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07-22-2010, 12:41 AM
http://lh6.ggpht.com/_z6My_aSE_CU/S0M6uhtYrTI/AAAAAAAAFIw/5KBF8XtYvR8/s640/tyreke_evans_kings_purple.jpg
Damn that's a beast ass squad....
LAS VEGAS -- It turns out that the point guards in USA Basketball training camp this week aren't exactly competing against each other. In fact, it's very possible that Team USA's starting backcourt when the FIBA World Championship begins on Aug. 28 will be comprised of two All-Star floor generals.
In the first two days of training camp, the point guards here have been sharing time on the floor in both drills and scrimmages. Chauncey Billups has teamed with Rajon Rondo. Derrick Rose has teamed with both Russell Westbrook and Tyreke Evans.
Team USA head coach Mike Krzyzewski hasn't been afraid to put guys in positions that they're not necessarily comfortable with, telling NBA TV that the players would have to "adapt to each other and adapt to the group you're with."
Krzyzewski doesn't look at Billups, Evans, Rondo, Rose and Westbrook as just point guards. Instead, he lumps them together with other guards like Stephen Curry, Eric Gordon and O.J. Mayo.
"I'd rather not say it's a point guard competition, because, say, Rose and Westbrook could play together," Krzyzewski said. "This isn't a chart, where if this guy's picked, this guy's not. I'd rather look at the guards together, and whether we take four or five of them depends on the chemistry and what we want to do."
Despite Jason Kidd's retirement from international competition and the decisions of Chris Paul and Deron Williams to not participate this summer, the point is still a position of strength for Team USA. When a player like Evans - Rookie of the Year and one of only three players in the league to average 20 points, five rebounds and five assists last season -- is unlikely to make the roster, you know you're in good shape at the point.
"The guards and [Kevin] Durant are the pillars you start building the team on," Krzyzewski said.
And defense is where he wants to exploit Team USA's strength in the backcourt.
"I think we start the game going after people," Krzyzewski said. "A lot of that has to do with your point of attack. And that's the on-ball defense. You have in Rondo, Westbrook, Rose, three guys who can really pressure the ball."
He had that in Paul and Williams in 2008, but not with Kidd. So the pressure defense came more when the second unit came into the game, with Dwyane Wade as the other sub in the backcourt. This year, the plan is to turn up the pressure from the start and never let up.
A backcourt of Rondo and Westbrook would be a nightmare for opposing guards trying to bring the ball up the floor, but two non-shooters together would also allow defenses to pack the paint on the other end. Evans, Rondo, Rose and Westbrook combined to shoot just 92-for-385 (24 percent) from 3-point range last season. The FIBA 3-point line is three feet in from the NBA line, but none of the four young points can be counted on to consistently knock down long-distance jumpers.
So Billups, the only good shooter of the group, is the clear candidate to team with one of the others if Krzyzewski chooses to go with a two-point backcourt. In the FIBA Americas tournament in 2007, Billups shared the backcourt at times with both Kidd and Williams. And he's fine with someone else handling the point guard duties, knowing that he's still going to get the opportunity to make plays.
"Even off the ball, you're going to run pick-and-rolls," Billups said. "We're going to play fast and push it up. With that being the case, I'm going to see a lot time off the ball."
Having lost three big men already and with several players able to play more than one position, the words that may best describe the eventual U.S. roster are flexible and unconventional. And Krzyzewski believes that, with two point guards on the floor together, the U.S. has plenty of flexibility.
"Either one can bring the ball up. Either one can pressure," Krzyzewski said. "And we have to look at it that way."
So instead of carrying three point guards on the roster, like they did in 2007 and 2008, Team USA may just go four-deep at the point. And a starting backcourt of Rose and Billups is very much a possibility. In the end, it's about putting your five best players on the floor. And if two of them happen to be point guards, let the other team try to adjust.
http://www.nba.com/2010/news/feature...s=iref:nbahpt1 (http://www.nba.com/2010/news/features/john_schuhmann/07/21/usa.guards/index.html?ls=iref:nbahpt1)
(View full article @ BX below)
NBA "Tyreke Evans Probably won't make Team USA" (http://slumz.boxden.com/showthread.php?t=1398619&goto=newpost)
Damn that's a beast ass squad....
