First--- It was good to see KLS have a good showing. I have followed her since high school and I hope this has shown that if she is on the floor with the right group she can be very productive. Of course no player is as good as their best game nor as bad as their worst so it might be hard for her to make this team, especially if the feel they have to carry some old fossils for old times sake.
Some other thoughts. To assume that DT will make the team if she is healthy? What is healthy for her at this stage in her life might not come close to what healthy was a few years ago. Those of you who watched the WNBA this last season realize that she was not close to the player she was even the year before. She could always get it together for one game at least. That didn't happen this last season. Now some might say she was never really healthy. That might be true, but at her age, she might never get back to the level she was before. In the earlier games, she played for team USA she had one good shooting game, but even in that one, her defense was horrible. Sue Bird compared to her looked like Beard defensively in her prime.
I agree that the post play was actually worse than the guard play, especially defensively and for rebounding. None of the posts have really looked good this year and that included Stewie. She just has not played enough games to evaluate where she is at. As to declaring players coming back from injury a lock- that is premature. Especially old over the hill players like DT. Especially when you are an instant away from not being able to play.
As to the guards. Bird has played and looked better than DT so if they had to carry one it should be Bird. Diggins has been inconsistent and if she is not hitting her shots she adds little else at this time. Plum was better defensively than either Bird or Diggins by a long shot. Plum has had a few good shooting games as well both against the college teams and the South American Qualifiers in November. Jewel Loyd did not look that good even on defense. She hasn't been the same since her injury. They do need a small quick guard on the team for defensive purposes.
All sympathy aside, if any guard should be a lock it's Chelsea Gray. She has consistently against the college teams, the qualifiers in South America and this last qualifier, been the player that has run the team during close games during crunch time. The team runs far better with her at the point than anyone else. The team and offense stagnates when Bird runs the show. Under Bird the other teams usually gain the lead. Plum runs the team better than Bird. I think it's because Bird, as someone mentioned, has lost a step recently. Hey, she is almost 40. But she was still quicker and faster than DT while DT was playing on the team.
I certainly hope they do not give the core eight special treatment with respect to picking them. Most of them are old and not what they used to be. But I suspect it might carry some weight. The problems they had against a young athletic Nigeria should be a warning that they just can not afford to carry any dead weight, and still expect to waltz away with the Gold. They need to pick the team on merit, but I doubt that will happen. The USA teams are so clickish and good ole boy driven. I certainly hope the invite at least more players to camp to see if those coming off of injuries are even ready to play before making their final selections.
