Apr. 8, 2012; New York, NY, USA; Chicago Bulls shooting guard Ronnie Brewer (11), forward Taj Gibson (22), small forward Luol Deng (9), center Joakim Noah (13) and point guard Derrick Rose (1) walk off the court during the second half against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden. Knicks won in overtime 100-99. Mandatory Credit: Debby Wong-US PRESSWIRE
The NBA bloggers at SB Nation are doing a series of themed posts each week in this moribund part of the offseason. The first was Cult Classic players and last week it was best trades ever.
FIBA has stated that it will be proposing a 3-on-3 tournament for as early as the 2016 Olympic Games. So this week's themed post is for each blog to construct such a team from their (assumed healthy!) roster.
- Games are one 10 minute period -- team ahead at the end of 10 minutes wins, unless a team reaches 31, in which case that team wins.
- Points are scored in 2's and 3's.
- 7 fouls results in the bonus situation.
- You can't foul out.
- 12 second shot clock.
Now, we all know that the Bulls front office would have Kirk Hinrich play all 3 positions, as he's that versatile. But from my perspective I think that this is a fairly easy choice: Derrick Rose, Joakim Noah, and Luol Deng.
Not only are they the best players on the team, they would form a fairly cohesive 3-man unit. There are size and skill complements on both ends of the (half) floor. The defense may be the best possible in this type of format, especially with Noah's superlative ability to cover both the interior and perimeter. With Derrick Rose being the main scorer and shot-creator, able to take over if the game got tight.
There would of course be some weaknesses, especially beyond Rose's individual brilliance on offense. Would there be enough outside shooting? Does including Noah offer too much of a handicap on offense? Could opposing teams simply key in on Derrick Rose and force the other two to make quick, crisp plays?
Those are questions, but to me I can't think of another player on the roster who'd answer them.
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