Worried about Dwight

[Jareth Cutestory 678]

[Drain-O 369]

Why can't we not point to the fact that Dwight is only 22 years old. At this point the greatest big man of our era (sorry shaq) was finishing his senior season at Wake Forest.

 

Also this notion that everyone is playing for the greater good except Dwight is laughable. You do not think Kobe, Carmelo, Lebron, and Wade want to score every time they get the ball or dictate the action. The ball basically passes through everyone but Dwight. That can be frustrating.

 

Also lets not forget that Lebron mailed in half of the season the year the went to the finals and when asked about his goals he did not say to win multiple championships he said "international icon."

 

Kobe spent all of the last off-season demanding to be traded and basically called Andrew Bynum a scrub.

 

Carmelo has yet to lead his team out of the 1st round of the playoffs and was arrested for DUI.

 

When SVG called Dwight out last season his response was immediate. If he was this immature kid he would have just let that role off of his back and did what he wanted.

 

Whats my point you wonder. My point is that everyone makes mistakes even Team USA sacrificing stars and Dwight has not shown one behavior ever that makes me think he does not put the team first. I do not think anyone was complaining when he led the league in rebounding with basically no help, destroyed Toronto in the 1st round and played the 2nd round with a cracked sternum. An injury that we did not even hear about until TEAM USA started practicing.

 

So no I am not worried about his performance level against China and Angola.

[Murphy13 185]

well, like the original poster mentioned...its about his body language-not his stats...which were pretty good in the angola game.

 

to answer the main question-it would seem like dwights skin needs to thicken up. everyone knows how great he is...the best lesson he can learn from playing on team USA is the importance of team ball. i am sure he is already aware of the concept...but if a teams best player truly grasps the team concept then it makes that player all the more powerful, and thus the team.

 

that all being said, i would be perfectly happy if dwight used this opportunity to get some help on his ft's while he is with all these talented players/coaches. even if he just improved to 70% that would make a huge difference.

[FENDI 4]

I'm going to skip on commenting this thing about Dwight. But Otis should look up this Morais guy from ANgola.

[barnettej 263]

Lets not all get sucked up into analyzing every play that Dwight is in and not in.

 

Yes, he is the only Big Man on the team so that in itself makes him standout.

 

But other players on Team USA have also struggled, if indeed struggling means they are not playing the same way they do in a season or post season game.

 

Jason Kidd is struggling

Kobe Bryant is struggling

D. Williams is struggling

C. Paul is struggling

C. Bosh is struggling

etc......

 

Really none of this matters, because there is so much talent on this team, that there will always be someone struggling.

 

Also considering that FIBA is a perimeter game, doesnt help the inside players. FIBA is a shooters game, which is why the 3pt line is closer, and why the paint is designed the way it is.

 

Should we fans be worried about Dwight not getting any love?

 

Sure we should be worried, although its not like this is the first time. But he is an amazing talent for the Center position, Dwight has a great personality, and he is representing our city.

 

Its just sad that some marketing companies ( NIKE ) go out of the way to commercialize them and not the real TEAM USA ( Dwight's picture of him covering up the Adidas logo ).

[Nick Anderson 4 President 9]

I personally think his body language is horrid and he had the same problem last year, and obviously hasn't improved it over the summer. I'm really disappointed about this, because I don't want Dwight to be labeled as a crybaby.

 

I see him all the time pout over not getting a call, stop and look at the ref, while the opposing team is running in the opposite direction. I don't care if he's 22, it's not like he has to be 26 before he can start to try and control his on court emotions and keep his head in the game. If he knows that's a problem (I'm not sure if he's ever been told or not), he should be working on it now, no excuses.

 

But in watching these olympic games I've seen no improvement. Frustrated or not, he needs to learn how to control it so it doesn't keep affecting the rest of the team on defense.

[Kramer 0]

quote:

Originally posted by gobucsmagic:

I'm watching the Angola vs. USA game and for the third straight game Dwight's play, activity level, and just overall body language is just horrible. I don't know if he's tired of not getting the ball, or intimidated by being on a team with this kind of makeup, but he is definitely not engaged and not playing with any fervor or energy. He's not even rebounding!

 

Is anyone else noticing this and is anyone else as concerned as I am? I just see a guy who looks a little immature and is pouting, rather than putting his stamp on the game with hustle and energy. Likewise, I'm annoyed that Dwight NEVER gets a loose ball below his knees and I've NEVER seen him hit the floor for a loose ball for team USA or the Orlando Magic.

