The small size of the final roster for the U.S. men's basketball team heading into the Olympics was noted last week, when the line-up became official. Jerry Colangelo and Mike Krzyzewski opted to add a extra point guard and a full contingent of wings rather than keep Tyson Chandler in the mix. The big men? Chris Bosh, Carlos Boozer, and Dwight Howard ...... who, according to ESPN's Chris Sheridan, is recovering from a stress fracture in his sternum, and has not been cleared to practice yet. Howard was forced to sit out a one-day mini-camp, but expects to be ready for the start of training camp on July 21. Howard told Sheridan the injury still hurts, but that doctors tell him he'll be OK.
In light of the injury -- which you know Colangelo and Krzyzewski were aware of when they took Boozer and Deron Williams over Chandler -- there's a risk of Team USA being left short at some point. But that's nothing new. Coach K had Chandler on his bench last summer at the Tournament of the Americas in Las Vegas ... and Coach K left Chandler on the bench. The team, replete with wingmen, was still able to rebound effectively and dominate the competition.
Boozer is an elite rebounder, and Bosh is pretty good in that area. Even if Howard -- the best rebounder in the NBA -- remains too hobbled, the Americans should survive.
One of the biggest complaints about the announcement of USA Basketball's 12-man roster is the lack of big men. We are sending just one true center (
On Monday, USA Basketball announced its men's roster for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. Here's who will represent the U.S. this summer:
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Now we know why teams play so hard during the regular season to get as high a seed as possible: because home court advantage apparently matters. Utah went home for Game 3, and all of their problems seemed to go away, as they cruised to a 104-99 win over the Lakers. I say "cruised" because, after Utah took the lead in the second quarter, they never gave it up, and led by as many as 12 in the fourth before the Lakers made it close at the end. Utah's win makes home teams a perfect 11-0 in the second round of the playoffs. 
Utah Jazz owner Larry Miller is 
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