The Forgotten Man?

LAS VEGAS, August 17, 2007 -- A lot has been said and written about the additions of Kobe Bryant, Jason Kidd and Chauncey Billups to Team USA this summer. Amare Stoudemire is also a big (literally and figuratively) addition, as he's fully healthy this time around. And there's always hype surrounding LeBron James, who is coming off his first trip to the NBA Finals.
But let us not overlook the man who was Team USA's best player when they won the bronze medal at last year's World Championships.

While Kidd is the leader and floor general, Bryant is the go-to scorer down the stretch and LeBron is the runaway train on the break, Carmelo Anthony's role might be as or more important than all of them.

Throughout the first three practices of this second session of training camp, Coach Mike Krzyzewski has had a primary lineup of Kidd, Bryant, James, Anthony and Stoudemire. He has said that it won't be his only starting lineup, but it's safe to say that Anthony will spend a lot of time playing the power forward position.

That means that he will be asked to bang with the big guys, rebound and defend the paint. It's not the same role that he plays on the Nuggets for sure, when he plays alongside Marcus Camby and Nenê. Bryant though, believes that Anthony can handle the role just fine.

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source : NBA.com