Before attempting to win its third gold medal in a row at the 2016 Summer Olympics, Team USA will kick things off with a minicamp in Las Vegas.
The United States has dominated international basketball as of late, with 63 straight wins, including victories at the 2008 and 2012 Olympics as well as the 2010 and 2014 FIBA World Championships. Now it's time for the holdovers from past runs to join the newer class of stars to try to bring home another title.
While it will take some time to decide on the final 12-man roster headed to Rio de Janeiro next summer, the upcoming three-day camp will feature 34 players trying to make the team. Here is a look at what you need to know about the event and participants.
Schedule (via USAB.com)
Tuesday, Aug. 11 (3-5 p.m. ET): USA Basketball National Team Practice, Mendenhall Center, UNLV
Wednesday, Aug. 12 (3-5 p.m. ET): USA Basketball National Team Practice, Mendenhall Center, UNLV
Thursday, Aug. 13 (10:30 p.m. ET): 2015 USA Basketball Showcase, Thomas & Mack Center, UNLV
There were initial concerns about LeBron James missing this minicamp because of a scheduling conflict, which would put his future with the team in doubt. However, ESPN's Dave McMenamin reported the superstar will at least make an appearance in Las Vegas:
Meanwhile, USA Basketball managing director Jerry Colangelo recently explained that the practices aren't extremely important in this event anyway.
"This is really more about what we are doing in the team meetings than what we do in the practice sessions,” Colangelo told Sean Deveney of Sporting News. “Literally, it will be very light, no-contact two days of activity—let’s call it an NBA All-Star Game, no contact."
With this in mind, it won't be surprising to see some of the snubbed players, such as Damian Lillard or Derrick Rose, later get consideration for the final team.
As for those set to be active participants in the camp, it seems head coach Mike Krzyzewski has a lot of tough choices ahead. The good news is the presence of those who can play specific roles within a loaded roster.
Stephen Curry, James Harden and Anthony Davis were the stars of the last competitive USA team, which won the 2014 FIBA World Championship.
Each of these big-time players went on to have the best years of his career during the NBA season and should be even better next time around. Adding this type of talent to All-Stars like James, Kevin Durant, Dwight Howard and others makes this a dominant group.
Even with the best roster in the competition, however, it's important to have guys who can round out the team and help in various ways.
All-NBA Defensive Team members Kawhi Leonard, Draymond Green and DeAndre Jordan all earned invites to the camp and would be valuable members on the roster even if they aren't go-to options offensively. Leonard has especially raised his game lately, and Nate Silver of FiveThirtyEight considers him extremely underpaid based on his value to the San Antonio Spurs:
Jimmy Butler, Kenneth Faried and Chandler Parsons could also be valuable assets thanks to their experience of playing smaller roles in the past before blowing up in recent years. They might be better suited coming off the bench and performing compared to Rudy Gay or DeMar DeRozan.
In any case, there is no question Team USA will end up with a talented roster that will be favored to take home another gold medal. The hope from this camp is that everyone stays healthy and we get one step closer to figuring out which players will make the final team.
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Source: Rob Goldberg http://ift.tt/1gwdik6
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