Dwight Howard confirmed Olympic athlete

[drsd]

The confirmed roster is:
LeBron James
Kobe Bryant alongside.
Dwyane Wade
Carmelo Anthony
Tayshaun Prince
Carlos Boozer
Chris Bosh
Dwight Howard
Chris Paul
Michael Redd
Deron Williams

Some nice guards, but Howard and Boozer are going to over-log minutes! If the Americans dumped Williams and Redd (redundant to other players on the roster), and add an Al Jefferson and/or a Marcus Camby and/or a Chris Kaman, the roster would be A LOT more balanced. (And with a ring on his finger, KG would have been a big help!)

Good luck the Americans! and good luck to Dwight not running out of gas for the coming season!!!

ESPN: U.S. men's team announced

The team was selected without a tryout. It will have a minicamp this week in Las Vegas and reconvene there July 20-25 to train and play an exhibition against Canada before heading overseas.

The Americans open Olympic play against China on Aug. 10.

[MitchellUK]

I was thinking the same thing about the bigs. The roster is loaded with perimeter guys. The international game is different, and there are fewer imposing big men out there, but having only three interior guys, one of whom (Bosh) is not overly physical, seems wrong.

[magicmamma]

Previously, Coach K has usually played one big at a time. Didn't he also have three last summer?

[Potterman]

This is not the best roster we could have assembled.

KG - Chandler - West - Al Jefferson - Tim Duncan are all players that had a legit shot at being selected. I am shocked.

Heck I even forgot -
Amare - Marion - Emeka (?)

[flyingvee]

Yea, he did play one big man early on and it worked aganst the weaker teams but they didnt get the gold, did they? In fact a lot of that run Greece had that put them up in adition to the threes was how Schortisianitis pounded them inside. Again team USA still has Stern up their ass telling tem to have Bryant and James and Anthony AND WADE that we on;y ave three big guys. And three point guards? Should be an interesting tournament, though I have a really bad vibe that Greece will choke in the qualifier next month and not make it.

[Versubio]

Dwight Howard made the roster of team USA? OMG! This shouldn't surprise anybody, he's the best center in the NBA and the USA currently.

[mhectorgato]

More "nehow y'all" youtube clips to come.

[TNMagicFan]

I don't understand that at all . We need at least 4 bigs , preferably 5 . I guess we could play Lebron at the 4 , at 6'9 and 260 he is big enough

[damo[23]]

Good stuff;

though have to say I am looking forward more to the 2012 London games - gonna watch every game I can then.

[Magic.City.23.]

Hopefully we dont have to face Yao Ming and that Chinese frontline.

[ProfX]

^^ yea they clone them big over there.. We needed at least one more big over there. They prob will play Carmelo and Lebron at the 4 but I think your playing with fire if one or more of the bigs get in foul trouble.

[drsd]

The more I think about it, the more I think a guy like Chris Kaman should be on the American roster. He would be a thug that would get the ugly work done.

Just win.

[drsd]

The Orlando Magic won't admit it now -- it would be unpatriotic -- but they should be more than a little bit worried about the 12-man roster of the USA Olympic Team that was named Monday.

O-Sen Link

[flyingvee]

Exactly my point. After a season of getting banged all season long because Otis felt we didn't need a PF to protect Dwight, team US will expose to him to the even more brutal European inside play no other big to be next to him, unless they play Boozer alongside him, but right now seems like Anthony will be the PF again, as the NBA just MUST have that trio of James, Bryant and Anthony playing big minutes. Neither Bryant nor James are PG which brings in Kidd.

Kind of ironic to read the magic being worried about Dwight being the only center on the team considering they went the season with Lewis as the PF.

[mhectorgato]

Exactly my point. After a season of getting banged all season long because Otis felt we didn't need a PF to protect Dwight, team US will expose to him to the even more brutal European inside play no other big to be next to him, unless they play Boozer alongside him, but right now seems like Anthony will be the PF again, as the NBA just MUST have that trio of James, Bryant and Anthony playing big minutes. Neither Bryant nor James are PG which brings in Kidd.

Kind of ironic to read the magic being worried about Dwight being the only center on the team considering they went the season with Lewis as the PF.

I thought that for the most part (Super Mario being an exception) that Euro big men are not bangers.