Wow. That was..something.
I really don't want to hear that there was no room for Arike (or Allisha, or Caitlin, or the other Kelsey) on this team. BULL. Team USA and these politics, man. Diana looked like Team USA's best guard by far--and she's 42. My goodness.
I also don't think that 21 shots by Breanna Stewart was necessary, but here we are.
There are multiple players currently on Team USA who play similar to Arike. They just got showed up by her on a HUGE stage. This game proved that she could've replaced any one of them.Politics? Arike isn't a team player and never was. That's why she isn't on the team. But typically for her in a game like this she's plays with a massive chip on her shoulder and hits 8 threes. She's not going to hit 8 threes very often. It's the same with Dallas games. If she hits all those shots they win but frequently she does not. And sometimes she hits a lot of shots and they still don't win. USA basketball will be just fine without her.
Arike's not an efficient player, but neither are Taurasi, Loyd, or Ionescu (and Plum this season). I've seen Copper shoot her team out of games this year. We just saw Plum shoot Vegas out of the Sky game not too long ago (and the first Storm game also sticks out to me). Loyd's historically awful shooting had a lot to do with why Seattle started out the season so poorly.Arike is a great player when she's on but I often feel like she shoots her team out of games when she's not. She currently takes the most field goals in the league and is shooting a pretty horrible 37%. I feel like you take either Arike or Jewell but never both. Jewell probably got the edge due to Team USA experience.
Those three should have received further consideration for Team USA than they did (I know that Laney's out due to injury, but they toyed with her before leaving her name out of the pool this past spring). If defense is so important to Team USA, why would you construct a team that has Taurasi (a fossil), Plum (small with ZERO defensive awareness), AND Ionescu (lead feet) on it????If anything Team USA needs more two way guards. Such as Laney, Allisha Gray and Rhyne Howard. The perimeter defense leaves a lot to be desired.
Arike hasn't had her running backcourt ate Sabally this season. Plus Howard was out for a lot of the season. Plus the Wings are just a team that drafts strange every single season. She looks good in these All-Star games because she has other top players alongside her. Which is what the Olympic team would be. As others pointed out, there's other guards that aren't efficient either. And those guards aren't on bad teams. Plum has 3 other Olympians in her starting lineup. Sabrina has Stewart and Jones (plus other really good role players). You put any of those guards om the Wings and ask them to be the main scorer and I don't think they'd be efficient either.Arike is a great player when she's on but I often feel like she shoots her team out of games when she's not. She currently takes the most field goals in the league and is shooting a pretty horrible 37%. I feel like you take either Arike or Jewell but never both. Jewell probably got the edge due to Team USA experience.
If anything Team USA needs more two way guards. Such as Laney, Allisha Gray and Rhyne Howard. The perimeter defense leaves a lot to be desired.
Politics have always been in play, unfortunately. This isn't something new. From those questioning whether Lobo should have been on the 1996 roster to players like Ogumike never being selected.It seems “politics” is the new catchphrase for “sub-tweeting” decisions made that don’t cater to one’s preferences.
At bottom:
Even the men’s Team USA had an off-day on its fourth tune-up.
- do the decisions appear to be reasonable?
- were they made according to reasonable criteria?
- were they made by reasonable knowledgeable people?
- did prior similarly-made decisions produce desired results?
Yeah, but how many playoff wins / championships does Dallas have since Arike joined the league?Arike hasn't had her running backcourt ate Sabally this season. Plus Howard was out for a lot of the season. Plus the Wings are just a team that drafts strange every single season. She looks good in these All-Star games because she has other top players alongside her. Which is what the Olympic team would be. As others pointed out, there's other guards that aren't efficient either. And those guards aren't on bad teams. Plum has 3 other Olympians in her starting lineup. Sabrina has Stewart and Jones (plus other really good role players). You put any of those guards om the Wings and ask them to be the main scorer and I don't think they'd be efficient either.
Arike could've been on that team. No one's second unit guards could check her. Team USA can't check her.
But is that all on Arike or the front office? In addition to the puzzling draft choices, the coaches prior to Tramell were underwhelming.Yeah, but how many playoff wins / championships does Dallas have since Arike joined the league?
“Drafting strange”: Arike has been on 6 Dallas teams (2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024) — a graveyard of top draft picks where some players who got out have rejuvenated careers.
Note: LV was not its championship self, until Becky Hammon came along. Whatever the issue is with Dallas — it is dead last this year — do Team USA members feel it needs a dose of Arike ball?