well, i'll just post the starting lineup. pg AI sg kobe sf lebron pf KG c shaq, if he's still playing coach: phil jackson
This is ridiculous...most of these teams are just great stars slabbed together. And most of the players being mentioned are shot happy. If you dont want a repeat of last olympics you'd make it more like a TEAM!!! If It Was This Year C-Shaq PF-Duncan SF-Lebron James SG-Kobe Bryant**/T-Mac (but not both; to many shots needed for the two) PG-Jason Kidd Ben Wallace Kevin Garnett Ron Artest* Joe Johnson Chauncy Billups Ray Allen (need some sharp shooters) Jermaine O'neal (size, and more interior defense) The interior defense on that team would be nuts and you've got 9 great defenders out of 12. You've also got some people who know how to do things off the ball and a TRUE POINT GAURD(Kidd) to run the team the way it should be run. Billups as backup PG give the team another hard worker thats willing to grind it out defensively, as well as another competent three baller. The lineups with Lebron, AI and Wade at the point are damn sad! With Nash's season and the impact Kidd has had on VC, Kenyon others you'd think people would start to realize that a true point gaurd with half the raw skills and a comparitavily weak scoring game is far more valuable than another chucker PG. This team would be very solid and i think take any other team you can assemble. *I think Artest, with the NBA's encouragement, will soften his image post-brawl and i think the NBA will try to have him included on the olympic roster, in a significant role, for two reasons: 1) To let the world see that the NBA is full of good players not thugs; that Artest is not a thug 2) To get everyone associated with the olympics on the American side to pay more attention to defense when selecting a team. ** I think Kobe and Shaq would play together, again with the NBA's encouragement/pressure, and i think they'd be great possibly going to all lengths to have the other person succeed. Kobe would also likely be an addition for the same reason i stated above about Artest (1) I'd personally prefer T-mac in this role but I wouldnt complain if it was Kobe, providing he played solid team ball. Noteable ommissions: Iverson - i know, i love his heart and i think the team could use it, but there's no spot for him. Johnson could be removed but in my opinion Johnson has more to offer overall that Iverson, who's good with steals but not especially strong on ball defender, partly due to his size and stature. Vince - I dont think he'd be on the team due to his weak defense and the number of shots he would demand. Wade - Again same arguement from Iverson. His defence isnt on par with Johnsons at the 2 position and i dont want him at the 1 because of the need for true point gaurds distributing the ball and keeping the game at a fast tempo. Amare - very solid player but i think Ben should be there for his defence and Shaq for his overall game + the fact that he's the closest thing to a legend the NBA has at this point. He deserves to be on the team due to his years of service, his worldwide recognition as well as his dominance of the game. Likely though Shaq would not play because he's getting up there and would want to recover for the regular season. In this case i'd suggest Amare, but i might go with B. Wallace starting, J. O'neal moving up to form a small(if you can call it that) 2nd string frontcourt, and i'd probably pick some one like Okafor or Bosh for the 12th man role. Amare could fit, though i'm personally not impressed by either his defense or his rebounding(though numbers deceiving when you're paired with Marion, a rebounding monster). Bosh - my main will come to be a starter..but he's not ready yet. In time there will be only 3 names associated with superstar and that will be Wade, Lebron and Bosh This team's only real weakness in my opinion is that other "dream teams" that you could think up would more than likely have the advantage from behind the arc. Allen, Billups, Johnson and Bryant/T-mac are the only players that are reliable 3 point threats. IMO the all around game off-sets this weakness by a long ways.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Bobcats:</div><div class="quote_post">Lol, Nash is Canadian.</div> lol. pretty said that i forgot that considering i almost went to his charity game AND i'm canadian as well. ooops. i'll fix
my team: pg: Jason Kidd sg: Ray allen Sf: Lebron James PF: Duncan C: Shaq Bench: Amare Artest Joe johnson Kobe Ben Wallace Wade
