2014 USA National Team Pre-Tournament Thread

[awhom111]

More news today as game times were announced. Here are our preliminary games (all times Eastern Daylight):

8/30, Finland, 3:30pm
8/31, Turkey, 3:30pm
9/2, New Zealand, 11:30am
9/3, Dominican Republic, 3:30pm
9/4, Ukraine, 11:30am.

[awhom111]

I was wondering what the odds were that Kyrie might be involved this summer. This tells me that he at least somewhere in the plans:
http://www.usab.com/mens/Jeep_USAB_2014_05_08.html

Looking at some of the videos, I guess he picked up a few things from Kyle Singler.

[Henderson]

More news today as game times were announced. Here are our preliminary games (all times Eastern Daylight):

8/30, Finland, 3:30pm
8/31, Turkey, 3:30pm
9/2, New Zealand, 11:30am
9/3, Dominican Republic, 3:30pm
9/4, Ukraine, 11:30am.

Watch for Team Ukraine to be made up of Russian Special Forces dressed up in Ukrainian uniforms.

[awhom111]

Watch for Team Ukraine to be made up of Russian Special Forces dressed up in Ukrainian uniforms.

They are coached by The Czar...

In all seriousness, Ukraine was set to host the Eurobasket tournament next summer, but that looks set to be moved. It will be interesting to see what Mike Fratello will be able to do. It would seem likely in a situation like this that there are players that have all sorts of different views on recent events. The domestic league has been in some turmoil with both foreign (including Jamal Boykin) and local players leaving, but it is still running. I would figure with Mike Fratello's connections, that he might be able to arrange training in the United States or somewhere that is free of distractions. Plenty of NBA owners are helping out other teams as much as possible like Thohir offering to help the Philippines. I suppose naturalized player Pooh Jeter will be the key figures for the team.

[awhom111]

No Russell Westbrook this summer:
http://www.usab.com/mens/national/20...Westbrook.html

Out of our original 28, that means that it looks like James, Anthony, Paul, and Westbrook are out this summer, which leaves us with a perfect number of 24 barring future changes:
http://www.usab.com/mens/national/14_mnt_roster.html

There are good reasons for Westbrook to do this for health, but it will be interesting to see if this ultimately hurts him in his chances to make the Olympic team. Paul will likely be there if healthy. Curry is likely going to start this summer and will thus have a big chance to impress, plus he is an ideal fifth guard in international settings. If Rose shows commitment this summer and then recovers his NBA form in the next two summers, he will put himself back in consideration. Then we have the newcomers.

[Billy Dat]

Check this out, USA Basketball is doing a K Academy style fantasy camp during the Senior National Team training camp

http://www.usab.com/mens/national/14...announced.html

There is an impressive roster of coaches:

"USA Basketball announced today the complete coaching staff for its second annual USA Basketball Fantasy Camp. The three-day event offers basketball fans the experience of being a part of the National Team in Las Vegas from July 29-August 1. The elite coaching staff includes Arizona’s Sean Miller, Georgetown’s John Thompson III, Gonzaga’s Mark Few, Grand Canyon’s Dan Majerle, Kentucky’s John Calipari, Villanova’s Jay Wright, Washington’s Lorenzo Romar and camp director P.J. Carlesimo. ESPN analyst Jay Bilas and CBS Sports Analyst Bill Raftery will be the week’s host."

Cal wants to be the next National Team coach. He got the FIBA experience with the Dominican Republic, now his kissing the Colangelo ring by participating in this camp. I still think Donovan has a leg up on him based on earned USA Basketball "equity", but Cal's coming on strong.

[awhom111]

The training camp roster is set to be announced this morning at 11:00am Eastern with some information already leaking out.

[Ichabod Drain]

19 total players attending training camp:

PG's: Curry, Irving, Lillard, Rose
Wings: Durant, Bradley Beal, Paul George, Harden, Gordon Hayward, Kyle Korver, Klay Thompson, Chandler Parsons, Derozan
Bigs: Griffin, Love, Anthony Davis, Cousins, Drummond, and Faried

[Billy Dat]

19 total players attending training camp:

PG's: Curry, Irving, Lillard, Rose
Wings: Durant, Bradley Beal, Paul George, Harden, Gordon Hayward, Kyle Korver, Klay Thompson, Chandler Parsons, Derozan
Bigs: Griffin, Love, Anthony Davis, Cousins, Drummond, and Faried

With the soccer World Cup completed, and the Lax World Cup running this week, it'll soon be time to focus on FIBA.

One thing that's strange is the exclusion of John Wall, especially considering that they just added Demare Derozan and Chandler Parsons. Woj from Yahoo also tweeted that there is word that Wall could still be added. Why not just add him now? I wonder if he's pissed that he wasn't on the January list and isn't committing? Is he that clearly behind Kyrie and Lillard, let alone an injury depleted Rose?

