USA Basketball released a preliminary 20-man roster for this year's Olympic men's basketball team back in January. They planned to cut the list down to 12 in time for Team USA's training camp in July, but injuries have done much of the work for them. Four players from the initial list - including center Dwight Howard and guard Derrick Rose - have sustained injuries that will make it impossible for them to play in London this summer. Howard's absence, in particular, could make life difficult for USA Basketball. His injury leaves Tyson Chandler as the only true center on the initial roster. That won't be a problem against most of the teams in the Olympic tournament, but Team Spain should have both Gasol brothers and Serge Ibaka in their frontcourt, and that trio will present major problems. On the other hand, Team USA is crazy-deep in the backcourt (Chris Paul, Deron Williams, Russell Westbrook, Kobe Bryant, Dwyane Wade) and on the wing (LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Kevin Durant, Rudy Gay) which could make it a lot easier to get by with, say, Chris Bosh or Kevin Love manning the middle.
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