Anonymous
Years ago

KD out of World Cup

Kevin Durant withdraws

Topic #35081 | Report this topic


Anonymous  
Years ago

http://espn.go.com/olympics/basketball/story/_/id/11323854/kevin-durant-oklahoma-city-thunder-withdraws-team-usa

"Kevin reached out to Coach K and myself this afternoon and expressed that he is just physically and mentally drained from the NBA season and his attention to his many responsibilities," Team USA director Jerry Colangelo

Reply #486835 | Report this post


Anonymous  
Years ago

I know how he feels

Reply #486836 | Report this post


Steven  
Years ago

Team USA not looking so invincible now.
No LeBron, KD,Griffin,George,Howard etc..

Reply #486838 | Report this post


Aussiebballer  
Years ago

Kawhi Leonard would be a good addition to that squad, with KD and PG out.

Reply #486839 | Report this post


Naph  
Years ago

Leonard has already made himself unavailable.

http://www.poundingtherock.com/2014/7/14/5898415/leonard-out-of-us-squad-for-fiba

Reply #486840 | Report this post


Anonymous  
Years ago

The Us may as well just send college kids for World Championships as they really only care about the Olympics.

Reply #486842 | Report this post


Aussiebballer  
Years ago

Guess we will get to see if Parsons and Hayward are worth their new NBA contracts :)

Reply #486843 | Report this post


paul  
Years ago

This is the last WC that won't be a qualifying tournament for the Olympics, so the appeal of the WC will change from 2019 onwards.

Reply #486844 | Report this post


Anonymous  
Years ago

Too busy going for a swim in his Under Armour money pitt. 325 million!!!

Reply #486845 | Report this post


Jonno  
Years ago

Should USA add Jabari Parker and Rodney Hood and go young? to replace PG and KD.

Both played for Coach K at Duke and look to be 2 of the better rookies coming through and could play similar roles to KD and PG on the team.

Reply #486847 | Report this post


Mystro  
Years ago

NZ taking their group now ;)

Reply #486848 | Report this post


djmojofosho  
Years ago

Soft

Reply #486849 | Report this post


Aussiebballer  
Years ago

Maybe they can add Love back in after his trade is finalised in a couple of weeks.

Reply #486852 | Report this post


MACDUB  
Years ago

On another note, the more I look at Australia and their pool, the more I fancy their chances of finishing top of the pool. They have a real chance (and hence an easier crossover - in theory of course)

Reply #486858 | Report this post


GWB  
Years ago

USA doesn't look invincible at all now. While they would still be favourites I think a team which strength is their weakness (Inside, maybe Spain/Lithuania) could topple them.

As for Australia.. we play our first prep game tonight.

Reply #486860 | Report this post


paul  
Years ago

Lithuania are traditional a 4-out, high pick-and-roll team who make teams either cover their shooters or their solitary big man rolling to the basket.

That precision could trouble this US team as it did in 2012, but rather than just having a type of game that troubles them I think it's more about executing a style very well to exploit this version of the US team's lack of familiarity with each other and the international game.

Reply #486863 | Report this post


Bear  
Years ago

This news adds to a lot of turnoil for team USA, but any other country would now be considered no chance of making the final, let alone winning this competition. They have great depth, but it will test them now, also how well their structures can work with such a last minute line up...

Reply #486869 | Report this post


Anonymous  
Years ago

Team USA Vs Team Unavailable

G - Rose / Irving / Lillard
G - Harden / Curry
F - Parsons / Hayward / Thompson
F - Davis / Faried
C - Cousins / Drummond


G - Paul / Westbook
G - George / Iguodala
F - Durant / Leonard / Anthony
F - LeBron / Love / Griffin
C - Howard / Alridge

Reply #486871 | Report this post


Anonymous  
Years ago

I would say only Rose, Harden, Curry and Davis make USA's best 12.