With Durant leading them, and Love there too, this team should be loaded at all positions. This is probably the last chance this Spain generation (Pau, Navarro, Fernandez) will have to beat us. It will be a real challenge.

[Troublemaker]

19 total players attending training camp:

PG's: Curry, Irving, Lillard, Rose
Wings: Durant, Bradley Beal, Paul George, Harden, Gordon Hayward, Kyle Korver, Klay Thompson, Chandler Parsons, Derozan
Bigs: Griffin, Love, Anthony Davis, Cousins, Drummond, and Faried

My initial stab at the roster cuts and rotation.

Cuts: Lillard, DeRozan, Korver, Parsons, Hayward, Faried, Cousins

Rotation:

25 Irving	15 Rose
30 Curry	10 Thompson	Beal
30 George	(10 Durant)	Harden
25 Durant	20 Love
30 Davis	5 Griffin	Drummond

So, I'm looking at a 9-man rotation with Durant playing some SF but mostly at PF, where he was unguardable in the 2010 World Championships.

Other comments:
* Anthony Davis will play 30 mpg as the defensive anchor in the middle
* I'm counting on Curry to be the #2 scorer on the team behind Durant. He gets 30 mpg as well.
* Paul George is by far the best perimeter defender on this team (the relative weakness of the team). So he gets 30 mpg to concentrate on shutting down the opposing team's best perimeter player.
* I wish I could find more than 20 mpg for Love (not to mention more than 5 mpg for Griffin!). But going back to 2006, Coach K has always used only 1 true big for Team USA in the predominant lineup. And that big has to be Anthony Davis.
* Drummond and Beal are too young and will learn off the bench. Harden will surprisingly be out of the rotation because of his defense. In essence, I chose Curry over him because I think Curry is a more efficient scorer. And I prefer Klay Thompson to back up his teammate because Thompson can play some defense.
* Kyrie and Rose will just need to concentrate on distributing.

[gurufrisbee]

I'm not seeing leaving Wall out that terrible or surprising. He improved this last year but that was like the first time since high school and his defense and shooting still aren't up to snuff compared to the other point guard options out there.

I'm really surprised (and bummed) Aldridge turned down the invitation. His game is so well suited for the international competition and he was great in the playoffs.

I don't think Rose makes it. I think he is there mostly to see what his health and mind is up for and to keep his name and involvement still going for down the road possibly.

My guess for the roster is:

Curry, Irving, Lillard, Durant, George, Love, Harden, Griffin, Davis, Drummond, Thompson, Parsons.

Usual starting five is Curry, Irving, Durant, Love, Griffin with most of the bench time going to Lillard, George, Harden, and Davis.

Just one guess.

[awhom111]

I have done a little work on WatchESPN to figure out where some events will be televised by ESPN (these may not all be finalized at this point):
The intrasquad scrimmage in Las Vegas will be on ESPN at 9:00pm EDT on August 1st.
The exhibition against Brazil in Chicago will be on ESPN at 9:00pm EDT on August 16th.
The exhibition against the Dominican Republic in New York on August 20th is not currently listed.
The exhibition against Puerto Rico in New York will be on ESPN2 at 7:00pm EDT on August 22nd.
The exhibition against Slovenia in Spain on the island of Gran Canaria will on ESPN2 at 2:00pm EDT on August 26th.

The first two days of non-USA team action appear to be on ESPN3 on August 30th and 31st. Presumably a number of other games will be added soon.
USA Preliminary Round games (All in Bilbao, times EDT):
vs Finland 3:30pm August 30th ESPN/Deportes
vs Turkey 3:30pm August 31st ESPN/Deportes
vs New Zealand 11:30am September 2nd ESPN2
vs Dominican Republic 3:30pm September 3rd ESPN2
vs Ukraine 11:30am September 4th ESPN2

[Newton_14]

I'm not seeing leaving Wall out that terrible or surprising. He improved this last year but that was like the first time since high school and his defense and shooting still aren't up to snuff compared to the other point guard options out there.

I'm really surprised (and bummed) Aldridge turned down the invitation. His game is so well suited for the international competition and he was great in the playoffs.

I don't think Rose makes it. I think he is there mostly to see what his health and mind is up for and to keep his name and involvement still going for down the road possibly.

My guess for the roster is:

Curry, Irving, Lillard, Durant, George, Love, Harden, Griffin, Davis, Drummond, Thompson, Parsons.

Usual starting five is Curry, Irving, Durant, Love, Griffin with most of the bench time going to Lillard, George, Harden, and Davis.

