Dwight Howard, LeBron James, Amare Stoudemire, Dwyane Wade suit up for U.S. exhibition game against Puerto Rico

By Brendan Smith
brendansmith@transworldnews.com

Thursday night’s exhibition game between the United States and Puerto Rico will be featuring several top stars in the NBA. After a disappointing performance in the Athens Olympics the U.S. has overhauled its program and assembled a squad built around team play rather than individual performers.

Head coach Mike Krzyzewski has taken the responsibility of leading the United States basketball team into the 2006 FIBA World Basketball Championship in Japan. To avoid the embarrassment that took place in Athens, Krzyzewski has vowed to establish a roster of unselfish players dedicated to propelling the U.S. back to its former glory.

By selecting players known for filling roles Krzyzewski has designed a team that can play on both ends of the court. Elton Brand, Bruce Bowen, Dwight Howard and Amaré Stoudemire are all known for their defensive skills. Even those players that can fill the bucket like LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Paul and Chris Bosh have reputations as defensive stoppers.

As for the exhibition game with Puerto Rico, memories of Athens are hard to forget. In one of the greatest upsets in Olympic history, Puerto Rico manhandled the U.S. in the opening round of play. The 19 point blowout sent the U.S. team into a tailspin in which they lost two more games before winning the bronze medal game against Lithuania.

Puerto Rico returns with Carlos Arroyo, the star of that improbable victory. His 24 point performance vaulted him to hero status in the U.S. territory. Arroyo will be teamed with fellow NBA players Daniel Santiago and Peter John Ramos, both big men who will be counted on to keep the U.S. out of the paint.

Julio Toro, the head coach for Puerto Rico and mastermind behind the Olympic victory, returns as the team leader. Any chance of his team surprising the U.S. is unlikely. The 2004 loss is still fresh in the minds of USA Basketball.

The two teams met in a controlled scrimmage on Tuesday and the U.S. dominated the Puerto Rican’s forcing 30 turnovers.

The exhibition game in Las Vegas will be the only game the U.S. plays on American soil. They will travel to China and play the Chinese national team on August 7 before playing the South Koreans on August 14 in South Korea.

The World Championship preliminaries will begin for the U.S. August 19 when they take on Puerto Rico at 1:00am EST.

Tonights game will be played at the Thomas & Mack Center at 11:00pm EST and televised on ESPN2.

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