Cousins Back for Team USA

Drummond running the floor so well (better than Boogie is capable of) and getting all these rebounds and put backs is not helping
 
I have a bad feeling that Cuz is the odd man out when it comes to cutting bigs. He may be the best all around player, but he is a slowest and least athletic of all the bigs on this roster. And it seems like running the floor and rebounding/shot blocking is what they want from the bigs in this tournament
 
I have a bad feeling that Cuz is the odd man out when it comes to cutting bigs. He may be the best all around player, but he is a slowest and least athletic of all the bigs on this roster. And it seems like running the floor and rebounding/shot blocking is what they want from the bigs in this tournament


I think cuz will be fine. Coach K may not be the best coach in the world, but he should know that a lot of bigs can look decent against a team like this.

He has to pick his team to match up against the 2 or 3 teams that has a real shot at us.

No way Drummond will be more effective on both ends against the Gasol boys than big cuz.
 
Drummond's game is talor-made for a game like that, that's wide open and run n gun. Cuz would eat him up in a real game.
 
Barring injury related issues, I think the 11 that played tonight along with Derrick Rose go to Spain.

I think Rose is on the bubble. I think if they become convinced he can stay healthy enough to play back to backs then he makes the team. But if there's a doubt, then I think he stays home. I think Cousins is fine unless his leg flares up again. He seemed to grab at it a couple of times tonight, but it might have been bumped. This kind of game doesn't favor Cousins strengths. Their going to need him when they play against teams like Spain etc. I didn't see either one of the Gasol's out there tonight.
 
I have a bad feeling that Cuz is the odd man out when it comes to cutting bigs. He may be the best all around player, but he is a slowest and least athletic of all the bigs on this roster. And it seems like running the floor and rebounding/shot blocking is what they want from the bigs in this tournament
Yeah watching team USA is literally like watching a better version of Isaiah Thomas playing for us except at like 3 positions, they don't even look at Cousins when he enters the game the amount of times he was wide open in the playing time he had and the amount of times he was ignored was very pizza guy like.

It's good to see Cousins playing s different role but if they are not going to actually use his proper talents what's the point, honestly I don't think guys like Irving are more offensively talented than him anyway, James Hardens flopping will only work for so long and against Spain he won't get any calls, how are you just going to ignore probably the most skilled big man on the planet out there? Faried and Davis are going to get wiped off the floor in a halfcourt game by the Gasol's, team USA will just be doubling non stop to save them and that also allows Marc Gasol to roam on defence which is a nightmare situation.
 
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As much as I like Davis, it isn't a good idea to have a 220-lb Tube Man as your starting center. And Chandler Parsons or Rudy Gay at PF vs the 7'0 Gasol brothers and Serge Ibaka against Spain is begging for trouble. Why not play a more traditional lineup of Cousins at C and Davis at PF in the frontcourt?
 
Colangelo said yesterday that as to making cuts, it is always nice to be able to look down your bench and see some extra bigs. I think the team would keep Boogie if only to play against the Gasols. I am not saying he would get no more time than that but Colangelo is clearly planning ahead and there is a time where Boogie is necessary and that's the championship game which is the only time Spain and the USA will play each other.
 
The amount of ball hogs on this team I wouldn't be surprised if we got 2nd or 3rd place.
Not to mention maybe 3 of the worst defending PG's and the worst defending SG in the entire L
 
I have a bad feeling that Cuz is the odd man out when it comes to cutting bigs. He may be the best all around player, but he is a slowest and least athletic of all the bigs on this roster. And it seems like running the floor and rebounding/shot blocking is what they want from the bigs in this tournament

This has always been the elephant in the room. USA basketball has built there team around wings and gotten the athletic/defensive/rebounding bigs who don't want touches offensively. Davis, Drummond, Faried, etc all fit that mold of what USA likes out of there bigs.
 
These guys play dirty out there in Fiba. Even in this exhibition game. I could totally see Boogie losing his temper on someone during the tournament
 
Did you notice that the 7 man graphic ESPN put up showing players "on the bubble" of being cut, did not include Cousins. Rudy was on there though

Not that it means much, but interesting
 
The entire team looked pretty sad in the first half. Lousy ball movement. Kyrie and Harden playing Iso ball. Very poor defense
 
well, off of that awfully timed performance we may not have to worry about Cuz getting hurt in FIBA ball.
 
A couple dumb hacking fouls by Cousins in his 3rd quarter stint, had a nice box out for a tip in on a free throw. At this point lets hope his practice work wins him a spot. He is the first big of the bench, so that is a good sign. Gay should make the team, much better than Hayward or Parsons at the international level.
 
We still got another half though.

Also, I think the coaching staff have a pretty good idea about who they are going to cut already prior to this game. They really can't base anything on 1 game or 1 half. Plumlee supposedly played poorly in the 2nd game but he was still considered as a lock. They only way someone who is already in gets bumped out of the coaches' list is if they do something really really bad in 1 game.
 
Parsons really isn't national team material. Maybe on the select squad to practice against. But his max contract is even more ridiculous than his overrated game.
 
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