U.S. Olympic Basketball, Sans Dwight Howard

With the back injury to Dwight Howard possibly sidelining him for the Olympics, the United States team could be in disarray now.  What was once the defensive anchor in the middle that gave the U.S. a distinct advantage will not be traveling the London and Jerry Colangelo and Mike Krzyewski have their work cut out for them.  Here is my take on how they should build the roster to bring back the gold.

MORTAL LOCKS

Lebron James, Kevin Durant, Kevin Love, Dwyane Wade

Barring a catastrophic injury in the playoffs, all four of these guys will be suited up and playing significant minutes in London.  Love will probably get a good portion of Dwight Howard’s newly freed minutes as he is the best rebounder on the planet not named Dwight.  His ability to stretch the floor and get the fast break going will ignite the other three on this list to fill the lanes for monstrous dunks. 

LOCKS, BARRING FURTHER INJURY

Kobe Bryant, Derrick Rose, Chris Paul

I can’t remember the last time Kobe wasn’t injured, but he is probably closer to the top group than this one.  Bryant will want to get another gold medal to add to his resume as he chases Kareem (scoring) and Jordan (titles).  Rose has missed a third of the shortened season with a variety of injuries, but most significantly his back.  While his absence would be a detriment to the U.S. gold medal hopes, point guard is the deepest position of the roster candidates.  The real question with this group besides their health is who Coach K will tab as the starter, Paul or Rose.

SAFELY ON THE TEAM DUE TO RECENT HAPPENINGS

Carmelo Anthony, Tyson Chandler

Melo is having the best stretch of his career right now as he is scoring and rebounding at will.  Using his big body to bang on the boards will help him get minutes for the suddenly small U.S. squad.  Chandler would have most likely made the team even if Dwight had not have gotten hurt, but he is a safe bet now.  He is the best defensive (American) center outside of Howard and he can finish the U.S.’ most used and go-to play, an alley-oop.

THE OTHER CANDIDATES

Current pool: LaMarcus Aldridge (injured), Chauncey Billups (injured), Chris Bosh, Rudy Gay, Eric Gordon, Blake Griffin, Andre Iguodala, Lamar Odom, Russell Westbrook, Deron Williams

Possible injury additions: Anthony Davis, Andrew Bynum, Rajon Rondo, Al Jefferson, Stephon Curry, Josh Smith

With the injuries to Howard, Aldridge and Billups, there are a few spots in the talent pool left.  Andrew Bynum will definitely get one of them and Rajon Rondo should get another.  The last spot for the pool is completely up for grabs.  Bill Simmons noted that the shooter of the bench might be out of play this year, so Curry is probably out, and he believes that the Unibrow should get the spot.  However, I would be more apt to Jefferson or Josh Smith as Anthony Davis is still too raw and skinny to really defend against the Gasols or the Brazilian bigs.  While Jefferson is the better overall player, especially offensively, I think Josh Smith should get a look.

So then that leaves the last three roster spots from these 11 players.  With only one center and one power forward on the roster you’d think that backups at each position would be a must.  Coach K likes to have three point guards so I’m guessing Gay, Gordon and Iguodala are all out of the running.  Let’s start with the bigs.

Chris Bosh is a decent player having a decent season, but with this team assembled already, a jump-shooting finesse power forward is not needed.  There is enough scoring already with the big names, and Bosh doesn’t play enough defense to earn the spot.  Bynum should be a lock now that Howard is out, but you never know when he is going to start doing Andrew Bynum-things like sulk on the bench or take out an opposing foreign player that is a foot shorter and 150 pounds lighter.  If he can get his mind right then he should be a viable addition.  He can provide the big body that Dwight Howard did for when the U.S. plays Spain with Pau/Marc Gasol and Serge Ibaka. 

With the matchup against that team in mind, I think I’m going with Josh Smith for the last spot.  That thought comes with a side note though: only if Coach K can get him to not shoot beyond 12 feet.  Smith is a phenomenal defensive player and matches up perfectly with Ibaka.  So should Spain go big with all three of their big guys on the floor, the U.S. can match with a Chandler-Bynum-Smith front court.  While he may not be quite as long as Davis or as good of a shooter, I think his experience guarding the bigger, more mature and muscular big men in the NBA is a greater asset.  Now should Smith start pulling up for 3’s during the training camp I’d have no problem with Davis or Jefferson getting the nod.

That leaves the last spot, which will presumably be a point guard.  With Paul and Rose being somewhat injury prone, I think this spot needs to be someone who could conceivably run the show for almost the entire game.  While it may seem like a homer pick, I think Deron has to get this spot over Westbrook and Rondo.  The Lakers/Thunder game from yesterday solidifies my stance even more.  Westbrook does not know when to let the alpha dog be the alpha dog yet, and he would be playing with the 8 or 9 biggest alpha dogs in the world.  While his athleticism and speed would be an asset, Deron’s court vision and leadership would be more valuable.  I almost think him starting would be the better fit and the All-Star game somewhat showed that.  He scored when he needed to, but he knew when to give it to LeBron or Carmelo if they needed to get a bucket to stay involved. 

For the starting lineup, I think Coach K should be flexible with it.  If they are playing Great Britain with no legitimate NBA-talented big mean, he go start with a Deron-Kobe-Durant-LeBron-Chandler lineup, or if they are playing the aforementioned Spain who is lacking a legitimate point guard, he can go with Kobe-Durant-LeBron-Bynum-Chandler.  Either way by picking Williams over Westbrook, and a non-jump-shooting Smith over the other contenders, the U.S. will have much more flexibility and depth when they are in London.