David Lee out of World Championships
The United States national basketball team lost another of its big men on Wednesday, as David Lee sustained an injury to his middle finger which will cause him to miss the world championships.
According to USA Basketball representatives, Lee will have his finger put in a splint and will be out of action for around six weeks. Luckily for the Golden State Warriors, this means their new power forward acquisition will be able to return in time for training camp.
Lee’s injury occurred on Tuesday, the first day of USA Basketball practice. He then flew to San Francisco to be examined by Dr. Robert Green who diagnosed him with ‘mallet thumb.’ Mallet thumb is a tendon injury that generally does not required any sort of surgical intervention.
The injury comes as a blow to the USA team as well, as Lee would have been a valuable asset if selected for the team. Lee, who just signed a six-year, $80 million contract with the Warriors, had an average of 20.3 points and 11.7 rebounds last season while playing for the New York Knicks. This kind of reputation for good play almost certainly would have guaranteed Lee a spot on the 12-man USA roster that would be competing from Aug. 28 to Sept. 12 in Istanbul, Turkey.
Coach Mike Krzyzewski confirmed this notion and said Lee would have been a strong candidate for the team if healthy.
Krzyzewski told reporters: "I feel badly for him because he really wanted to play. He even said, 'Coach, I'll see the doctor and I'll even pay the expense of a private plane to get me down here.' Last summer, he was going through contracts and he couldn't play then, either."
Lee is just the latest of USA’s possible frontcourt players that is out of contention for a roster spot. On Tuesday, Amare Stoudemire and Robin Lopez were both forced to pull out from tryouts. Stoudemire had to do so due to his new team, the Knicks, being unable to insure his contract. Lopez is still struggling with rehabilitating a back injury.
This leaves Team USA with some uncertainties regarding who will be playing the 4 and 5 positions for the team. Krzyzewski discussed the team’s identity and said: "[Wednesday] was big in that we learned more about the guys. And it was a big disappointment with Lee. And obviously with Amare and Robin. Robin would have tried for an 11th or 12th spot. We don't need our big guys to be scorers. We need our big guys to be shot blockers, rebounders and screeners. And Robin would have competed for that spot."
Though the team has not yet found its identity, Krzyzewski still has 19 potential candidates and a field of talent that is primed for success. Without Lee, Stoudemire, or Lopez, USA will be more perimeter oriented but perhaps just as dangerous. One possible line up mentioned by Krzyzewski consisted of Rajon Rondo, Chauncey Billups and Kevin Durant at guard spots complemented by forwards Rudy g*y and Lamar Odom.
With all the possibilities, it might be impossible to theorize what the Duke head coach will decide for the national team. He himself stated: “We're going to be an unconventional team.”
Perhaps unconventionality will be USA’s strength. Team USA players have always had arguably the best individual talent and if they adhere to a unique new playing style, it will be impossible for opponents to stop them. In situations like that, the other team does not have enough time to adjust to or adequately understand the playing style. In professional sports any sort of confusion means weakness, and Krzyzewski showed how successful exploiting that could be when he guided his Duke Blue Devils to an NCAA Championship this season.
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