Gilbert Arenas got some bad news yesterday, learning that a groin strain will be keeping him out of the FIBA World Championships in Japan. You’ll notice that I said it’s bad news for Gilbert, and not necessarily bad news for Team USA. Certainly, injuries are never a good thing, and you want everyone to be as healthy as possible, but at the same time, this injury kinda makes Coach K’s job easier.
The roster was at 14, and it had to be cut down to 12 for the tournament. I was borderline on Gilbert’s inclusion. He’s not enough of a true point guard, and you don’t need him at 2-guard, but at the same time, you’ll miss his shooting touch. It’s nice to have someone of his immense talent just hanging out and waiting to be used, but I’m not sure he was a great fit anywhere.
So there’s one more cut left to be made, and it’s probably coming any day now. The two other names I’ve heard most often as being likely cuts are Bruce Bowen and Antawn Jamison. It’s Jamison that should be going home.
I know that Bowen’s barely been heard of through the exhibition games we’ve played, but he will be useful at times. These big men who can spread the floor have killed us in international competitions, and this coaching staff should use him exactly like the Gregg Popovich used him against Dirk Nowitzki. He might not be able to guard a 7-footer on the block, but he can make his life miserable on the perimeter. Limiting a guy’s effectiveness to the low post area takes away the most lethal part of his game, and there’s a lot of those guys out there. If they send Bruce Bowen home, they’ll regret it.
I can’t think of any situation ever coming up in this tournament where I would be saying, “Man, I’m glad we had Antawn Jamison out there for that.” There’s no chance that that’s going to happen. What does he give you that you don’t already have a ton of? With Bowen, it’s at least a possibility that you’ll be saying, “Wow, Bruce really did some things out there for us that no one else could’ve done.” Send Jamison home, and you’re just not going to miss anything. We have no shortage of guys who can do what he does: score in a variety of ways and play poor defense. We’ve got that area covered, thanks.
Paging Roger Cossack Says:
August 15th, 2006 at 3:02 am
Man, who did you have on the podcast awhile back saying that Carmelo Anthony had no place on this team?
I kinda just wish Gilbert would stay because he so obviously wanted to rep his country.
That’s a great comment on Bruce Bowen vs. Antawn Jamison.
The Bird Says:
August 15th, 2006 at 10:02 am
This sucks. I really wanted to see Arenas out there and he seemed like one of the more excited guys to be on the team.
Adam Says:
August 15th, 2006 at 12:15 pm
Jamison’s offensive game is actually pretty good for international play. He’s pretty much the prototypical Euro-style 4 in that he can step out and hit a jump shot if he needs too in addition to his solid work on the block. I think people sometimes forget that this is a very different game than the one that’s played in the NBA. I’d keep him around. Bruce Bowen, on the other hand, is kinda redundent on a team that will almost certainly have Shane Battier.
thetaphile Says:
August 15th, 2006 at 12:56 pm
I agree with everything above. Gilbert had the right attitude- he knew his limitations (maybe not so starkly and annoyedly as MJD), but he was happy to be there fulfilling a role (three point specialist). Now we’ll watch as Joe Johnson and Chris Paul clank three pointers. Anyone who hates on Antawn apparently only remembers the Dallas days. His last couple seasons in Washington have been revelatory.
Grant