http://www.tsn.ca/nba/news_story/?ID=216635&hubname=nba
Three in the Key: USA A-OK?
Tim Chisholm
8/22/2007 12:31:14 AM
Team USA's road to redemption beings continues this week as the FIBA Tournament of the Americas kicks off and the USA (and Canada) look to lock-up a spot in next summer's Olympic games in Beijing.
The team the Americans will be fielding this summer is quite different from the squad they fielded last year - not exactly fulfilling their obligation to continuity - with only three players (LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony and Dwight Howard) returning from last year's FIBA squad.
That fact, however, is a serious blessing for Team USA, and hopefully for their future, as it appears as though Jerry Colangelo and his cronies are finally ceding to the demands of international ball and all that that entails. Balance is sneaking onto the roster with its pal outside shooting and if the Team USA planners aren't careful, an identity and coherent game plan may actually be around the corner as well.
This year the youth movement is curbed somewhat with the arrival of Kobe Bryant and Jason Kidd. Both are veteran types who have seen it all and done it all. Kobe with his three NBA titles, Kidd with his Olympic gold medal and both with their never-ending supply of savvy and killer instinct. They bring credibility this year that was simply lacking from last summer's squad. Both have the ability to do everything on the court, and more importantly, both have the facilities to use those abilities to affect wins and losses.
Kidd brings the ideal point guard to this team. He can run a team in the open court as well as the half-court, and he is one of the very select few who can demand the respect of his USA teammates when it comes to his decision-making abilities. One can whine about not seeing enough touches, but who is really going to tell Jason Kidd he is running the team ineffectively and have anyone back him up?
Ideally, Kidd will be able to use Bryant and newcomer Amare Stoudemire the way he used to use Richard Jefferson and Kenyon Martin during New Jersey's Finals appearances, running an open-court offense that utilizes both of those players' athleticism and willingness to run the court. They can provide a deadly inside-outside attack that will be almost unbeatable against this weak tournament crop.
An issue arises with this game plan, though, and that issue is Anthony and James. By all accounts those two represent the future of USA Basketball as much as they represent the future of NBA basketball. The problem is, with the arrival of Bryant, they both become a tad redundant this summer (and most likely next summer as well). Neither one makes a lot of sense as a secondary player. They are scorers who need the ball in their hands to be effective. They like to massage the ball, they like to pound the ball, and they like to shoot the ball. However, Kobe does all of those things better, and he plays defense, to boot. As good as those players are (and will continue to get), this has to be Kobe's team offensively. He must get the most touches and he must get all of the important looks in the offense. Yes, this is international ball and that means more movement and team-oriented play, but why bother with Kidd's playmaking and Bryant's scoring at all if James and Anthony are going to get to go one-on-one whenever they feel like it?
If this team were to be at its most effective, the roster should go something like this:
Kidd starts at the point, and he runs the show. He calls the plays, he decides who gets the ball, and basically orchestrates everything that happens on offense. He gets this role because he is best suited to it - there is no sense in having him on the team if he is going to be used simply to bring the ball up the court and throw it to someone else. He isn't a good enough scorer to warrant that, and it misuses his skill set. He should get to run the team's offense off of his instincts. It may not be the way Coach K likes it, but he's never had a point guard as good as Jason Kidd before and so it's best not to waste the chance.
Kobe starts at the two and he is the primary offensive weapon. The team operates to get him open looks and, ideally, open paths to the basket. His frontcourt colleague will be Stoudemire, manning the four, and playing big around the net. He will suck in the defenses down low to open up the perimeter for Kobe to operate. The two should look to play off of each other offensively as much as possible, and of course, always look for lobs coming from Kidd in their half-court or on the break.
The starting five would be filled out with Mike Miller and Tyson Chandler at the three and five spots, respectively. While Michael Redd might seem like a more obvious choice, his all-around scoring would be better suited off of the bench. With Miller, you have a guy who will do other things when he is on the court as well as knock down the open looks he's sure to get with Kobe and Stoudemire doing their thing. Last season in the NBA Mike Miller averaged 5.4 boards and 4.3 assists to go along with his 18.5 points per game. He is better suited to being a role player in the starting five than Redd, who can be the focal point of the bench offense.
Chandler is the ideal starting centre for this team. He blocks shots, rebounds and does all the dirty work down low that this team needs without demanding a heavy dose of offensive looks. He scores or tip-ins and off of offensive boards and is fine with that. He is a beast around the paint and can convert on lob passes (a must when playing with Kidd). He finishes strong around the rim and he won't be tempted to wander out of his comfort zone to take unnecessary threes. One issue Team USA was plagued by last year was refusing to take advantage of the fact that they were (by far) the most athletic team in the tournament. Instead they played timid and away from the paint as opposed to looking to use their passing skills and superior athletic ability to create opportunities around the net.
