Team USA Outlook
Kevin Durant needs to step it up
With the World Championships starting today, Team USA is looking to defend its gold medal from the 2008 Olympics. The difference is not one player from the 2008 Olympic “Redeem Team” is playing for the 2010 team. There is a lot of pressure on the 2010 World Championship team not to have a disappointment like the 2002 World Championship team, 2004 Olympic team, and 2006 World Championship team who all finished outside of first. This year’s roster is a young one with players who may emerge as NBA superstars in the next five years, and have been nicknamed by many as “Team B” because they are a “second choice” of players. With the competition globally increasing over the last 10 years due to the greater outreach of the NBA, there is a lot of talent on many of the international teams and this World Championships will not be an easy win for Team USA.
Point guard Rajon Rondo has withdrawn himself from the squad. This came as a shocker for a lot of people because Rondo had his spot secured on the team. The final cut was most likely going to be either Stephen Curry or Eric Gordon. Rondo was a great player for the team and will be a big loss. He has played in a lot of big games in his young career so far, and is a nightmare when he gets into the paint. Team USA will thrive off of any point guard that can get into the paint because the team is full of young athletic slashers that love to play clean up off of dump off passes.
With Rondo’s withdrawal, the roster is set with Kevin Durant, Derrick Rose, Andre Iguodala, Chauncey Billups, Danny Granger, Eric Gordon, Kevin Love, Lamar Odom, Rudy Gay, Russell Westbrook, Stephen Curry, and Tyson Chandler. The team lacks height and physicality down low, which could prove to be a weak point against Spain’s Marc Gasol, a team that they will probably meet in the championship game. Overall, international ball is more physical than the NBA, and that has bothered many NBA players in the past so a lot of these young guys have to step it up. Another thing the team lacks is NBA experience. The roster is extremely young guys with Chauncey Billups and Lamar Odom being the players that have any kind of experience on a championship level. Every time Team USA steps on the floor, they are going to have a big target on their backs and it will be important to see if the young guys will be able to cope with pressure.
The big name of the World Championships will have to be Kevin Durant. He has to put his name on the map on an international level now, and guys will be looking at him to be the go-to scorer. Durant has been humble and at times shy, but he has to realize that he is the superstar on this team. KD proved that he can score with the best last season, and that will have to translate into this summer if Team USA wants to be successful.
Derrick Rose has an opportunity to step up
So far in the exhibition games, Team USA has looked decent but shaky at times. Many of the games have started with slow starts, but they find a stretch where they go on a big run and are able to pull out the victory. They were easily able to beat France and China, but they had their struggles with Lithuania and Spain. With Lithuania, the game was close till the end of the third quarter, but they went on a huge run in the fourth to win by 16. The game against Spain was extremely close and they were able to win by one point, 86-85. Spain, the silver medal winners in the 2008 Olympics, will be Team USA’s biggest competitions and are definitely capable of beating the US on any given night. Team USA had one more exhibition in which they looked much better when they crushed Greece. The US is in Pool B where they will be accompanied by Brazil, Croatia, Iran, Slovenia, and Tunisia. Team USA should be able to easily win their pool, especially after dominating Croatia today 106-78. They’re off to a good start but will need to continue to keep growing as a unit.
Team USA has the talent to win the gold medal, but I think it’s going to be a tough road. Guys like Iguadala, Gay, and Granger all play similar roles, and consistency with them is a concern. Kevin Love and Tyson Chandler are both average big men, but have trouble creating for themselves. Stephen Curry is a small and one-dimensional player. A lot of questions will need to be answered before the world recognizes Team USA to be the force they were in the 2008 Olympics. For a full player by player breakdown check these Part 1 and Part 2 I think Team USA makes it to the championship game against Spain once again, and wins a close one.
This is just an opinion…so please Pardon My Bias.
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