The Perpetual NBA Thread

[empy]

well, the so-called "Redeem Team" won their gold against a very determined Spanish team. best Olympic basketball game i ever watched. Spain had 3 NBA players, only one of them an All-star and one of them out for the game, and 2 incoming ones, and they made a mockery of the USA's defense, scoring at will.

at the end, it was a few clutch plays led by Kobe Bryant and finished off by Deron Williams, Dwyane Wade, and Dwight Howard that sealed the deal and put the US on top of the basketball heap again. :1stplace:

[empy]

but the more fun question at this point is, who should be the 2012 USA Basketball team?

considering that some of the current players will be past their prime, i think the new team will be:

C/PF - Dwight Howard/Chris Bosh/Greg Oden/Al Horford/Al Jefferson
F - Carmelo Anthony/Lebron James/Kevin Durant
SG - Dwyane Wade
PG - Chris Paul/Deron Williams/Derrick Rose

alternates - Michael Beasley, Brandon Roy, Kevin Martin

it's a little too big man heavy, and too few people who can shoot...perhaps replace Horford and Rose with Roy and KMart2?

edit - i also feel that in 2012 it will be very hard to leave Monta Ellis, Rudy Gay, Danny Granger and Andrew Bynum off the team as well... :headache:

[Eismann]

Is Al Horford an American? I read somewhere that he's from Dominican Republic.

Anyway, I think it's better to predict the 2010 members of USA Basketball for the FIBA Worlds in Turkey. Holdovers from the current squad will probably be KB, CP, Bosh, DWill, Howard, Tayshaun and LBJ. I doubt if Wade will be there. Melo said he'll pass up and Kidd is too old by then so Monta Ellis, DRose and Arenas will have a shot at a PG slot while Granger, Iguodala or Roy will compete for the substitute SG spot. I think two F/C's from among Garnett, Chandler, Jefferson, Amare and Aldridge might be considered to beef up the C/F positions. Either of the current rookies who will prove to be a reliable spot up jumper and have a monster year in 2009 like Beasley, Mayo, Bayless or Eric Gordon will probably be there too.

2012 is four years away and current roster has only a 3-year commitment so it's still out in the open.

[empy]

Eis - i thought Melo said he's definitely in until the next olympics at least?

as i think more about this, i think Iguodala, Rose and Monta (3-month injury btw...wawa fantasy keeper owners) are poor fits for the team - slashing guards without a reliable J are much less effective with FIBA rules. Granger and Durant are good fits only if they can defend perimeter players as well as Tayshaun and Kobe can.

they desperately need bigs after being manhandled inside by Spain - Howard and Bosh are locks as long as they want in, because of their good performance in Beijing. Garnett has already declined invites more than once, and Amare is complete garbage in FIBA play - an athletic pick-and-roll guy who can't defend and is a below-average rebounder...no one is running the pick/roll or isolation/post up for him against a zone defense, and with all the other talent on the team.

Kobe, CP3, Deron, Lebron, Melo and Wade are the other locks, assuming they opt in. so that leaves 4 spots.

one other thing i noticed about the US team is that they seem to be moving away from the more one-dimensional players. the designated zone-busters, Mike Miller and Redd, were barely used, probably because of their defensive deficiencies. defensive/reb specialists like Chandler and Battier are also out of favor. even post players don't really get to play inside against the zone, even though that doesn't excuse Tim Duncan not being on the team.

so who does that leave? Al Jefferson needs to improve his interior defense. Iguodala can't shoot. Granger is very intriguing - inside/outside game, great athleticism, good defender. Horford (i thought he was US citizen) is already good enough to play off the bench for the US...but if Oden becomes the beast that everyone thinks he'll be...he's a lock. what about...gasp...Ron Artest? he'd be on this team every time if he wasn't insane.

[Eismann]

Now that we're in the -ber months, this means that 2008-09 NBA season is just around the corner. So will the Celts repeat?

I am excited for Portland, Philly and LAL. Oden's and Bynum's return to action and a Brand-name in the city of brotherly love gets me all pumped up.

[Altis6453]

The Beantown boys will always be favorites being defending champs and having the Big 3 intact. Problem is, the rest of the Eastern Conference improved while the Celts only improved on youth with the signing of their rookie draftees.

They'll most likely feel the loss of James Posey come playoff time and they'll be looking for someone to shadow LBJ again, or, if not, Detroit and Orlando are still in the mix.

[Eismann]

Cavs is definitely stronger now, Celts and Pistons are status quo on East's perch but Philly will have puncher's luck come playoff time. I predict them to knock off the higher seed team they will be facing in the first round. LAL remains as the West's top team. Posey and Artest will bring tough D for NOH and Rockets respectively come playoff time. The question in my mind right now is how good will this Portland team going to be. Roy+Oden then Fernandez + Aldridge/Outlaw. That's a heck of a young, long and athletic team. They're probably worth a 7th or 8th seed in the west barring any long-term injury to Roy and Oden. Another intriguing situation is down in South Beach, will Wade and Beasley mesh with Marion? The lottery bound teams are New York, New Jersey, Golden State, Indiana, Memphis and Minnesota. BDiddy and the new cast of the Clips will have a chip on their shoulder all season long. I'm looking foward to a nationally televised Clips-Philly game.

[oliver1013]

Celtics nip cavs...senyales ata na seryoso ang celtics mag repeat

[Altis6453]

Looks like Doc Rivers is keeping his rookies on the bench. No minutes for JR Giddens or Ben Walker.

[Eismann]

He-he banner unveiling kasi.