The bench would see Deron Williams, Redd and Dwight Howard as the rest of the traditional eight-man roster. Williams provides a perfect sub for Kidd since he plays a very similar style and also has the ability to make plays in the half-court as well as the open-court, plus he's a more effective scorer. Howard is a better version of Tyson Chandler but will wreck havoc on opposing benches along with Redd to give Team USA's its most potent advantage over their opponents.
This team does not need to consistently go into ten-man groups just because it can, nor does it need to monkey around with the starting five every game just because it can (and like it did last summer). Consistency was supposed to be the calling card of the new USA Basketball program, and so far it has done a pretty sad job of demonstrating it. This eight-man rotation provides plenty of firepower on offense, with passing, shooting and penetration all represented, as well as a healthy dose of post-play. There is no shortage of playmaking, and rebounding is represented heavily as no one in the starting five averaged less that five per game last season in the NBA.
To fill out the twelve man roster one could include Chauncey Billups, Tayshaun Prince, Carlos Boozer and Kevin Durant to represent one more playmaker, one more perimeter defender, one more post-presence, and then the kind of hungry young player who can come in and change the energy of the game by his mere presence.
The over-abundance of star-power is exactly what got Team USA into the whole mess they're trying to get out of. Of course on paper it would be great to have Kobe and LeBron and Carmelo and Bosh and Stoudemire and hope that somehow these dominant figures would be able to alter their games to make room for each other. But in reality that is the dumbest thing I've ever heard. These players are great because they can take the load of an entire team on their back. They aren't at their best when their games are handcuffed because they need to make sure everyone gets a balanced shot at contributing on offense.
A basketball team needs a focus and a consistency that they can rely on each and every game. They key isn't who are the best players to stick on Team USA, they key is who are the best players to play together on Team USA? No team needs LeBron and Carmelo and Bryant. No team needs Stoudemire and Howard and Bosh. There are a plethora of guys in the NBA who are used to playing second fiddle. They do it well. They've made careers out of making star players look their best. Guys like Mike Miller, Tyson Chandler and Tayshaun Prince are fantastic additions to this USA roster, but if they are just being brought over to sit at the end of the bench while eight superstars try and figure out how to play off of each other against teams that have been playing together for years, then Team USA is no better off now that it was when this whole road to redemption started.
Tim Chisholm can be reached at timchisholm@telus.net.
Three in the Key: USA A-OK?
Tim Chisholm
8/22/2007 12:31:14 AM
Team USA's road to redemption beings continues this week as the FIBA Tournament of the Americas kicks off and the USA (and Canada) look to lock-up a spot in next summer's Olympic games in Beijing.
The team the Americans will be fielding this summer is quite different from the squad they fielded last year - not exactly fulfilling their obligation to continuity - with only three players (LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony and Dwight Howard) returning from last year's FIBA squad.
That fact, however, is a serious blessing for Team USA, and hopefully for their future, as it appears as though Jerry Colangelo and his cronies are finally ceding to the demands of international ball and all that that entails. Balance is sneaking onto the roster with its pal outside shooting and if the Team USA planners aren't careful, an identity and coherent game plan may actually be around the corner as well.
This year the youth movement is curbed somewhat with the arrival of Kobe Bryant and Jason Kidd. Both are veteran types who have seen it all and done it all. Kobe with his three NBA titles, Kidd with his Olympic gold medal and both with their never-ending supply of savvy and killer instinct. They bring credibility this year that was simply lacking from last summer's squad. Both have the ability to do everything on the court, and more importantly, both have the facilities to use those abilities to affect wins and losses.
Kidd brings the ideal point guard to this team. He can run a team in the open court as well as the half-court, and he is one of the very select few who can demand the respect of his USA teammates when it comes to his decision-making abilities. One can whine about not seeing enough touches, but who is really going to tell Jason Kidd he is running the team ineffectively and have anyone back him up?
Ideally, Kidd will be able to use Bryant and newcomer Amare Stoudemire the way he used to use Richard Jefferson and Kenyon Martin during New Jersey's Finals appearances, running an open-court offense that utilizes both of those players' athleticism and willingness to run the court. They can provide a deadly inside-outside attack that will be almost unbeatable against this weak tournament crop.
An issue arises with this game plan, though, and that issue is Anthony and James. By all accounts those two represent the future of USA Basketball as much as they represent the future of NBA basketball. The problem is, with the arrival of Bryant, they both become a tad redundant this summer (and most likely next summer as well). Neither one makes a lot of sense as a secondary player. They are scorers who need the ball in their hands to be effective. They like to massage the ball, they like to pound the ball, and they like to shoot the ball. However, Kobe does all of those things better, and he plays defense, to boot. As good as those players are (and will continue to get), this has to be Kobe's team offensively. He must get the most touches and he must get all of the important looks in the offense. Yes, this is international ball and that means more movement and team-oriented play, but why bother with Kidd's playmaking and Bryant's scoring at all if James and Anthony are going to get to go one-on-one whenever they feel like it?
