CubanMustGo
08-15-2006, 11:42 AM
http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/insider/columns/story?columnist=sheridan_chris&id=2550195
By Chris Sheridan
ESPN Insider
Archive
All the evidence from five exhibition games points to Bruce Bowen being the player most likely to be left off Team USA's final 12-man roster, yet I'm far from 100 percent certain he'll be the odd man out. The more I think about it, in fact, the more I'm convinced that it'll be Shane Battier wearing street clothes when the World Championship begins Saturday.
Here's why:
Bowen was brought along for one overriding reason: To defend the best offensive player on the opposing team when the competition starts to get tougher. And when the Americans make it to the medal round at the World Championship, the need for a lockdown, man-to-man defender will become even more urgent. Who's going to guard Manu Ginobili of Argentina? Or Pau Gasol of Spain? Or Leandro Barbosa of Brazil? Or Boris Diaw and Tony Parker of France? Or Dirk Nowitzki of Germany?
The player who can defend each and every one of them is Bowen, which is why team director Jerry Colangelo and coach Mike Krzyzewski will have to think long and hard about whether to include him on the 12-man active roster that must be submitted Friday, the eve of the opening round in Japan. (Gilbert Arenas is already out of the mix after straining a groin muscle at practice Monday, leaving 13 healthy bodies.)
"Well, No. 1, we're healthy," Coach K said after the U.S. improved to 5-0 in exhibitions by trouncing Korea 116-63 in Seoul. "We're still going to have to make a difficult selection to get our roster to 12 players, but our guys have really grown together as a team. They're a good group of guys, and no ego is bigger than the team."
Bowen didn't do much against Korea to help his cause, scoring four points and committing two turnovers in 14 minutes. He averaged a team-low 1.0 point per game and shot a cumulative 2-for-7 in the warm-up games, going 0-for-4 from 3-point range after he had spent the early part of the summer working on his outside shooting.
Still, Bowen isn't going to help the U.S. against the inferior foes they faced in exhibitions and will see in the opening round. He's a guy who will help you when the format turns to single elimination in the Round of 16 and one loss knocks you out of gold-medal contention.
Nobody has focused on it much yet, but the Americans are going to have a very tough opponent in their first game of the knockout round. Assuming they win Group D, the Americans will face the fourth-place team from Group C in the Round of 16. And the fourth-place team in that group will not be a slouch. Aside from Qatar, each of the remaining five teams (Lithuania, Greece, Brazil, Turkey and Australia) in Group C is capable of finishing anywhere from first to fifth.
Assuming the Americans make it to the quarterfinals, there's a good chance they'll meet Germany in that game, as the pairing calls for the winner of the D1-C4 game to face the winner of the B2-A3 game. B2 is likely to be Germany, which figures to finish behind Spain (which went 9-0 in exhibitions, including 2-0 against Argentina) in Group B. And if Germany is the quarterfinal opponent, who will guard Nowitzki? I'd trust Bowen with the task before I'd trust Elton Brand, Chris Bosh, Dwight Howard or Brad Miller.
Bowen's primary competition for the 12th spot would seem to come from Battier, who made his second straight start Tuesday but scored just two points in 13 minutes. His averages of 3.0 points and 3.4 rebounds in the five exhibitions gives him better numbers than Bowen, but that doesn't mean he'd be a better choice for the 12th spot. Colangelo will want to have an ace in the hole when he reaches the medal round, and Bowen can provide something that Battier can not -- intimate knowledge, gleaned from years of practicing together and competing in the same division, of how to go up against Ginobili, Parker and Nowitzki.
That's why I have a funny feeling that when USA Basketball submits its official roster Friday night at the technical meeting on the eve of the tournament, Bowen's name will be on it.
Here are a few items from the cumulative stat sheet after five exhibitions:
• The Americans shot 41 percent from 3-point range, which should make opponents think twice about playing 40 minutes of zone defense as they often did at the Athens Olympics when the U.S. team shot just 31 percent from behind the shorter international arc. Brad Miller was by far the Americans' best 3-point shooter, percentage-wise, going 6-for-7. And a pair of forwards -- Antawn Jamison and Carmelo Anthony -- were the most prolific 3-point shooters with eight apiece. Dwight Howard was the only player that did not attempt a 3.
• Dwyane Wade (17-for-18) and LeBron James (10-for-11) were the team's best free-throw shooters, while Howard (5-for-14) and Chris Paul (7-for-13) were the worst.
• Anthony (16.8), James (15.8) and Wade (12.2) were the only players to average double figures in points. Howard led the team in rebounding (5.8), Wade had the most steals (13) and the Americans forced a total of 124 turnovers -- almost 25 per game.
• Miller and Bowen were the only players who did not start any games. No player started all five exhibitions.
• Team USA surrendered an average of 75.9 points and scored an average of 110.0. In Athens, the Americans allowed 83.5 points and scored 88.1.