Just one guess.

I mostly agree with you but with one glaring exception. There is just no way Anthony Davis isn't manning the middle at the tip, the bulk of the minutes, and definitely in crunch time with the game on the line. I love Griffin, and K Love too, but neither can protect the paint the way Davis can. If KD plays a lot of Power Forward, Griffin will struggle to get minutes. Love is a maniac rebounder who can nail 3's like a guard. In International ball that will put him in front of Griffin in the pecking order.

Reasonable minds can politely disagree, but that's just how I see it playing out with this group of players.

[Troublemaker]

I'm intrigued by the possibility of Coach K, for the first time, playing two bigs together predominantly on Team USA. A three-man big rotation of Davis, Love, and Griffin is talented enough to do so. All three are top-15 NBA players, imo, and maybe all three are top-10 NBA players.

What would a more traditional two-big rotation look like potentially?

Cuts: Lillard, DeRozan, Korver, Parsons, Hayward, Faried, Cousins

Rotation:

25 Curry	15 Irving	Rose
30 George	10 Beal
30 Durant	10 Thompson	Harden
25 Love	25 Griffin
30 Davis		Drummond

Comments:
* I still want Paul George as my defensive specialist on the perimeter so he slides down to the 2 and hopefully locks down the likes of Ginobili, Calderon / Navarro, etc
* Still gotta have my Curry for at least 25 mpg. Looking forward to seeing him light up various venues in Spain with his 3-pt bombing.
* Still no place for Harden. Don't want him backing up Durant. Prefer 3-and-D guy Thompson. Don't want Harden backing up George. Beal can play some defense and can be a 3-an-D guy. And Curry and Irving are both better point guards than Harden.
* I think I like this two-big rotation better than the 1-big rotation I posted before. We'll see what Coach K does. As always, a lot of talent and a lot of options available.

[Troublemaker]

Let's streamline the rotation a little bit more. No need to give youngster Beal any time when Klay Thompson is good enough to backup both wing spots.

Rotation:

25 Curry	15 Irving	Rose
30 George		Beal
30 Durant	20 Thompson	Harden
25 Love	25 Griffin
30 Davis		Drummond

So we have a stream-lined 8-man rotation, with all the players given very specific and necessary roles.

Durant: Dominate. Be USA's leading scorer and the best player in the tournament.
Love: Hit your threes and dominate the boards. Set screens for Durant and Curry.
Davis: Protect the rim with your length and shot-blocking. Dominate the boards with Love. Set screens for Durant and Curry.
George: Shut down the opposing team's best perimeter player.
Curry: Distribute. When off-the-ball, run the opposing PG thru screens. Pop your quick-release threes when given a sliver of daylight.
Irving: Distribute and push the ball on the break. Get crowd-awakening dunks from guys like Griffin. Bring energy off the bench.
Thompson: Hit your threes and D up when you're in the game for Durant or George.
Griffin: Play physical and score in the paint in relief of Davis and Love. Get out on the break for high-energy dunks.

I suspect only Spain, France, and Brazil can give this team a game.

[Billy Dat]

Here's a nice reaction piece to the 19 man pool announcement by ESPN's Marc Stein
http://espn.go.com/blog/marc-stein/p...am-usas-roster

What I didn't pick up initially, besides Wall's absence, was the absence of Aldridge and Kawhi. I am really bummed about Kawhi as I really like watching him play.

[kAzE]

I absolutely agree with leaving Wall off of the roster. His game is not suited for FIBA rules, where the most important attributes are ball movement and spacing. Wall is very much an isolation player in the halfcourt, and gets his assists off of his own penetration rather than quick and decisive passes within the flow of the offense. The offense of this team is much better off with point guards who are knockdown shooters and creative ball handlers like Steph and Kyrie. Wall is a guy who excels because of his elite speed and athleticism, which aren't as big of an advantage in international basketball, where passing to get open shots is preferable to guys going 1 on 1. Plus, Wall spurned Coach K to go UK. Screw him

If I was going to pick a 12 man roster from this pool, I'd go with:

Guards: Curry, Irving, Lillard (Just too many question marks with Rose)
Wings: Durant, George, Harden, Thompson, Parsons
Bigs: Davis, Love, Griffin, Faried

I'm staying away from some of a younger guys like Beal and Drummond just due to lack of experience. Also, I think Faried is more suited to the international game than a big, lumbering guy like Drummond. Faried is one of those guys who is just an energizer bunny on both ends of the floor, can run up and down all day, and grabs an insane number of rebounds. He's perfect for this style of play. However, I can see them taking Drummond anyway, just to prepare him for the Olympics in 2016.

