Team USA will be putting emphasis on size in the upcoming FIBA World Cup of Basketball after relying heavily on speed and athleticism in the past two tournaments.
This explains the inclusion of little known Mason Plumlee of the Brooklyn Nets and Detroit Pistons' young star Andre Drummond to the final 12-man roster which was announced last Friday.
Via ESPN, U. S. basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo said: "This gives us an opportunity to do some things we haven't had a chance to do in the past. It's true that the preferred style of play [in recent years] has been going small, but you have to ask: Was that by choice or by necessity?"
The inclusion of Drummond and Plumlee will give the team a couple of 6-foot-10 players skilled and big enough to battle the frontline of its opponents. Also on the roster are starters Anthony Davis and Kenneth Faried and Kings franchise star DeMarcus Cousins.
Colangelo continued "Early on [this summer], we said it would be hard to carry four bigs, but that was kind of put on the shelf. Certainly there won't be any discussion going forward about, 'What are you going to do about bigs, what are you going to do about playing teams with size?' If Coach wishes to show a big front line, he now has the capacity to do so."
The Americans relied much on their speed and athleticism in winning the 2010 edition of the tournament as well as the 2012 Olympics. But it's also presumed the team was forced to go big this time, what with the withdrawals of some of its top players like Kevin Durant and Blake Griffin, as well as the freak injury to Paul George.
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