LAS VEGAS -- It turns out that the point guards in USA Basketball training camp this week aren't exactly competing against each other. In fact, it's very possible that Team USA's starting backcourt when the FIBA World Championship begins on Aug. 28 will be comprised of two All-Star floor generals.
In the first two days of training camp, the point guards here have been sharing time on the floor in both drills and scrimmages. Chauncey Billups has teamed with Rajon Rondo. Derrick Rose has teamed with both Russell Westbrook and Tyreke Evans.
Team USA head coach Mike Krzyzewski hasn't been afraid to put guys in positions that they're not necessarily comfortable with, telling NBA TV that the players would have to "adapt to each other and adapt to the group you're with."
Krzyzewski doesn't look at Billups, Evans, Rondo, Rose and Westbrook as just point guards. Instead, he lumps them together with other guards like Stephen Curry, Eric Gordon and O.J. Mayo.
"I'd rather not say it's a point guard competition, because, say, Rose and Westbrook could play together," Krzyzewski said. "This isn't a chart, where if this guy's picked, this guy's not. I'd rather look at the guards together, and whether we take four or five of them depends on the chemistry and what we want to do."
Despite Jason Kidd's retirement from international competition and the decisions of Chris Paul and Deron Williams to not participate this summer, the point is still a position of strength for Team USA. When a player like Evans - Rookie of the Year and one of only three players in the league to average 20 points, five rebounds and five assists last season -- is unlikely to make the roster, you know you're in good shape at the point.
"The guards and [Kevin] Durant are the pillars you start building the team on," Krzyzewski said.
And defense is where he wants to exploit Team USA's strength in the backcourt.
"I think we start the game going after people," Krzyzewski said. "A lot of that has to do with your point of attack. And that's the on-ball defense. You have in Rondo, Westbrook, Rose, three guys who can really pressure the ball."
He had that in Paul and Williams in 2008, but not with Kidd. So the pressure defense came more when the second unit came into the game, with Dwyane Wade as the other sub in the backcourt. This year, the plan is to turn up the pressure from the start and never let up.
A backcourt of Rondo and Westbrook would be a nightmare for opposing guards trying to bring the ball up the floor, but two non-shooters together would also allow defenses to pack the paint on the other end. Evans, Rondo, Rose and Westbrook combined to shoot just 92-for-385 (24 percent) from 3-point range last season. The FIBA 3-point line is three feet in from the NBA line, but none of the four young points can be counted on to consistently knock down long-distance jumpers.
So Billups, the only good shooter of the group, is the clear candidate to team with one of the others if Krzyzewski chooses to go with a two-point backcourt. In the FIBA Americas tournament in 2007, Billups shared the backcourt at times with both Kidd and Williams. And he's fine with someone else handling the point guard duties, knowing that he's still going to get the opportunity to make plays.
"Even off the ball, you're going to run pick-and-rolls," Billups said. "We're going to play fast and push it up. With that being the case, I'm going to see a lot time off the ball."
Having lost three big men already and with several players able to play more than one position, the words that may best describe the eventual U.S. roster are flexible and unconventional. And Krzyzewski believes that, with two point guards on the floor together, the U.S. has plenty of flexibility.
"Either one can bring the ball up. Either one can pressure," Krzyzewski said. "And we have to look at it that way."
So instead of carrying three point guards on the roster, like they did in 2007 and 2008, Team USA may just go four-deep at the point. And a starting backcourt of Rose and Billups is very much a possibility. In the end, it's about putting your five best players on the floor. And if two of them happen to be point guards, let the other team try to adjust.
http://www.nba.com/2010/news/feature...s=iref:nbahpt1 (http://www.nba.com/2010/news/features/john_schuhmann/07/21/usa.guards/index.html?ls=iref:nbahpt1)
(View full article @ BX below)
NBA "Tyreke Evans Probably won't make Team USA" (http://slumz.boxden.com/showthread.php?t=1398619&goto=newpost)