Starting Lineup for TeamUSA in Rio?

[NBAfan3024]

Paul George is a better man to man defender than KD.

Fair enough but that's where it ends. Even then Durant showed In the playoffs he is a good defender so the gap isn't huge.

He is a better ball handler and to me a better 3 pt shooter. Plus, he does not seem to be the chocker durant is.

I think if George improves a bit next year the gap between the two Will not be that big.

George is really a wonderfull all around player.
I am a Pacers fan but I would not trade durant for George straight up.

Better shooter? Cmon he's no where near the shooter Durant is.

I get that you wouldn't trade George as a pacer fan

I fail to see how you can label Durant a choker when George has done nothing to take the pacers anywhere in a shocking conference

[bmurph128]

Fair enough but that's where it ends. Even then Durant showed In the playoffs he is a good defender so the gap isn't huge.

He is a better ball handler and to me a better 3 pt shooter. Plus, he does not seem to be the chocker durant is.

I think if George improves a bit next year the gap between the two Will not be that big.

George is really a wonderfull all around player.
I am a Pacers fan but I would not trade durant for George straight up.

Better shooter? Cmon he's no where near the shooter Durant is.

I get that you wouldn't trade George as a pacer fan

I fail to see how you can label Durant a choker when George has done nothing to take the pacers anywhere in a shocking conference

To be fair, George has always played LeBron better than Durant has.

You can say shocking conference all you want, but few players would have done better than George going up against LeBron and any team he was on, and obviously the injury set him back.

[davidfr94]

Fair enough but that's where it ends. Even then Durant showed In the playoffs he is a good defender so the gap isn't huge.

He is a better ball handler and to me a better 3 pt shooter. Plus, he does not seem to be the chocker durant is.

I think if George improves a bit next year the gap between the two Will not be that big.

George is really a wonderfull all around player.
I am a Pacers fan but I would not trade durant for George straight up.

Better shooter? Cmon he's no where near the shooter Durant is.

I get that you wouldn't trade George as a pacer fan

I fail to see how you can label Durant a choker when George has done nothing to take the pacers anywhere in a shocking conference

George is actually one of the best 3pt shooter in the League while durant showed during the PO that he is not the shooter he used to be.

George was the franchise player for a team that had a shot at the championship for two years and was eliminated by the super Miami team in ECF both years. Except for those two years, the Pacers were a fringe play off team. That is not a choker to me.
(And there is also this https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=M9v715itxFo)

What we can say though is that George had less opportunities to show the world he is not one. But so far he does not look like one.

Also, i dont really understand the Logic behind The "durant is not a choker because George has done nothing to take the Pacers anywhere" (and the last part is not even true).

[NBAfan3024]

He is a better ball handler and to me a better 3 pt shooter. Plus, he does not seem to be the chocker durant is.

I think if George improves a bit next year the gap between the two Will not be that big.

George is really a wonderfull all around player.
I am a Pacers fan but I would not trade durant for George straight up.

Better shooter? Cmon he's no where near the shooter Durant is.

I get that you wouldn't trade George as a pacer fan

I fail to see how you can label Durant a choker when George has done nothing to take the pacers anywhere in a shocking conference

To be fair, George has always played LeBron better than Durant has.

You can say shocking conference all you want, but few players would have done better than George going up against LeBron and any team he was on, and obviously the injury set him back.

This has nothing to do with Lebron so not sure why you are even mentioning him. He was healthy this year yet couldn't even get them higher than 7th seed

George is a quality player but not on Durant level yet

[NBAfan3024]

He is a better ball handler and to me a better 3 pt shooter. Plus, he does not seem to be the chocker durant is.

I think if George improves a bit next year the gap between the two Will not be that big.

George is really a wonderfull all around player.
I am a Pacers fan but I would not trade durant for George straight up.

Better shooter? Cmon he's no where near the shooter Durant is.

I get that you wouldn't trade George as a pacer fan

I fail to see how you can label Durant a choker when George has done nothing to take the pacers anywhere in a shocking conference

George is actually one of the best 3pt shooter in the League while durant showed during the PO that he is not the shooter he used to be.

George was the franchise player for a team that had a shot at the championship for two years and was eliminated by the super Miami team in ECF both years. Except for those two years, the Pacers were a fringe play off team. That is not a choker to me.
(And there is also this https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=M9v715itxFo)

What we can say though is that George had less opportunities to show the world he is not one. But so far he does not look like one.

Also, i dont really understand the Logic behind The "durant is not a choker because George has done nothing to take the Pacers anywhere" (and the last part is not even true).

Just because they faced Miami doesn't mean they were a contender. They lost in round two to Miami one year btw

Durant % were down in the playoffs but hardly a surprise going up against Spurs and warriors. The offence clearly wasn't based suited either in playoff basketball. He's now in a much better situation where the ball actually moves better.

Either way George has a way to go to get to Durant level. If he was so good pacers wouldn't of struggled to make the playoffs

[SF_Warriors]

I definitely would start Cousins over Jordan. Bring Jordan off the bench. I like the above lineup. No Harden on the team?

