Almost everyone over the age of 14 has probably heard or read Shakespeare's line, "A rose by any other name would smell as sweet," or something like that. Apparently, though, not everyone believes in it. The team USA will send to the 2010 World Basketball Championships is devoid of the proverbial, "Big Names," like the trio of Lebron James, Dwayne Wade and Kobe Bryant. More importantly, none of the members of the Olympic gold medal-winning team of 2008 will join the team. This has resulted in loud moans and groans from American basketball fans, with some already writing the team off as, "doomed." Is this version of Team USA really that bad?
The Right Fit
This year's Team USA may be devoid of big names and big centers, but what they have are a wealth of are long, athletic and lean bodies. Players like Derrick Rose, Rajon Rondo, Kevin Durant, Lamar Odom, Andre Iguodala, Danny Granger and Rudy Gay all possess this body type, which makes switching at defense possible from the "1" spot to the "4" spot. This will enable the team to play excellent trapping defense to cause turnovers, which will fuel USA's greatest weapon, the fastbreak. Just ask China, who just got blasted by Team USA's run-and-gun game, 98-51. Every year, Team USA always does most of its damage in transition. The 2008 team did, and even the legendary 1992 Dream Team did too.
