15 man roster Melo Arenas Battier Bosh Bowen Brand (killer B's??) Hinrich Dwight Howard Lebron Jamison Joe Johnson Brad Miller Chris Paul Amare Wade I'm thinking that Bowen, Hinrich, and Jamison won't make the 12 man roster. That's a pretty killer lineup even without Kobe, McGrady, Duncan, and Garnett
I'd agree with you on Bowen and maybe Jamison, but Hinrich is great and will be even better in international competition. He's easily the best defensive guard on that team. Joe Johnson might be in danger of not making the top 12.
By all accounts Bowen has acquitted himself very well throughout this. He is expected to be ...anyway, here is the ESPN Insider's take on the thing:
I'm still not sure about Bowen. He really brings nothing offensively, and I don't think the US can afford to be on the floor without a legit scoring threat at each position. He's a good defender, but international basketball doesn't rely on one-on-one play as much as good passing and shooting. With all the screens and picks that the other teams will run, a solid team defensive philosophy will be much more important than one good individual defender. We'll see...
http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_y...8vLYF?slug=ap-uscamp-roster&prov=ap&type=lgns LAS VEGAS (AP) -- Shawn Marion, Adam Morrison and Luke Ridnour were left off the U.S. national team's roster Tuesday before its trip to Asia for the world championships next month. Amare Stoudemire and Kirk Hinrich were the only moderately surprising inclusions on the 15-man roster, which will play five warmup games in Las Vegas, China and Korea before opening the world championships in Japan on Aug. 19. ADVERTISEMENT Coach Mike Krzyzewski and his staff must trim the roster to 12 players before the world championships. Marion, the Phoenix Suns' three-time NBA All-Star, apparently was left off the roster because of a minor knee injury. He was just one of five candidates remaining from the 2004 U.S. Olympic team, which won disappointing bronze medals. Hinrich, the Chicago Bulls point guard, beat out Ridnour for the ostensible third-string spot behind Chris Paul and Gilbert Arenas. Hinrich was slowed by a hamstring injury during the team's weeklong training camp in Las Vegas, but apparently did enough to impress Krzyzewski. Stoudemire earned a spot on the traveling team with a remarkable comeback from surgery on both knees during last season with the Suns, when he played in three NBA games. The 6-foot-10 forward looked strong and mobile during training camp despite struggling during summer-league play a few weeks ago. The rest of the 15-man roster includes LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Dwyane Wade, Shane Battier, Chris Bosh, Bruce Bowen, Elton Brand, Dwight Howard, Antawn Jamison, Joe Johnson, Brad Miller, Arenas and Paul. In all, 25 players have committed to be members of the U.S. national team for the next three years, through the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.
I'd really like to see Hinrich make that team, it never hurts to have three PG's on a team, especially when one of them is a shoot first PG. Hinrich's defense is a definate need. I'm thinking Jamison, Stoudamire (just to give him time to recover fully), and either Bowen/Battier get cut, hopefully Joe Johnson makes the team, i think he'll shine on the world stage, i really like him as a player.
I think he will make the final 12. He won't be useful any more when Olympics comes. So why not play him now? I think Melo, Amare and Joe Johnson will be cut
I think Battier will be cut when they narrow it down to 12 for sure. Like the article says, he'll go to Japan but won't do anything else. Also, Bowen will probably be gone too unless Team USA really feels they need him THAT much to guard Ginobili.
I think that exactly one of Bowen and Battier will make the final team. From what I've heard reported, it's Bowen. Probably in 2008 Bowen will be too old, and then they'll take Battier instead.
I'm pulling for Bowen to make it. I live in SA but not a Spurs fan, but I like his attitude towards the game
I dispute this. If anything I think they'll need more Bruce Bowens on the floor. It is possible to have TOO MANY go-to guys. 5 guys who all want to shoot leads to confusion and frustration etc etc... this is where the US have gotten into trouble in recent international play.
Because of the Olympic debacle under the neurotic LB, supposedly the USA players don't care about individual scoring. Everyone is supposed to play team ball and give maximum effort for their 20 mins/game each. Plus, it's easy to tell which players will not be focusing on scoring. We will see.
I'm just pointing out the differences that would have been had the same poster been made in the United States. If you got all the international coaches together right before the competition and had an international draft, i'm 99.999% sure Lebron would be the first pick. So, if you chose to believe this, that's why I find it interesting that he's the smallest. All the factors that determine the layout of the poster can probably be described as either cultural, economic, political, or aesthetic. While you'd think aesthetics would dominate, I gave it less pull because Japan is ultimately a capitalist country and hosting an international event which will guarantee viewers from multiple first world countries - which translates into revenue either directly or indirectly (tourism). Half the reason they chose Yao as their main draw - it's probably easier to get people from China to visit than it is to get someone from the United States. I understand it doesn't carry the prestige of the Olympics, but it's something. These were also the reasons why the poster's layout didn't make economic sense. If the US were to host an international soccer match - which they are this weekend, Chelsea vs. MLS All-Stars, for those interested - I'm pretty sure Wayne Rooney's image would be more prominantly promoted than Alecko Eskandarian (who?) because Rooney has better overall game and would be the larger economic draw. The difference in culture makes sense, which is where you brought up the great point that James' lack of international exposure would fit him a smaller image because foreign nations are less familiar with his image. This is why I brought up Nike. When the company plasters a seven story tall image of Lebron James on the side of building with "I am a witness" they're not trying to directly make you form an opinion about their shoes. What they're doing is influencing the culture of their market to gravitate towards their product by making their spokesman a prominant figure in the lives of their constituents. Because Lebron's so small, it's obvious that Nike hasn't been able to (or hasn't tried to) ingrain their spokesman in Japan's consumer culture. After all, Lebron's line is a huge chunk of Nike that will rival (and possibly surpass) #23's Jumpman in the future, and if I was an executive I'd definately pay to build his image. Politically, the United States has a horrible image, and if I was any other country hosting an international anything, ally or not, I wouldn't put stars and stripes front and center. Yao promotes regional favoritism, which is the next best thing to nationalism, and strengthens the consumer fanbase that's the most likely to invest in the event. Since you HAD to ask, that's why I think it's "interesting." That's all it is, not outrageous, reprehensible, or grossly offensive to my sense of decency, morality and national pride. Just interesting. Your sarcastic rolly eyes have been duly noted and subsequently unappreciated.
