Chris Sheridan leads ESPN.com's NBA page this morning with a story concerning Toronto's own Chris Bosh and his recent lack of playing time with Team USA. As it's an "Insider" article only able to be read by people who've purchased the Insider subscription, we'll give you the breakdown.
Essentially Sheridan looks at how little Bosh has played at these World Championships after being one of the first players selected to join the team. Bosh played 21 minutes and was the US's statistical leader in their recent win over Senegal, but previous to that, Bosh had scored only eight points in the entire tournament and registered his first DNP since highschool in the US's match against Italy.
So does Bosh say he regrets joining the team?
Not exactly.
He does state that he expected to play more but understands what Coach K is doing and how he moves players in and out of the lineup depending on matchups. Until now, Elton Brand's experience in these type of tournaments have given him the edge on Bosh while the other big on the US Roster similar to Bosh, Dwight Howard, has had the upper hand on CB4 due to his rebounding skills.
However I don't think this lack of playing time is really that much of a surprise to any of the readers on this site. As many of you have stated in your comments, this US team is first and foremost, a guard-dominated offence, and Bosh as a forward, is stuck behind Brand and Howard on the depth chart. In the article Bosh states that over the next two days of practice, he's simply going to have to go out there and prove that he deserves to get more minutes.
From an HQ perspective, this is something we've alluded to previously. Even without the playing time, the experience should still be a good one for Bosh as he practices and plays with many of the NBA's top players. I'm sure he'd like to get some more game-time action...but he's got to remember that he's part of the foundation for this new US program and eventually he and Dwight Howard will be the two main forwards on this club.
It doesn't appear that Bryan Colangelo is not concerned over Bosh's lack of playing time. Colangelo noted that this is simply Step One of many on the way to the 2008 Olympics for Team USA. Colangelo also noted that the World Championships have been dictated more by guard play and therefore the US forwards simply aren't getting the minutes that many of the US guards are getting. In fact the US have gone with a small lineup on many occasions, playing Lebron James, Carmello Anthony and Antawn Jamison at the 4 spot. This definitely makes it tougher for Bosh to get minutes as well.
On a more positive note away from the whole "CB4-Playing Time" situation, it looks like Vince Carter may be getting divorced. No word yet on whether his mother has picked out a replacement wife...
FRANCHISE