Chris Sheridan, a national NBA reporter for the past decade, covers the league for ESPN Insider.
By Chris Sheridan
ESPN Insider
Archive
All the evidence from five exhibition games points to Bruce Bowen being the player most likely to be left off Team USA's final 12-man roster, yet I'm far from 100 percent certain he'll be the odd man out. The more I think about it, in fact, the more I'm convinced that it'll be Shane Battier wearing street clothes when the World Championship begins Saturday.
Here's why:
Bowen was brought along for one overriding reason: To defend the best offensive player on the opposing team when the competition starts to get tougher. And when the Americans make it to the medal round at the World Championship, the need for a lockdown, man-to-man defender will become even more urgent. Who's going to guard Manu Ginobili of Argentina? Or Pau Gasol of Spain? Or Leandro Barbosa of Brazil? Or Boris Diaw and Tony Parker of France? Or Dirk Nowitzki of Germany?
The player who can defend each and every one of them is Bowen, which is why team director Jerry Colangelo and coach Mike Krzyzewski will have to think long and hard about whether to include him on the 12-man active roster that must be submitted Friday, the eve of the opening round in Japan. (Gilbert Arenas is already out of the mix after straining a groin muscle at practice Monday, leaving 13 healthy bodies.)
"Well, No. 1, we're healthy," Coach K said after the U.S. improved to 5-0 in exhibitions by trouncing Korea 116-63 in Seoul. "We're still going to have to make a difficult selection to get our roster to 12 players, but our guys have really grown together as a team. They're a good group of guys, and no ego is bigger than the team."
Bowen didn't do much against Korea to help his cause, scoring four points and committing two turnovers in 14 minutes. He averaged a team-low 1.0 point per game and shot a cumulative 2-for-7 in the warm-up games, going 0-for-4 from 3-point range after he had spent the early part of the summer working on his outside shooting.
Still, Bowen isn't going to help the U.S. against the inferior foes they faced in exhibitions and will see in the opening round. He's a guy who will help you when the format turns to single elimination in the Round of 16 and one loss knocks you out of gold-medal contention.
Nobody has focused on it much yet, but the Americans are going to have a very tough opponent in their first game of the knockout round. Assuming they win Group D, the Americans will face the fourth-place team from Group C in the Round of 16. And the fourth-place team in that group will not be a slouch. Aside from Qatar, each of the remaining five teams (Lithuania, Greece, Brazil, Turkey and Australia) in Group C is capable of finishing anywhere from first to fifth.
Assuming the Americans make it to the quarterfinals, there's a good chance they'll meet Germany in that game, as the pairing calls for the winner of the D1-C4 game to face the winner of the B2-A3 game. B2 is likely to be Germany, which figures to finish behind Spain (which went 9-0 in exhibitions, including 2-0 against Argentina) in Group B. And if Germany is the quarterfinal opponent, who will guard Nowitzki? I'd trust Bowen with the task before I'd trust Elton Brand, Chris Bosh, Dwight Howard or Brad Miller.
Bowen's primary competition for the 12th spot would seem to come from Battier, who made his second straight start Tuesday but scored just two points in 13 minutes. His averages of 3.0 points and 3.4 rebounds in the five exhibitions gives him better numbers than Bowen, but that doesn't mean he'd be a better choice for the 12th spot. Colangelo will want to have an ace in the hole when he reaches the medal round, and Bowen can provide something that Battier can not -- intimate knowledge, gleaned from years of practicing together and competing in the same division, of how to go up against Ginobili, Parker and Nowitzki.
That's why I have a funny feeling that when USA Basketball submits its official roster Friday night at the technical meeting on the eve of the tournament, Bowen's name will be on it.
Here are a few items from the cumulative stat sheet after five exhibitions:
• The Americans shot 41 percent from 3-point range, which should make opponents think twice about playing 40 minutes of zone defense as they often did at the Athens Olympics when the U.S. team shot just 31 percent from behind the shorter international arc. Brad Miller was by far the Americans' best 3-point shooter, percentage-wise, going 6-for-7. And a pair of forwards -- Antawn Jamison and Carmelo Anthony -- were the most prolific 3-point shooters with eight apiece. Dwight Howard was the only player that did not attempt a 3.
• Dwyane Wade (17-for-18) and LeBron James (10-for-11) were the team's best free-throw shooters, while Howard (5-for-14) and Chris Paul (7-for-13) were the worst.
• Anthony (16.8), James (15.8) and Wade (12.2) were the only players to average double figures in points. Howard led the team in rebounding (5.8), Wade had the most steals (13) and the Americans forced a total of 124 turnovers -- almost 25 per game.
• Miller and Bowen were the only players who did not start any games. No player started all five exhibitions.
• Team USA surrendered an average of 75.9 points and scored an average of 110.0. In Athens, the Americans allowed 83.5 points and scored 88.1.
Chris Sheridan, a national NBA reporter for the past decade, covers the league for ESPN Insider.