Reggie Miller said Bowen needs to be on Team USA

[Jimcs50]

Reggie, on Dan Patrick yesterday said that Bruce Bowen needs to be on Team USA as much as anyone. He said that he can shut down the opponent's 1, 2, or 3, and that he is a great open look shooter as well.

He said that they would be crazy not to put him on final roster.

Good to see Bruce getting his due lately.
:smokin

[Sec24Row7]

I agree with Reggie...

As of last count, I think that makes a total of 1 thing he has ever said in his life that I agree with.

[Joepa]

Yeah, tis smart to put the best defensive player in the association on the team.

[1Parker1]

I love Reggie :)

[KEDA]

Reggie was drunk

there is no way a sober Reggie Miller says anything positive about any other player outside of Indiana.

[SenorSpur]

I also agree with Reggie on Bowen's selection. However I disagree with his reasoning that Allen Iverson needs to be on Team USA. AI is not the right type of PG for this team. The selections of Billups and Chris Paul are just fine.

[abelle23]

i want to see bruce shut down manu and tony!!!!

that would be awesome to watch!

go brucie!! hope hell be in the final selection he totally deserved it..

[1Parker1]

Reggie was drunk

there is no way a sober Reggie Miller says anything positive about any other player outside of Indiana.


Actually, Reggie is surprisingly unbiased I thought when it came to Indy.

[SirChaz]

Bowen is on the final roster.

Even if he doesn't go to the world championships this summer he is still "on the national team" and could play in the olympics in 08.

[SenorSpur]

Amazing feat for a guy that is 35 years old and is one of the most conditioned athletes in the NBA.

[picnroll]

When they interviewed Colangelo on NBA TV about the selections he was extremely complimentary of Bowen. Said "he's the conumate role player. When you look up role player in the dictionary there's a picture of Bowen". Also like's the intensity he brings and that he's a leader. I have a feeling Bowen is there for more than just window dressing and he'll be one of the 12.

[JamStone]

And, the great thing if Bowen is on Team USA is that in the actual games, Bruce won't have to guard Kobe Bryant.

[tlongII]

No way Bowen should be on the Olympic roster! Dude will be 37 by then!

[Kori Ellis]

No way Bowen should be on the Olympic roster! Dude will be 37 by then!

And he'll probably still be owning Zach Randolph :lmao :lmao :lmao

[FromWayDowntown]

There was a cut from a conference call with Colangelo and Coach K where they initially lumped Bowen and Battier together. They were later individually complimentary of Bruce. I suspect that Bruce has a pretty good shot to be on the World Championships team, mostly to see if that sort of a stopper can really have an influence in an international setting. If Bruce is playing, though, it means that several of the heavy-hitters (Lebron, Carmelo, Wade, Kobe) likely isn't on the court, and I don't think you can use a defensive stopper for short stretches (though the end game stretches would be the only possible exception).

If they want true balance and role playing, you could do pretty well to use a main starting group like:

Chauncey Billups
Kobe Bryant
Bruce Bowen
Elton Brand
Dwight Howard

Where all 5 guys can defend, all can rebound, and each has at least some useful offensive skill. Paul might be a better pure distributor than Billups, but Billups is a perfect big-game type of guy and plays substantially more defense than Paul does at this point. Kobe's ability to slash and hit from the floor are essential, I think, in the international game (and who, internationally, is going to guard him for 40 minutes?). Brand can probably get away with playing like a center in international play, particularly with his quickness, strength, and range. I think Brand would be preferrable to longer guys like Stoudemire, Miller, and Bosh, largely because Brand is the best defensive big man on that roster. I'd argue that Howard is an okay choice for a traditional 2 bigs, 2 wings, and a point lineup, but that team USA might be well-served to go away from that concept and play a smaller guy as the second big (Lamar Odom basically played the 4 spot in 2004 and had decent numbers) -- maybe using Marion or Lebron along with the Killer B's.

[picnroll]

I wonder if Bruce had been on the 2004 Olympic team hounding Manu if Argentina would have gotten the win.

[Solid D]

Reggie has first-hand experience in dealing with Bruce. What more credible source for an opinion on Bruce Bowen's defensive abilities?

[Spurologist]

I wonder if Bruce had been on the 2004 Olympic team hounding Manu if Argentina would have gotten the win.


71% of the earth is covered by water, the rest is covered by Bruce Bowen.

To answer your question: no