If this team were to be at its most effective, the roster should go something like this:
Kidd starts at the point, and he runs the show. He calls the plays, he decides who gets the ball, and basically orchestrates everything that happens on offense. He gets this role because he is best suited to it - there is no sense in having him on the team if he is going to be used simply to bring the ball up the court and throw it to someone else. He isn't a good enough scorer to warrant that, and it misuses his skill set. He should get to run the team's offense off of his instincts. It may not be the way Coach K likes it, but he's never had a point guard as good as Jason Kidd before and so it's best not to waste the chance.
Kobe starts at the two and he is the primary offensive weapon. The team operates to get him open looks and, ideally, open paths to the basket. His frontcourt colleague will be Stoudemire, manning the four, and playing big around the net. He will suck in the defenses down low to open up the perimeter for Kobe to operate. The two should look to play off of each other offensively as much as possible, and of course, always look for lobs coming from Kidd in their half-court or on the break.
The starting five would be filled out with Mike Miller and Tyson Chandler at the three and five spots, respectively. While Michael Redd might seem like a more obvious choice, his all-around scoring would be better suited off of the bench. With Miller, you have a guy who will do other things when he is on the court as well as knock down the open looks he's sure to get with Kobe and Stoudemire doing their thing. Last season in the NBA Mike Miller averaged 5.4 boards and 4.3 assists to go along with his 18.5 points per game. He is better suited to being a role player in the starting five than Redd, who can be the focal point of the bench offense.
Chandler is the ideal starting centre for this team. He blocks shots, rebounds and does all the dirty work down low that this team needs without demanding a heavy dose of offensive looks. He scores or tip-ins and off of offensive boards and is fine with that. He is a beast around the paint and can convert on lob passes (a must when playing with Kidd). He finishes strong around the rim and he won't be tempted to wander out of his comfort zone to take unnecessary threes. One issue Team USA was plagued by last year was refusing to take advantage of the fact that they were (by far) the most athletic team in the tournament. Instead they played timid and away from the paint as opposed to looking to use their passing skills and superior athletic ability to create opportunities around the net.
The bench would see Deron Williams, Redd and Dwight Howard as the rest of the traditional eight-man roster. Williams provides a perfect sub for Kidd since he plays a very similar style and also has the ability to make plays in the half-court as well as the open-court, plus he's a more effective scorer. Howard is a better version of Tyson Chandler but will wreck havoc on opposing benches along with Redd to give Team USA's its most potent advantage over their opponents.
This team does not need to consistently go into ten-man groups just because it can, nor does it need to monkey around with the starting five every game just because it can (and like it did last summer). Consistency was supposed to be the calling card of the new USA Basketball program, and so far it has done a pretty sad job of demonstrating it. This eight-man rotation provides plenty of firepower on offense, with passing, shooting and penetration all represented, as well as a healthy dose of post-play. There is no shortage of playmaking, and rebounding is represented heavily as no one in the starting five averaged less that five per game last season in the NBA.
To fill out the twelve man roster one could include Chauncey Billups, Tayshaun Prince, Carlos Boozer and Kevin Durant to represent one more playmaker, one more perimeter defender, one more post-presence, and then the kind of hungry young player who can come in and change the energy of the game by his mere presence.
The over-abundance of star-power is exactly what got Team USA into the whole mess they're trying to get out of. Of course on paper it would be great to have Kobe and LeBron and Carmelo and Bosh and Stoudemire and hope that somehow these dominant figures would be able to alter their games to make room for each other. But in reality that is the dumbest thing I've ever heard. These players are great because they can take the load of an entire team on their back. They aren't at their best when their games are handcuffed because they need to make sure everyone gets a balanced shot at contributing on offense.
A basketball team needs a focus and a consistency that they can rely on each and every game. They key isn't who are the best players to stick on Team USA, they key is who are the best players to play together on Team USA? No team needs LeBron and Carmelo and Bryant. No team needs Stoudemire and Howard and Bosh. There are a plethora of guys in the NBA who are used to playing second fiddle. They do it well. They've made careers out of making star players look their best. Guys like Mike Miller, Tyson Chandler and Tayshaun Prince are fantastic additions to this USA roster, but if they are just being brought over to sit at the end of the bench while eight superstars try and figure out how to play off of each other against teams that have been playing together for years, then Team USA is no better off now that it was when this whole road to redemption started.
Tim Chisholm can be reached at timchisholm@telus.net.
