USA vs Brazil Friendly-Notes & Nuggets

Team USA played against Brazil on the 16th in Chicago in front of a very large and energetic crowd, excited to watch this team of young stars. Team USA was without star center DeMarcus "Boogie" Cousins whom sat out due to injury. Team USA also played Sacramento forward Rudy Gay who joined the team following the Paul George injury and Kevin Durant departure.

Here are the notes and nuggets to take away from the scrimmage: 

• Anthony Davis was the best player on the court
• Stephen Curry can get a shot whenever he wants and will start for this team
• James Harden is the best player to average 12 pts, 6 reb, 8 ast if he can accept that role
• Mason Plumlee played 15 minutes and Andre Drummond played 0
• Rudy Gay got more minutes (12) than Korver (3), Parsons (5) and DeRozan (0) combined
• Kyrie Irving played 14 minutes to Damian Lillard's 2 
• Kenneth Faried can give you 10 and 10 all tournament
• Mason Plumlee looked good
• Klay Thompson is going to be a huge asset coming off the bench for team USA

After watching the scrimmage here is my revised prediction on Team USA's FIBA World Cup Roster:

PGs: Derrick Rose, Stephen Curry, Kyrie Irving

SGs: James Harden, Klay Thompson 

SFs: Rudy Gay, Chandler Parsons, Kyle Korver

PFs: Kenneth Faried, Anthony Davis 

Cs: Boogie Cousins, Mason Plumlee 

Cut: Gordon Hayward, Andre Drummond, Damian Lillard 

Rotation Prediction

PG/Fast Break Specialist and Distributor: Derrick Rose

SG/Key Scorer: Stephen Curry

SF/Stat Stuffer: James Harden

PF/Ten and Ten Workhorse: Kenneth Faried

C/Star Player: Anthony Davis 

Back Up SF/Sixth Man: Rudy Gay

Back Up SG/Spark Plug: Klay Thompson

Back Up PG/Run Second Unit Offense: Kyrie Irving 

Back Up PF/Energy Big Man: Mason Plumlee

Back Up C/Wild Card: Boogie Cousins

Bench warmer: Chandler Parsons

Bench warmer: Kyle Korver 

2014-15 NBA Categories

NBA on ESPN is trying to forecast next season's standings. Following that they will take a look at players to watch and rookie of the year probables.
This is my take on forecasting next year's association. I took a look at all of the NBA Teams and formulated categories to put them all in. These categories are primarily for the regular season.

Here they are: 

The 5 Teams that should be the most fun to watch
1. Golden State Warriors
2. Oklahoma City Thunder
3. Cleveland Cavaliers
4. Los Angeles Clippers
5. Portland Trailblazers

The 5 Teams looking for a breakthrough season
1. Dallas
2. Chicago
3. Houston
4. Toronto
5. Memphis

The 4 Teams that should be really fun to follow
1. Charlotte
2. Phoenix
3. Washington
4. Atlanta

The 4 Teams that are trying to "rebuild" on the fly  
1. Denver
2. Detroit
3. New Orleans
4. Minnesota

The 6 Teams that need to pick up a piece in next year's lottery
1. Philadelphia
2. Sacramento
3. Milwaukee
4. Utah
5. Orlando
6. Boston

The 6 Teams I'm just not that into 
1. Los Angeles Lakers
2. New York
3. Brooklyn
4. Indiana
5. Miami
6. San Antonio

USA Basketball Update

The latest news out of team USA's camp was the cutting of Paul Milsap, Bradley Beal, and John Wall. With the cutting of these three players, Team USA is now down to 16 players in contention for a spot on the 12 man roster. Those sixteen players include:

F Kevin Durant

F Anthony Davis

G James Harden

G Stephen Curry

F Klay Thompson

F Gordon Hayward

C Mason Plumlee

C Andre Drummond

C DeMarcus Cousins

G Kyrie Irving 

G Damian Lillard

F Kyle Korver

F Kenneth Farried

G DeMar DeRozan

F Chandler Parsons

G Derrick Rose 

Kevin Love however, may still play for Team USA after any Wolves-Cavs-76ers trade goes through but that is not very likely. The deadline for the twelve man roster is August 29th, and the Kevin Love trade could go through as early as August 24th opening up the possibility for him to suit up for the Red, White, and Blue. 

My prediction for the twelve man roster is as follows:

G: Derrick Rose, Damian Lillard, Kyrie Irving

G: James Harden, Klay Thompson, Stephen Curry 

F: Kevin Durant, DeMar DeRozan

F: Anthony Davis, Kenneth Farried

C: Andre Drummond, DeMarcus Cousins

Cuts- Gordon Hayward, Mason Plumlee, F Kyle Korver, F Chandler Parsons