Managing director Jerry Colangelo and head coach Mike Krzyzewski have made the final cuts to form the squad that will compete in the Olympic qualifying tournament that starts Wednesday.
The U.S. roster includes: Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Amare Stoudemire, Dwight Howard, Jason Kidd, Chauncey Billups, [Michael] Redd, [Mike] Miller, Tyson Chandler, Tayshaun Prince and Deron Williams.
Redd and Miller were added for their unquestioned ability to shoot from the perimeter. Over the past few tourneys, Team USA has been lacking in this area and it has cost them dearly. The team also wanted to add defensive toughness to the squad, which is why Chandler and Prince made the cut.
Kevin Durant and Nick Collison were the last two cuts. Durant made a splash by scoring 22 points in a recent intrasquad scrimmage, but the team wanted to go with experience over youth. Durant will certainly appear in a Team USA uniform at some point in his career.
It’s about time that Redd made the team. Year after year, we’ve watched Team USA clunk shot after shot from the perimeter as their opponent sits in a zone. The presence of Redd (and Miller) should hopefully open up the lane for LeBron and Kobe to penetrate. The team needs to be mindful of the fact that international officials don’t call the game the same way that NBA officials do. (No Tim Donaghy jokes, please.) In the World Championships last summer, there were several players looking for fouls as they attacked the rim, yet they weren’t getting the kind of favoritism that they saw in the NBA.
It is critical that Team USA has a good showing in the 2008 Olympics, and that means winning the whole damn thing.