 

I'm not trying to dump on Dwight, but he is our franchise and we can only go as far as he takes us. IMO he has a long ways to go maturity and intensity wise if he ever wants to be an NBA champion. Just my observations and two cents...

 

Oh so you're upset that Dwight isn't giving up his body during the offseason. Yeah well I would much rather see the USA get blown out of the water every game than Dwight get a bruise

[gobucsmagic 13]

quote:

Originally posted by Drunk on Mystery:

quote:

Originally posted by gobucsmagic:

quote:

Originally posted by Drunk on Mystery:

quote:

Originally posted by gobucsmagic:

You guys are ridiculous, sorry I wasted my time posting...

 

I'll tell you what cupcake: why don't you go and find out what Tim Duncan thinks of FIBA competition, and then we can have this conversation.

 

Cupcake huh? Gotta love the ****iness, I assume you think you've earned it with your post count. The discussion is concerning Dwight's attitude, body language, and overall play...not Duncans opinion of FIBA basketball.

 

Actually, I think I've earned it from doing my part to keep the discourse on this board at something resembling an intelligent level. But allow me to respond to your series of increasingly condescending posts with this very simple, yet very elegant, bulleted list(which also gives me an excuse to use the stupid bullet command):

 

• One, FIBA rules clearly favor perimeter players. If you've wondered why European big men tend to love them some perimeter games, that's why. It's also why I said you should look up what Tim Duncan, the greatest power forward of all time, had to say about the difference in styles. It's relevant, no matter how casually you feel like dismissing the opinions of people who actually know what they're talking about.

   

• Two, Dwight is the only real big man on the team, and has to play cautiously to avoid foul trouble. After all his backups at center are an oversized 3 in Bosh and an undersized 4 in Boozer. Against Germany, Spain, and Greece, they'll need Dwight on defense like they need air.

   

• Three, Dwight is coming back from an injury, and is clearly behind on his workout regime.

   

• Four, you are a *******ed idiot. And while vilifying the entire message board because you disagreed with the first response you got would usually qualify as a "Quod Erat Demonstrandum" on that particular topic, I'll instead prove it mathematically:

   

  Take your current age, and subtract 10 years from it; were you smart back then? Of course you weren't; You were a *******ed idiot. The fact is, you, like the rest of us, are just as big an idiot today. It's just going to take you 10 more years to realize it.

   

• Fifth, I don't know how much attention you paid to today's game, but Dwight had 14/3/1/2 in a little over 14 minutes. Yes, his rebounding is down, but it also means his PER 40 stats for today are: 37/8/2.67/5.33. Yes, his rebound is down, when he's clearly not trying against Angola. Honestly, no one should care. If his problems continue into the preseason, then I'll actually worry about it. I'm certainly not going to do it when he's on pace for almost 5 and a half blocks a game to go along with his 37 points. I guarantee you, if Dwight averaged 37/8/5.33, no one will give two ****s about how his rebounding is down. Christ.

 

Eff you *****

[gobucsmagic 13]

quote:

Originally posted by murphy13:

well, like the original poster mentioned...its about his body language-not his stats...which were pretty good in the angola game.

 

to answer the main question-it would seem like dwights skin needs to thicken up. everyone knows how great he is...the best lesson he can learn from playing on team USA is the importance of team ball. i am sure he is already aware of the concept...but if a teams best player truly grasps the team concept then it makes that player all the more powerful, and thus the team.

 

 

Thanks for responding to my post instead of just acting like a big shot know-it-all like DoM. That was my point exactly.

[tjm384 0]

You people worried about Dwight in Olympic play need to stop worrying because when it comes to nba play he will dominate again and i really don't believe he's looked all that bad i mean not like hes going to go 30-20 in olympic play

[Secretly Space Jesus 670]

quote:

Originally posted by gobucsmagic:

Eff you *****

 

Well your counterpoints are subtle, but I can respect your bold attempts to refute my previous points using logic, reason and facts. Kudos to you, sir!

[gobucsmagic 13]

quote:

Originally posted by Drunk on Mystery:

quote:

Originally posted by gobucsmagic:

Eff you *****

 

Well your counterpoints are subtle, but I can respect your bold attempts to refute my previous points using logic, reason and facts. Kudos to you, sir!

 

I guess I just prefer not to bury my insults inside a bulleted post. Like I said before, my concern has NOTHING to do with his stats, its his body language (head down, not interacting with teamates in huddles, etc.) and disengagement that concern me. I've read enough to see I'm not the only one concerned with this, so I'll just let it die.