Harden declined

[bmurph128]

Better shooter? Cmon he's no where near the shooter Durant is.

I get that you wouldn't trade George as a pacer fan

I fail to see how you can label Durant a choker when George has done nothing to take the pacers anywhere in a shocking conference

To be fair, George has always played LeBron better than Durant has.

You can say shocking conference all you want, but few players would have done better than George going up against LeBron and any team he was on, and obviously the injury set him back.

This has nothing to do with Lebron so not sure why you are even mentioning him. He was healthy this year yet couldn't even get them higher than 7th seed

George is a quality player but not on Durant level yet

Because he's the standard for current NBA players? How individual players measure up to LeBron is how I would judge them if I was a fan of another team. But even so, I was just pointing out that George has done better than Durant in some regards.

[NBAfan3024]

To be fair, George has always played LeBron better than Durant has.

You can say shocking conference all you want, but few players would have done better than George going up against LeBron and any team he was on, and obviously the injury set him back.

This has nothing to do with Lebron so not sure why you are even mentioning him. He was healthy this year yet couldn't even get them higher than 7th seed

George is a quality player but not on Durant level yet

Because he's the standard for current NBA players? How individual players measure up to LeBron is how I would judge them if I was a fan of another team. But even so, I was just pointing out that George has done better than Durant in some regards.

Didn't Durant average 32 a game against LeBron in the finals?

Durant numbers have always been good against LeBron. LeBron simply has always had more experienced and better teams for the most part while being better himself

[Jkam31]

I honestly thought people were talking about Michael Jordan. Coach K would have to get his brain checked if he started DJ over Cousins, you can see the DMC hate in some of you for that, unbelievable.


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[jonjames]

If I didn't know who harrison barnes was or seen him play based off reading these comments I would have thought he was some total scrub, which he isn't. He wont see much playing time but his role is to be the glue guy for this usa team ala nic batum. Great size for wing forward, high character guy, high bball iq, game more geared towards team ball(intl play), playoff experience is why he made the team. on top of all that, while being the worst player on team usa hes arguably the best player for many other countries.

[tidho]

Warriors fans out in force to defend Durant's superiority over George, lol.

I'd say there are three absolute locks to start - Kyrie, Durant, and Melo.
I could see Cousins and George rounding things out.

[r1terrell23]

did someone say paul george is better then durant?

PG's #2 on my list behind LJ..great all-around player. Too bad Bird's gone brain dead.

1. LJ
2. PG
3. Leonard
4. KD
5. CP3

Hello Bird.

[NuggetsWY]

Mobility is important in Olympic play, spacing & IQ are close behind. It is definitely not about who is the best NBA player. I'd expect a starting lineup of
Jordan
Green
Durrant
Thompson
Lowry

[Austincys21]

C- Draymond Green / Demarcus Cousins / Deandre Jordan
PF- Carmelo Anthony / Harrison Barnes
SF- Kevin Durant / Jimmy Butler
SG- Paul George / Klay Thompson / Demar Derozan
PG- Kyrie Irving / Kyle Lowry

[Bball0000]

pg - Kyrie (best pg, lock)
sg - Klay (need shooting vs zone, great def)
sf - George (better fit with KD than Melo)
pf - Durant (obvious lock)
c - Cousins (played well last time)

[Ancalagon]

PG: Irving/Lowry
SG: Thompson/George/Butler/Derozan
SF: George/Durant/Butler/Anthony
PF: Durant/Anthony/Green
C: Cousins/Green/Jordan

[SF_Warriors]

Warriors fans out in force to defend Durant's superiority over George, lol.

I'd say there are three absolute locks to start - Kyrie, Durant, and Melo.
I could see Cousins and George rounding things out.

More like multiple fans of different teams..What's with you and the warriors hate? Always see you posting negative stuff about the dubs

[mvpshaq32]

Melo is a lock. seniority rules.

DJ/Cousins
Durant/Draymond
Melo/George
Klay/Butler
Kyrie/Lowry

[Zombiesonics]

I can be talked into george replacing klay during clutch time, i wish they put another true pg or combo guard on the team instead of DDR. i dont even know if lowry and kyrie are top five nba point guards ( playoff kyrie is sure, but who knows if he has enough gas). thats the teams achilles hill, they are loaded up front.

[SF_Warriors]

DMC - Guy deserves to start. Was on the world champ team in 2014 and the best center on the roster. DJ fits with the starting lineup as well and I feel DMC can be a scorer off the bench type, but DMC's previous FIBA tour seals it for me.
KD - No way he does not start
Melo - PG is clearly a better player, but melo has been with team usa for literally his entire career. Deserves to start for his commitment and familiarity with team usa. Also still not too shabby of a player as well.
Klay - I think butler can start as well, toss up for me. Coach K can go with elite defense and good offense versus elite shooting and solid defense.
Irving - NBA champion, last FIBA world cup mvp, has a game tailor-made for international play