Step forward, but job not complete Charley Rosen Special to FOXSports.com, Updated 18 hours ago Now that the rims have stopped vibrating from Team USA's perpetual dunks, now that the nets are stilled after being routinely twitched by the barrage of 3-pointers, now that the scoreboard has cooled off, what are the prospects for gold in Beijing? As dominant as Team USA was, the FIBA Americas Championship provided some mitigating circumstances and several red flags as well. # A close look at the teams that the U.S. dominated in Las Vegas reveals three second-rate squads (Argentina's B team, Brazil, and Puerto Rico), one third-rate ball club (Canada), and a collection of teams that could probably be bested by several of America's mid-ranked college teams. # A team can only play against whichever opponents the schedule provides, but running rampant through such an impotent field is no indication that a gold medal will be guaranteed next summer. # For sure, Team USA's long-range shooting was impressive, but virtually all of their 3-pointers were launched with no defenders in the immediate vicinity. Will they be able to shoot as well under much better defensive pressure? # The zones they faced in Sin City were relatively loose and slow to react. So much so that it was an easy task to create zone-free interior spaces where Dwight Howard and Amare Stoudemire could work one-on-one. How will Team USA handle the tighter and quicker-moving zone defenses they'll face in China? # Against the best teams in the world, all of the gambling and snipping on defense will not be nearly as successful. This will mean far fewer breakouts and fast-breaks. In fact, the most veteran international squads have the talent and the know-how to make the U.S. pay dearly for their habitual forays into passing lanes. # Better post-up players will cause serious problems, especially since neither Howard nor Stoudemire proved capable of providing sufficient defensive resistance to the lesser pivot-men they faced in Las Vegas. Also, experienced teams will take full advantage of any double-downs the U.S. will attempt ─ and their superior perimeter shooters won't miss nearly as often as did the Argentineans, the Puerto Ricans, etc. # Even against a sub-par field, Team USA's rebounding was problematic. Their failure to command the defensive boards was particularly significant. # While they handled virtually every screen-and-roll they saw, the teams they'll face in China run these formations with much more force and sophistication. # In various spread formations, Team USA's guards were frequently beaten into the middle by unilateral ball-penetration, and the bigs were slow to react. Against infinitely more talented guards (and wings), this failing could be extremely costly the next time out. # The level of point-guard play behind Jason Kidd was unacceptable. All things considered, then, what adjustments should be made in Team USA's Olympic roster? The essential players are J-Kidd, LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, and Kobe Bryant. These guys represent the core of a gold-medal winning team. The players whose return is important but not quite as critical include Michael Redd (for his shooting and creativity with the ball), Dwight Howard (for his big-shouldered presence near the hoop), and probably Stoudemire (for his quickness). POINT GUARD Chauncey Billups took too many ill-advised shots and seemed a step slow. Deron Williams had difficulty recognizing situations and wound up over-handling. Undoubtedly, Dwyane Wade will take one of these spots ─ most likely replacing Billups. Other candidates include Chris Paul (who isn't strong enough) and Gilbert Arenas (who irked the powers that be with his public complaints over being snubbed last summer). The best bet is to anticipate that, with another season playing for Jerry Sloan, Williams will continue to mature and will be able to speed up his decision-making. Wade in. Billups out. WINGS Mike Krzyzewski got away with playing Melo and LBJ at power forward. This strategy will often be counter-productive in Beijing simply because neither of these two can rebound with the proficiency that this position requires, nor can they play acceptable post-defense. Most likely Coach K will try playing Anthony here as much as possible, if only to keep Kidd, Bryant, LBJ, and Anthony on the floor at the same time. So, with Anthony getting more wing-time, Mike Miller is expendable (because of his poor defense and his poor ball-handling skills) and does not have to be replaced. Tayshaun Prince does play defense, but the addition of D-Wade makes him redundant. Miller out. Prince out. POWER FORWARD In Las Vegas, Team USA functioned without one. They certainly won't try to repeat this strategy in China. The leading candidates are Elton Brand (assuming his Achilles injury is fully healed) and Chris Bosh. It's expected that Bosh will certainly be added, but this would be a huge mistake. Why? Mainly because his frail defense was regularly chumped in last summer's world championship tournament. Remember how he could barely find any playing time? If Brand can't go, then Carlos Boozer should be tabbed. Boozer can score inside and out, he can bang, he can 'bound, he's effective without the ball, and he's already proven to be a valuable player in international competition. Boozer in. Bosh in. BIG MEN Howard is still too raw to be consistently effective against wizened international vets. Stoudemire can't play a vestige of man-to-man defense. Unfortunately, there's no true center on the expanded squad who can supply the beef, the rebounding, and the interior straight-up defense that Team USA will need. Boozer could do double-duty in the front-line. And the NBA's publicity machine will be anxious to add Greg Oden to the mix. Too bad Tim Duncan and Shaquille O'Neal are out of the picture. With the latest edition of Team USA's having been fortified with so many outstanding 3-point shooters, there should be plenty of room in the middle of stretched zone-defenses in which TD and the Biggest Big could operate. Tyson Chandler out. Greg Oden in. The wild-cards will include Chris Paul (for Williams) and Kevin Durant (for either Boozer, Oden, or Bosh). Overwhelming the less-than mediocre competition in Las Vegas does not necessarily mean that the USA has regained its prominence on the international basketball scene. If the right changes and tweaks are implemented, however, then Team USA should indeed be unbeatable next summer in China. But that's then and this is now. All that has been accomplished so far is that the American basketballers have taken a first step in rectifying the many humiliating failures of recent U.S. teams. Sometimes first steps are the hardest. In this case, they were the easiest. http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/7186060 --

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