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Celtics guard Rondo begs off from Turkey-bound US Team

By ERICKSON BECO | http://www.mb.com.ph


Boston Celtics starting point guard Rajon Rondo just had a sudden change of heart, announcing that he will be foregoing his decision to represent the United States in the World Basketball Championships in Istanbul, Turkey on September 12.








“Rajon came to us and said he was going to withdraw from the team, that he had some family matters to attend to and some things to take care of before the NBA season,” USA Basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo said in the team’s press release, as quoted from NBA.com's "Hang Time Blog" entry by John Schuhmann. “He did an outstanding job during our training, we appreciate the effort and commitment he made to our program and he completely has our support,” Colangelo added.
The NBA-reinforced 12-man roster for Team USA includes:
  1. Chauncey Billups (Denver Nuggets)
  2. Tyson Chandler (Dallas Mavericks)
  3. Stephen Curry (Golden State Warriors)
  4. Kevin Durant (Oklahoma City Thunder)
  5. Rudy Gay (Memphis Grizzlies)
  6. Erick Gordon (Los Angeles Clippers)
  7. Danny Granger (Indiana Pacers)
  8. Andre Iguodala (Philadelphia 76ers)
  9. Kevin Love (Minnesota Timberwolves)
  10. Lamar Odom (Los Angeles Lakers)
  11. Derrick Rose (Chicago Bulls)
  12. Russell Westbrook (Oklahoma City Thunder)
At first glance, Rondo’s decision could have a huge impact in the American’s quest to notch the gold medal in the said event held every four years, where they last ruled in 1994 when it was staged in Toronto, Canada.
Rondo surely brings the kind of defensive tenacity that the Americans need in the guard spot and can be of great help on the offensive end in terms of finding the open men and distributing the goods, as he has proven during the Celtics’ NBA Finals run in the past few years. But his lack of a steady and consistent shooting from the perimeter may also prove to be a downside for Coach Mike Krzyzewski's squad, as US's lack of an offensive-minded center (oh, it only has Chandler to man the paint) will surely mean that the team's firepower will come from the guards.

With such a “lousy” offensive cast for the Americans as their starting five (Rondo, Chandler, Billups, Iguodala, and Durant), the team had difficulty piling up the points in the opening parts of their exhibition games. Hang Time noted that they averaged a measly 14.3 points for the first quarter during their first three tune-up matches.

Coach K remedied this situation by inserting Rose and Odom into the first five, in place of Rondo and Chandler, against Spain last Monday (where the Americans squeezed through an 86-85 thriller). Though the strategy showed no immediate impact on the team’s play, there was an evident fluidity in their execution, especially in running the floor.

Still, everything remains to be seen as to how this crew of NBA stars would be able to stand up to the stiff competition that they’ll face in Turkey. And so we ask you, our dear readers. What do you think would be Team USA’s best chance of topping this event?
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