Sunday, August 29, 2004

Discovering Japan - The Point Guards

When after all the urges
Some kind of truth emerges
- Graham Parker, Discovering Japan

Last week, I started working on who our Olympic Committee should have chosen for these Olympic Games, and it's only now that I realize how ass-backwards that is. For the challenge is to prepare for what is ahead, not for what has ... Yikes! I'm starting to sound like a Presidential candidate (pick either one). What I'm getting at is that although the next Olympics in China seems to be far off, the World Championships in Japan are only two years away. I would say that after this most recent experience, the time to start preparing is now. So let's lay some ground rules for the team we want to build.

1. The team picked for Japan should be, for the most part, the team that goes to China. If a player's career takes a serious downturn, then he may be replaced, but we're not kicking anyone off for the next Lebron. The strategy of rotating entire rosters needs to come to an end.

2. We don't want anyone in China to be over 33, setting the bar for selection now at 29. These numbers could be bent a bit if need be, but it's important to set some parameters to start with.

3. We want players with playoff experience, guys who have started on teams that have won a playoff series. Sure, guys who haven't won yet may do so in the next two years, but there's enough talent around that I don't feel the need to bet on it. We only get to pick 12, so the standards need to be high.

4. Understanding that the NBA level of defense is more intense than the rest of the world, we want our team to focus on shooting, protecting the ball, and rebounding.

Last week, trying to put together point guards for this year's Olympics with similar requirements, I wound up with Sam Cassell and Chauncey Billups, with Damon Stoudamire as an alternate and Baron Davis as the last cut. Obviously, Cassell and Stoudamire will be too old for China, so they're out. Billups we'll keep, but what about Davis? And who would be the alternate?

I'm not going to reopen the whole thing here (feel free to read the earlier entry), but Mike Bibby was eliminated because it was said he would refuse an invitation. But two years from now? Who knows? We'll assume someone can talk him into it, so he's a keeper. For the alternate spot (which may be a roster spot, depending on how the rest of the team plays out) Baron Davis still seems a step above the other candidates, even with his spotty three-point shooting record and poor assist-to-turnover ratio. So many of the young NBA point guards just don't have big game experience.

So there it is. The Point Guards will be Mike Bibby and Chauncey Billups, with Baron Davis as the alternate. Not a bad start, not bad at all.

Links Email The Captain Click for West Palm Beach, Florida Forecast
Starting Five
  • Shaquille O'Neal
  • Christian Laettner
  • Rasual Butler
  • Eddie Jones
  • Dwyane Wade
  • Key Reserves
  • Damon Jones
  • Udonis Haslem
  • Michael Doleac
  • Wesley Person
  • Malik Allen
  • Keyon Dooling
  • Dorell Wright
  • Others
  • Jerome Beasley
  • Matt Freije
  • Albert Miralles
  • Wang Zhizhi
  • Local Sports Pages
    Hoop Bloggers (There Ain't A Lot Of Us)
    Key Hoops Websites