Imagine if we threw out a lineup of Curry, Irving, Thompson, Durant, and Love. Who are you supposed to help off of if you're the other team? All those guys can knock down international 3s in their sleep . . .

[CDu]

I absolutely agree with leaving Wall off of the roster. His game is not suited for FIBA rules, where the most important attributes are ball movement and spacing. Wall is very much an isolation player in the halfcourt, and gets his assists off of his own penetration rather than quick and decisive passes within the flow of the offense. The offense of this team is much better off with point guards who are knockdown shooters and creative ball handlers like Steph and Kyrie. Wall is a guy who excels because of his elite speed and athleticism, which aren't as big of an advantage in international basketball, where passing to get open shots is preferable to guys going 1 on 1. Plus, Wall spurned Coach K to go UK. Screw him

If I was going to pick a 12 man roster from this pool, I'd go with:

Guards: Curry, Irving, Lillard (Just too many question marks with Rose)
Wings: Durant, George, Harden, Thompson, Parsons
Bigs: Davis, Love, Griffin, Faried

I'm staying away from some of a younger guys like Beal and Drummond just due to lack of experience. Also, I think Faried is more suited to the international game than a big, lumbering guy like Drummond. Faried is one of those guys who is just an energizer bunny on both ends of the floor and grabs an insane number of rebounds. He's perfect for this style of play.

Imagine if we threw out a lineup of Curry, Irving, George, Durant, and Love. Who are you supposed to help off of if you're the other team? All those guys can knock down international 3s in their sleep . . .

I agree with the rest, but I don't think the bolded part is relevant. The coaching staff is going to get a few weeks' worth of practice/scrimmages to see what these guys can do. By that point, there shouldn't be any question marks with Rose: either he's physically ready or he's not. And don't forget: his coach (Thibs) is a part of the coaching staff. Thibs has seen Rose's progress as much as anyone, so I really doubt the coaching staff will have questions about Rose's health.

Given that he's now had about 8 months to recover from the MCL repair, and given that the typical recovery time for an athlete undergoing MCL repair is more on the order of 4-6 months, I'd say that the concerns about Rose's health will be quickly dismissed. The question then is one of rust. But regardless, I don't think Rose will get left off because of question-marks about his health. If he's healthy, I'd be shocked to see him off the team.

[kAzE]

I agree with the rest, but I don't think the bolded part is relevant. The coaching staff is going to get a few weeks' worth of practice/scrimmages to see what these guys can do. By that point, there shouldn't be any question marks with Rose: either he's physically ready or he's not. And don't forget: his coach (Thibs) is a part of the coaching staff. Thibs has seen Rose's progress as much as anyone, so I really doubt the coaching staff will have questions about Rose's health.

Given that he's now had about 8 months to recover from the MCL repair, and given that the typical recovery time for an athlete undergoing MCL repair is more on the order of 4-6 months, I'd say that the concerns about Rose's health will be quickly dismissed. The question then is one of rust. But regardless, I don't think Rose will get left off because of question-marks about his health. If he's healthy, I'd be shocked to see him off the team.

All true, but I am pretty concerned about the rust factor. Rose did NOT look good in his 10 regular season games last year. In fact, he looked awful. And again, he's not on the same level of shooting ability as those other 3 point guards, who are all excellent from deep. But then again, I haven't seen Rose play at all in almost a year, so that's why I qualified that 12 man roster as the 12 guys I would personally choose, with my current amount of knowledge about these players. I wouldn't be surprised at all to see Rose make the final cut, since he brings a different dynamic than Lillard, who is more or less the same type of player as Kyrie.

[CDu]

All true, but I am pretty concerned about the rust factor. Rose did NOT look good in his 10 regular season games last year. In fact, he looked awful. And again, he's not on the same level of shooting ability as those other 3 point guards, who are all excellent from deep. But then again, I haven't seen Rose play at all in almost a year, so that's why I qualified that 12 man roster as the 12 guys I would personally choose, with my current amount of knowledge about these players. I wouldn't be surprised at all to see Rose make the final cut, since he brings a different dynamic than Lillard, who is more or less the same type of player as Kyrie.

Definitely true that Rose isn't the shooter that the other three are. But he's a far better defender. Curry and (sadly) Irving are notoriously soft defenders, and Lillard isn't known for being a good defender. Rose is strong and tenacious on that end of the floor. And he plays for a team whose defensive principles are a big part of what the National Team does, so he's very aware of the fundamentals needed for the job.

Also, don't underestimate the experience factor. Rose has played (started) at PG for the national team at a World Championships. Neither Irving nor Lillard have any experience at that level in international competition. Curry was also on the team in 2010, but he was a SG on that squad. Coach K loves continuity, so I'd be surprised if he went with 3 newbies at PG for this tournament.