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Off Topic: Ideal Team USA Starting 5

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Off Topic: Ideal Team USA Starting 5 

Post#1 » by MagicFan101 » Sun Aug 21, 2016 8:53 pm

I'm sure some side debates on this of sprouted out in other threads regarding whether or not our players will make the team, but I had a very interesting conversation with a Chinese friend at work the other day who is a big time basketball fan.

Forget injuries, withdraws or whatever other excuse. Think of this as a hypothetical military draft where you play or are sentenced to life in prison / execution. :)

Who would your starting 5 be for the best TEAM we could send? I want to super emphasize TEAM here. So putting Curry, Harden, KD, Melo and Cousins out there is 100% against the spirit of this question and as we have seen multiple times in Rio, going out with all isolation guys leaves us vulnerable to a team of far less talent but much better chemistry.

For SG, PF and C I easily selected Klay Thompson, Anthony Davis and Deandre Jordon. I love the offensive rebounding and shot blocking of a Davis / Jordon front court, along with the full court game of Klay.

PG and SF were the hardest for me to pick.

I love Westbrook but his game might not translate to the international game as well as others. So with Klay already here, I go with the chemistry factor and chose Curry at PG.

Call me absolutely nuts, but at SF I passed on Lebron, Melo and KD! We have enough shooters and ball handlers already. So I went with KL.

My Starting 5:
Curry
Klay
Kawhi
Davis
Jordon

No team with Curry and Thompson will struggle offensively but this lineup has a much greater defensive presence and less iso guys standing around than the current team USA starting 5. But is this the best lineup? Who would you guys pick?
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Re: Off Topic: Ideal Team USA Starting 5 

Post#2 » by j-ragg » Sun Aug 21, 2016 9:42 pm

I think this should be our Olympic/FIBA lineup

PG
PG
SF
SF
C

In my eyes, I'd go
Russell Westbrook
Steph Curry
Kawhi Leonard
Kevin Durant
Draymond Green (or DJ)

Davis/Jordan is too big and slow up front, other teams bigs have too good of perimeter capability.
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Re: Off Topic: Ideal Team USA Starting 5 

Post#3 » by MagicFan101 » Sun Aug 21, 2016 9:48 pm

j-ragg wrote:I think this should be our Olympic/FIBA lineup

PG
PG
SF
SF
C

In my eyes, I'd go
Russell Westbrook
Steph Curry
Kawhi Leonard
Kevin Durant
Draymond Green (or DJ)

Davis/Jordan is too big and slow up front, other teams bigs have too good of perimeter capability.


Yeah, I went back and forth between Davis and Green at PF. But this team has been much more productive overall with DJ in over Cousins. So I like having on there.

It's a good problem to have but this really is a tough job. There is just so much talent but how do you optimize it?
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Re: Off Topic: Ideal Team USA Starting 5 

Post#4 » by Xatticus » Mon Aug 22, 2016 5:56 am

I'd slide Davis to the five and put in Durant or LeBron; probably Durant due to his size. I like Kawhi just fine over LeBron. He is an incredible player that is still somehow underappreciated even though he is highly regarded.

I wouldn't take Westbrook. I think he would do more harm than good. He is a great player, but he doesn't seem to understand that he isn't always the best option on the floor. On a roster with so much offensive firepower, him imposing his will on the game would just be doing the other team a favor.
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Re: Off Topic: Ideal Team USA Starting 5 

Post#5 » by drsd » Thu Aug 25, 2016 10:39 am

Here is hoping for 2x2 half-court getting the Olympic nod. Would it be Durant and Davis, Curry and James, or another tandem?
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Re: Off Topic: Ideal Team USA Starting 5 

Post#6 » by Jiwol » Thu Aug 25, 2016 11:21 am

I wanted to put magic starting five here just for laughs then I realized how many international players we actually have on this team. Fournier, Ibaka, Biyombo, Vucevic, Hezonja. Wondering if any other team has as strong international core as we do.
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Re: Off Topic: Ideal Team USA Starting 5 

Post#7 » by darthcheech2000 » Thu Aug 25, 2016 12:16 pm

Curry
Redick
Lebron
AG
Howard

Went for the "Team" and wore my homer glasses
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