Stewie, the Ultimate Sixth (Wo)man.

[UcMiami]

I agree. Start the veterans and let the young whipper snappers come off the bench. But I sure would like to see Griner at the 5 and Charles at the 4 together. That would be an incredible front line and possibly the best ever seen in international play.

I don't really know the other international teams line-ups and whether there is one that is large enough to justify that line-up - I think we will see a little of that, but not very much. International forwards and centers tend to be very good in mid-range and out to the 3 point line and faster than traditional WNBA posts - and that is not the strength of either Griner or Charles - guarding in space. I think USA will be better defensively going with the more traditional forwards on the roster in front of either Griner or Charles. Defending pick and rolls has been a real problem so far for USA - again an area where speed trumps size. The one team where that lineup might have made the most sense was AUS before Cambage went down.

 

[OneTrickPony]

Angel, Whalen and Nneka are pretty good 6th "men" off the bench, as is Srewart. When other teams have a drop off in talent when going to the bench, the US is just as strong, if not stronger.

Like the tie for "6th man"...

 

[rvwsleep]

I think some of you are going the wrong way with players this year. We are short in the post (4/5 positions). Tuck will be playing more 5 than usual, as will Stewart. KML will be playing more 4 than usual. We have an abundance of 1/2/3 this year. No need to move players up.

Agree. But in all but 4 or 5 out of conference games, it won't make a difference who is playing the 4 or 5 positions.