NEW YORK — Derrick Rose will play Friday against Puerto Rico, we have been assured.
Of course, knee soreness has a way of changing things — which was why Rose did not play Wednesday against the Dominican Republic. As I wrote Tuesday, Rose’s status and questions over his ability to play five games in six nights remain the biggest roster questions surrounding Team USA.
As for the other cuts that will get the roster down from 16 to 12, Gordon Hayward now seems the most likely to receive the “Thanks for coming” speech before the rest of Team USA boards a plane Saturday to head to Grand Canaria.
Hayward scored four points in 14 minutes with a pair of steals Wednesday night in a 105-62 victory over the Dominicans.
Of all the bubble guys, he did the least to distinguish himself.
The others:
_Andre Drummond was a beast in the second half and finished with 12 points and five rebounds in 16 minutes, giving the coaching staff something to think about: Should he be brought along as a fifth big man, joining Anthony Davis, DeMarcus Cousins, Mason Plumlee and Kenneth Faried?
_Damian Lillard had seven points in 24 minutes but was cited by coach Mike Krzyzewski for his tough pressure defense in a team-high 24 minutes. He remains on the bubble, but the fact that he can play both guard positions works in his favor — especially with Rose iffy.
_DeMar DeRozan had 13 points on 6-for-9 shooting with six assists and five rebounds in 23 minutes, the second-highest amount of playing time of the 12 guys who saw action.
Kyle Korver and Chandler Parsons did not play, but both will see action Friday against Puerto Rico, Coach K said.
With less than three days to decide what to do with the roster, there are no easy choices. OK, no easy choices aside from trimming Hayward from the roster.
Korver could be brought along as a pure zone buster, but Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson can do that quite well themselves, and both are ahead of Korver on the roster. The guess here is that Korver is cut, too, before Saturday.
Parsons is capable of sliding over from small forward to power forward, which is what Rudy Gay does, too. That versatility should work in his favor, but whether it is enough to get him onto the final roster is questionable. DeRozan’s ability to create his own shot off the dribble is something Krzyzewski likes.
After one intrasquad scrimmage and two exhibition games, I imagine they will take 14 guys to Spain on Saturday. In my opinion, this is what the rotation looks like:
Starters:
Anthony Davis, Faried, James Harden, Curry, Rose.
Reserve bigs:
Cousins, Plumlee, Gay.
Reserve guards:
Irving, Thompson, DeRozan
Bubble guys (three get cut):
Drummond, Parsons, Lillard, Korver (and Rose, if his knee soreness prevents him from playing back-to-back-to backs).
See ya …
Hayward.
Chris Sheridan is publisher and editor-in-chief of SheridanHoops.com. He has covered every senior U.S. men’s national team since the 1996 Olympics. Follow him on Twitter.
Parsons hasn’t done anything at all distinguish himself above Hayward. In the first game Hayward was one of the most impressive in limited minutes. This last game he found a way to impact the game without the ball in his hands. DeRozan has earned his spot on this team (I didn’t think he’d make it but with Rose’s lingering soreness and his impressive play I think he has earned himself a spot).
Final 12 if I got to choose:
Rose
Irving
Curry
Harden
Thompson
Hayward
Gay
DeRozan
Farried
Davis
Drummond
Cousins
Also can’t see how you give Parsons any advantage at versatility. Hayward can play 2, 3, 4. Parsons 3, 4. Hayward and Parsons are now almost the exact same size.
Agree with everything except Plumlee over Drummond. There is not a single facet of Plumlees game that is better than Drummonds. In my opinion AD makes it over MP easily.
I agree that Hayward and Korver are most likely to be cut, as long as Parsons plays well Friday. Parson’s length/versatility and NBA record give him the advantage. The athletic players, Gay and DeRozan distinguished themselves.
Regarding having 5 true Bigs among final 12, that’s not unreasonable, especially if final game is vs. Spain – Need extra Big for emergency (injury/foul trouble), although could always use Gay or Parsons at PF in all other games.
With 12 players for 5 positions, that’s (12/5)x2 = 4.8 players for PF+C if not counting the SF’s filling in at PF.
I’d like to see Cousins/Davis starting, which would allow more Bigs to get PT.
I’ve been saying from beginning that Drummond is a Beast and despite poor FT shooting (Mason inconsistent too) if have to make a cut, Plumlee would get over it easily. Plumlee will be vying to be starting PF for B’klyn this season, since Brook Lopez is a stretch Center, who dropped over 15 lbs already (down to 125).
Definitely have to bring Lillard to Spain along with Rose and make final two cuts at deadline (after testing Rose in 2 more games).
As most agree the 1st big decision is Rose vs Lillard and I’d play it safe with Lillard.
If go with 5 Bigs, then would have to make final cut from DeRozan, Thompson or Parsons.
If go with 5 Bigs, would still have Gay, Harden and two of the above three at SF.
How does length/versatility give him an advantage when those are Hayward’s strong points as well. In fact Hayward is a better ball handler/playmaker than Parsons. His shooting suffered last season, but career numbers are comparable. Also Parsons hasn’t done anything to distinguish himself in camp/exhibition games either. I just don’t get how you are coming up with Parsons as a clear leader in this race.
Because of the uncertainty surrounding Rose’s ability to play every night, Irving will remain the starting PG, with Rose being the energy guy off the bench much like Wade was in the last Olympics. That uncertainty will also necessitate carrying three true PGs.That should guarantee Lillard a spot on the team. Jerry Colangelo mentioned that he would like to see lots of Bigs on his bench. So I think all five of the Bigs that Chris mentioned make the team. Therefore I think Hayward, Parsons and Korver don’t make the plane to Europe, and one of the 13 remaining will be cut when the final roster has to be submitted to FIBA.
Hayward is much better then this guy is giving him credit for. Do I absolutely believe without a doubt he will make the team? No. But, I do believe that coach K will still have a hard time cutting him. His versatility makes him so valuable to team USA because they have no KD and they don’t have Paul george. If coach K ultimately decides to cut Hayward I understand. But, I also understand if he chooses to keep him around
Lillard, Drummond, Parsons, and Korver get cut and Hayward stays. Watch. Parsons has done NOTHING to show he deserves a spot over Hayward. Hayward’s 7 point, 2 assist, 2 rebound, 2 steal game at the scrimmage testifies of his versatility.
You’re an idiot. Hayward’s first to go.
Agree that Hayward will get cut but this article is far from objective. Why wasn’t plumlee brought up? Seems to me he’s the most obvious to go. Parsons definitely didn’t do more than Hayward whose 7 2 2 really doesn’t look all that bad when you look at the box score. Not that he won’t get cut, he will.
How about Korver’s stat stuffing 3min he played last game? That really put him ahead of the pack too. 0 for 1 with zeros across the box score.
How is Parsons’ 0-1 FG 1 TO 1 Reb and 1 Stl in 5min “doing more to distinguish himself” than Hayward. Hayward is every bit as versatile as Parsons. He is a better playmaker than Parsons or Korver he just isn’t forcing it. He knows there are plenty of playmakers out there already.