.
I sure hope the idea isn't to focus more on run and gun than half court execution. That has been a terrible formula at all levels of basketball and is a good way to increase the chances a more talented group loses to a less talented but hgiher executing unit. I mean we might win anyway, but that would make us more vulnearable I don't think I mentioned Battier. More like Rip, Johnson, Pierce, Allen, etc, as other wings. I prefer guys really offensively efficient guys effective in muliple spots (3 point range, midrange, drive). Those guys can defend too, maybe not as well as Prince or Battier one on one (but offensively they offer tremendous offensive advantages over those 2), but better than Redd. Redd is pretty much Ray Allen/Joe Johnson, with less versitility and less proven record on good teams or higher stakes/pressure games. I don't have a problem with Howard, and if Duncan/KG were just never feasible I am fine with Bosh. But I think West (quicker, better defender, better jumper range), Smith (shot blocker/athlete) or even Sheed (really well rounded) would have rounded the team out better than the slower, less defensively capable, need the ball in his hands to provide anything, Boozer. Assuming KG/Billips/Duncan were under no circustances available or persuadable to join, just chuck Kidd, Boozer and Redd for Davis, West and Johnson. I am even fine with Johnson or Wade as the 3rd PG (def over the bricklaying and now slow on his feet Kidd), and then you could add another big (JR Smith) instead of Baron.
You guys worry too much. When needed, Kidd/Kobe/Prince would play their lockdown defense. No 3 points rain from opponents means USA win.
Kidd, lock down defense? I thought Paul did absolutely whatever he wanted to against him in the playoffs. But if Deron and Paul are not containing their man or getting around picks, there is always Wade or Kobe with their size and quickness to throw at them.
