London 2012: How USA Basketball Can Still Win with an Increasingly Thin Roster

Every day, it seems like someone else is backing out of playing for the U.S. in basketball in London this summer.

First, there were Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade. Then there was Anthony Davis. Now, Lamar Odom is the latest superstar to say no thanks to this summer's Olympic Games.

But despite the fact that the U.S. team is looking less and less intimidating up front by the day, it's hard to believe that this team will have a difficult time competing this summer. It's hard to believe that Coach K won't come up with something. No matter who bows out, there’s always going to be a player who’s good enough to replace him.

This team is too deep to be discounted, no matter who decides not to play.

The U.S. might not have a lot of big bodies up front—there's only one bona fide center currently in the running for a roster spot, and that would be Tyson Chandler—but any time you have a squad that boasts Carmelo Anthony, Kevin Durant, James Harden, LeBron James, Russell Westbrook and Deron Williams, you're going to be a tough team to beat.

Plus, the Heat managed to make it through most of the 2012 postseason with a weak frontcourt. If Erik Spoelstra can find a way to get the job done, so can Coach K.

For the U.S., when it's actually time to play in London, it isn't going to come down to who's bigger up front. It's going to come down to how well this team can play together, and how it can build a functional, working squad from such a deep pool of talent.

The talent is definitely there, no matter whom the Americans have playing up front. Even if they have to play small, they can still play with the rest of the best. If this team doesn't win, it won't be because it's small; it'll be because the players couldn't mesh. 

For the 15 guys left competing for roster spots, maybe it's just about tuning out the voices wondering how this team is going to make it work. Maybe it's just about casting aside the distractions and just doing it, rather than talking about it.

It might take another rallying cry from Carmelo Anthony and a few screenings of The Dream Team, but this team has what it takes to win a gold this summer. It's just that all the incessant chatter about the thinness of the roster is making it kind of difficult to recognize it.

No matter who is on that roster when it is finalized prior to the Olympics—or how little size the team boasts up front—it will still be the team to beat. There's just too much skill there to believe it's not.