Summary: Playing in the finals or the Olympics? Lao Zhan is too difficult! (Welcome to pay attention to the NBA)
Author|Kongkong&Editor|Wenwen
Half a year before the opening of the Tokyo Olympics, the defending champion US men’s basketball team has officially launched the preparation process to 60 players. Hero post.
Among these 60 people, the vast majority had been finalized in February last year. At that time, it was originally thought that the Olympics could be held as scheduled, and the US Men's Basketball team also announced the final selection of 44 people.
This list contains almost all the names you can think of:
Forward (17 players): James, Durant, Leonard, Jimmy Butler, Paul George, Klay Thompson (injury), Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Middleton, Draymond Green, Ingram, Hayward, Tobias Harris, Harrison Barnes, Love, DeRozan, Kuzma;
guards (17 players): Curry, Harden, Lillard, Owen, Mitchell, Bill, Chris Paul, Westbrook, Lowry, Booker, Kamba Walker, Oladipo, Smart, Derek White, Brogdon, Joe Harris, Conley;
Center (10 players): Anthony Davis, Adebayor, Aldridge, Dwight -Howard, Miles-Turner, Harrell, Brooke Lopez, Drummond, Mason Plumley, McGee;
Now, almost a year has passed, except for K Ray Thompson was determined to miss the Olympics due to an Achilles tendon injury, and the remaining candidates remained basically unchanged.
These 44 people can be described as the king's division: 9 people won the 2016 Rio Olympic gold medal; 7 people won the 2012 London Olympic gold medal; 3 people won the 2008 Beijing Olympic gold medal; 8 people won the 2014 Olympic gold medal World Championship gold medal; 5 people won the 2010 World Championship gold medal.
In 2019, 12 players led by Tatum and Mitchell came forward after many big names withdrew from the selection of the US team.Fighting for the country in the Men's Basketball World Cup, although he only finished seventh in the end, his spirit is commendable.
In order to thank these 12 players for their dedication, and to encourage more players to put on the US team jersey, the US Basketball Association included these 12 players on the Olympic candidate list.
According to reports, in addition to the aforementioned 43 players, young players such as Zion Williamson, Morant, Trey Young, Christian Wood and Duncan Robinson have also received invitations.
In the past, the US men's basketball squad prepared for the Olympics was usually 40 or 50 people. This time, it has expanded to 60 people for an unprecedented time. There are multiple considerations behind this.
First of all, according to the NBA plan, this year's finals may reach July 22, which is the day before the opening of the Tokyo Olympics. Players who play in the finals will basically miss the Olympics.
According to past experience, generally in early July, the US men's basketball team will be training for the warm-up match. At the end of June, the final 12-man squad must be finalized, which is almost the end of the second round of the playoffs.
expands the selection range to 60 people, especially the addition of some players who are likely to be unable to play in the playoffs, which increases the safety margin for the selection of the American team.
Secondly, due to the epidemic, there are many uncertainties this year. It is very likely that a good candidate will be selected and someone will be diagnosed. Sufficient reserve forces are needed.
In addition, the US team's 50-man roster in 2019 was injured and retired. In the end, only 12 of the 14 players were selected to play, which was very passive. This time the Olympic selection obviously learned a lesson.
edit
Last year, when the 44-man squad of the US team was announced, many big names including James, Curry, and Harden all expressed their interest in participating in the Tokyo Olympics, especially Curry who has not played the Olympics , But that was when they thought they could finish the finals in June.
NBA President Adam Xiao Hua made it clear that the formulation of the NBA's schedule for this season has fully taken care of the players' desire to participate in the Olympics and will no longer adjust the schedule due to the Olympics.
in this way,Those stars who have gone far in the playoffs may not be able to go to Tokyo.
In theory, the stronger the players, the farther they will go in the playoffs. With this special schedule this year, it means that they have a smaller chance of representing the US team. This is undoubtedly a challenge for the American men’s basketball team. bad news.
Although the U.S. men's basketball team has won three consecutive championships in the Olympics, with the development of basketball levels in other countries, the gap between them and the United States is getting smaller and smaller.
The US men's basketball team defeated the World Cup last year is an example. It can be said that if the US team can't play with the strongest lineup in the Olympics today, it is not good to say who will die.
However, in Xiao Hua's view, other world power teams are also facing the same problem: Greece may not be able to wait to defend the MVP Antetokounmpo, and Serbia may not have a teacher.
Relatively speaking, the US team does not suffer.
"Obviously, as far as the United States is concerned, our talent reserves are more abundant than other countries. Therefore, although this will affect the United States team, compared with other countries, the impact is not so great, because if they have two players coming No, the team may be in trouble."
("Clearly in the case of the United States, we have a deeper pool of talent than other countries. So I think it's less likely — although it will impact the US team, it affects them not as dramatically as it will some of these other teams, where if a particular player or two doesn't participate, it could decimate a team.””)
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