Reply #486873 | Report this post


MACDUB  
Years ago

G - Rose / Irving / Lillard
G - Harden / Curry
F - Parsons / Hayward / Thompson
F - Davis / Faried
C - Cousins / Drummond


Hardly a scary/intimidating lineup.

Navarro will be licking his lips against Harden and Curry (Harden is awful, Curry is ok. Missing Iguodala (sp? who is a terrific defender with length).

I don't know I can just see things going tits up, especially on defence. I don't think Cousins will go well against international bigs. To me Faried and Drummond are still quite raw and I can see international bigs outsmarting them/using superior experience.

Also, you don't have a primary Ball Handler that can play the role J.Kidd did at the 08 Olympics i.e. find open teammates, don't turn the ball over and just rack assists and play a smart traditional PG role.

All 4 of the PGs( inc Curry) are score first types.

I don't believe this team has the same balance as in the past when Coach K selected specific players for specific roles (Chandler for rebounding and defence, Iggy for defence, J.Kidd PG role and experience).

Team looks more like team of early 2000s (with a few ego players in there like Irving, Cousins and Harden)

Reply #486875 | Report this post


Anonymous  
Years ago

Plumlee will make it ahead of Drummond, for exactly that balance/specificity that MACDUB is talking about.

The question will be whether they go big, with Davis to the 4 and a lineup like the above, or small, like:
Rose/Irving/Lillard
Curry/Thompson
Harden/Korver/Hayward
Davis/Faried
Cousins/Plumlee

Stylistically that's a more comfortable lineup for Coach K, and I think a much more intimidating lineup for international teams. They're going to be thin in the front-court but that back-court still has a good handful of the best guards in the NBA. I'd expect Thompson to play a lot of minutes to cover the defensive loss of George, and he'll take the strongest backcourt matchup every game. Plumlee was an all-rookie first teamer in an historically weak rookie class, but he got there against expectations because of his ability/willingness to do boring things that he's really good at. I think he'll fill a similar role in this group. And while the front-court is going to look mediocre against Spain, the Brow is regarded as heir-apparent to Lebron and KD for a reason. WC might be his coming-out party.

If they can't get it done, I think it will be inexperience/unfamiliarity rather than insufficient talent.

Reply #486883 | Report this post


Mick  
Years ago

i see cousins getting in lots of early foul trouble and being really angry the whole time. this team is very beatable. But someone could really step up for them in a big way too. Makes the cup way more interesting.

Reply #486887 | Report this post


Anonymous  
Years ago

Wow this team gets weaker and weaker. Spain would have to be the favourites to win this now.

Reply #486890 | Report this post


Bear  
Years ago

I just want to go on record as saying if team USA shoot it at anywhere near 45%-55%, they will smash everyone...

3 pointers alone will lead them in every quarter, unless they don't take good shots or lose confidence in their outside and mid range game. I don't see them scoring so much in the post compared with the perimeter, agree with that.

Reply #486892 | Report this post


Bear  
Years ago

Sorry I meant to have said >45-55%, rather than near it!

Reply #486893 | Report this post


tickle  
Years ago

His tournament is wide open

Reply #487145 | Report this post


Anonymous  
Years ago

From what i've read on the internet, the response from Americans has been pretty pathetic.

Lots of 'I understand, it's one thing to injure yourself in the NBA but to injure yourself in a game that doesn't matter is completely different.' Like representing your country isn't important.

And plenty of 'Who cares? We'll win it anyway'.

Reply #487147 | Report this post




You need to be a registered user to post from this location. Register here.



Close ads
Little Streaks - The fun and interactive good-habits app designed especially for kids.
Serio: Tourism photography and videography

Advertise on Hoops to a very focused, local and sports-keen audience. Email for rates and options.

Recent Posts



.


An Australian basketball forum covering NBL, WNBL, ABL, Juniors plus NBA, WNBA, NZ, Europe, etc | Forum time is: 3:44 pm, Tue 19 Mar 2024 | Posts: 968,026 | Last 7 days: 754