Means he's going to decline faster, so I don't want him to. But my reasons are selfish, he, like any other athlete, is proud to represent their country in a worldwide competition. I can't sit here and say he should have turned it down.
haha oh ofcourse! well the logic is that Howard has already been part of a OLY winning team, and has had a pretty serious back injury that he's gotta keep healthy for the forseeable future with us. You should be very proud of Dragic he's playing out of his mind this year!
We are super-extra proud here. Many of us don't sleep at night watching his games. He's total opposite of Beno Udrih, another Slovenian player, who is constantly rejecting playing for us because our coach wouldn't guarantee him the starting spot at PG. He better don't come as he'd be outplayed by Dragic badly. Yeah, Dragic didn't have any serious injury so far like Howard did, but his playing style worries me a bit. Can you imagine he had something like three weeks off combined in last year and a half? With his all-in play in every game, something's gotta give. Luckily he's not buffed as Rose for example, so his ligaments are not suffering so much. Back to the topic...we all know Howard is playing good if he's happy, and what would make him happier prior to new season than spending 3-4 weeks in a relaxed atmosphere with best players in the world, hanging out in one of the best touristic destinations in Europe? And I didn't even consider further bonding with Harden.
Unlike Yao, who was the focal point for China, Dwight will not be asked to carry the team, nor log heavy minutes. 15-20 minutes per outing at the most, with a couple of exceptions. Not a big deal.
This is great news! The big three in Miami was formed when they first talked about it at the Olympics. Maybe Dwight is just signing up to recruit Durant to come to the Rockets!
I doubt he'll be counted on to score / bang in the paint / asked to carry the team. He's purely there for defensive purposes. Let LeBron / Brow/ the Kevins / the high scoring PGs take care of the physical exertion.
He's there for PR purposes, like pretty much anyone else. Maybe he'll be called upon to bang in the paint against Marc Gasol if it comes to that. There's pretty much no defensive purpose in the mind of anyone in that team. Last time, even Iggy was successfully guarding some opposing bigs (PFs though). It's just not a concern, team USA is just way too athletic. Whenever they lose again, it won't be because of paint protection.
It's a privilege for any player to be selected for Team USA. It's great to see a Houston Rocket representing America.
If basketball was not such a meaningless sport in the Olympics I may actually care about something as stupid as pride. I care far more about the Rockets winning than Team USA winning. As long as we trot out our 2nd or 3rd best player, we should be able to win the gold regardless.
I would imagine training with a bunch of great players and coaches like Coach K will make a player BETTER than sitting around and going to the gym in the Summer. I love that Howard and Harden can grow with each other every summer while competing in practice with the best in the NBA.
OT: That will motivate Asik:grin: So, Howard, Harden, D-Mo and Asik will play this summer in the World Cup 2014 (Casspi)
