PG Paul (25), Rondo (15)
SG Wade (25), Roy (15)
SF Durant (30), James(10)
PF James(20), Bosh (20)
Center Howard(20), Oden(15), Bosh(5)
I think the Key to international play is having an unselfish team that is willing to give up the ball and create plays which is why their are a few people I left off (Carmelo, stoudamire).
PG: I chose PG's who have great passing abilities and can create for their teammates. I left Williams off even though everyone I picked I wanted to be able to defend, and that reason is because I wanted Rondo on the team and felt he would be better as a backup then either willaims/paul because of his ability to offensive rebound and be a great defender.
SG: I left off Kobe because he will be 34 and I doubt will want to play and the fact he will be 34 and has already started to fade. The #1 reason though is i'm a blazer fan and #$%^ Kobe.
SF: Durant is a must, he is really the only volume scorer who does not create for his teammates. On this team he wouldn't be the #1 option so you wouldn't see the stagnant offense that the US team sometimes had this year when Durant was throwing up shots everytime he got the ball. James of course is the best player on the court but below i'll explain why he is a backup at the SF position I left off Carmelo because I am not a fan of his game. He is such a talented scorer but he seems to think he doesn't have to play defense and is primarily a jump shooter. It came down to either having Durant or Carmelo for me and I chose Durant.
PF: I think James is a natural PF who has just played SF his entire career because of his ball handling skills. With the team having so many ball handlers putting James at PF and making him play off the ball a lot will be interesting, but with a player as talented as James it shouldn't effect his game that much. Bosh is behind James and will average more minutes at PF then James who will split his minutes between PF and SF. I debated having Kevin Love on here because of his ability to get into the post and rebound, but with having Howard on it I thought he would be redundant.
Center: Howard is the best Center in the league and an offensive enigma but on this team the fact his offensive game isn't their doesn't matter, and his defense is what will. Just give him garbage minutes and let him roam the paint. Oden if he is healthy gives you a big man who can overpower centers (especially the ones we saw this year) and get to the basket. With a defensive duo of Howard/Oden the paint will be on lockdown. I also have Bosh playing some minutes at Center because of the fact Howard/Oden attract fouls like flies to a midden heap. I expect both to be in foul trouble a lot.
I think that team has the ability to be an unselfish person and not rely on 1 person to do the heavy lifting, almost all of them could do it. With everyone on that team save for a few being unselfish players who create for their teammates opens up the floor and will allow for a lot better looks.
