DeAndre Jordan Selected to the 2016 USA Olympic Team

[mkwest]

matt_barnes9I remember being 12yrs old watching The Dream Team, when they played on Saturdays mornings my mom would cook a big ole breakfast & we would watch them dominate the world!! You could tell they all took that **** personal, that's where I learned my passion for the game from. #NothingEasy Hahaa 80-90s NBA greatest era of basketball!! Good luck to our men's national team in the up coming Olympics!! this is a crucial time in our history considering all the stuff going on. This team will always be remember. Dominate!!
#DeamTeam
#RIPMOM
Oh yea I almost forgot I'm really happy for my lil bro @deandrejordan6 ur an Olympian bro you've come a long way. Proud of my BIGlilHomie!

[mkwest]

USAMNT poses during the opening ceremony.

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I believe the game will be on NBCSN.

[mkwest]

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Durant, Anthony, Cousins, Thompson and Irving are the starters in today's game against China.

[mkwest]

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[mkwest]

DJ finished with 14 points and 9 rebounds in 18:30 of action and was a key difference maker in today's victory. He was listed at 10 rebounds at one point.

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[thanumba2clippersfan]

I liked DJ's energy and activity yesterday. He was jumping all over the place. Depending on what coach K wants I could see DJ starting. He clearly outplayed Cousins yesterday.

[mkwest]

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deandrejordan6 The G.O.A.T! Congrats brother on #21. Many more to go!!! #swimunited

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If only Free-Agency would have happened after the Olympics....

[mkwest]

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Why DeAndre Jordan is relishing his time with Team USA

To Kevin Durant, DeAndre Jordan is one of his best friends in the league.

“If I were to get married today, he’d be in my wedding,” Durant told The Vertical about Jordan. “That’s how it is. That’s my brother.”

“Six months ago, I never would’ve thought I would’ve invited Draymond [Green] to my house,” Jordan told The Vertical, adding that his relationship with Durant had no influence on befriending the other Warriors on the Olympic team. “Once you’re around these guys you realize, ‘Oh, they’re cool.’ Before, I only looked at Draymond as Draymond who played for the Warriors. We always clashed. So, now that we’ve been together for over a month, it’s been amazing. We hate each other during the season, but it’s bigger than those two teams. Winning a gold medal, representing your country. We don’t even think about that anymore. Which is crazy. I’m happy to be playing with these 11 guys and we’ll be bonded for life after this.”

With Griffin missing most of last season with a nagging quad injury and a broken hand from a fight with a former team employee, Jordan was able to earn some of the appreciation he has long sought when he made first-team All-NBA despite never making the All-Star team. “I could care less about the All-Star team now,” Jordan told The Vertical. “Yeah, I really don’t care about it anymore. I’d rather go on my week vacation, to be honest. And being an Olympian, and potentially a gold medalist, that’s better than that. It’s cool to be appreciated and highly valued by your peers. That, to me, is the biggest thing.”

Durant believes the recognition was long overdue. “As a basketball player, you can appreciate what someone like him does, he sets screens, does all the small things, rebounds, blocks shots, talks out there, he’s an anchor on defense,” Durant told The Vertical. “If you’re really into the game of basketball, you can really appreciate him. That’s why he’s paid like a max player, because the Clippers know what he brings and how he helps the team. He helps everyone win.”

Michael Lee, Yahoo! Sports

[Ranma]

So Christian Laettner's gold medal from the 1992 Dream Team is a bigger accomplishment than any of Michael Jordan's championship rings? Very convenient for DJ to say when he's competing on a stacked Olympic team against inferior competition. It's also not like the NBA is sending the very best players given that quite a few declined their invitation to Rio. And free throws are no big deal, right? DJ is talking like quite the fool.

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[mkwest]

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[nickhx2]

i think dj is going to have a fantastic season coming off of all this.

[Dynamix]

i think dj is going to have a fantastic season coming off of all this.

I really wish Blake could've had the same experience. Missing out on two consecutive Olympics due to injuries is a real bummer.

As for DJ, not enough love is given to his screen setting. This is particularly useful in these FIBA games, where the officials allow players to be much more physical. I feel like DJ fits in great with all those great shooters, freeing them up and grabbing boards is all that's needed from him. Maybe they could look for him under the rim a few more times and everyone will be happy.

[mkwest]

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Congrats to team USA. I'm so happy for DJ. Not only is it great to see him have the honor or playing in the Olympics, it was awesome to see him be one of the more consistent players on the team.

[QRich3]

Yeah DJ's been awesome in the olympics, one of the most important players on that team I'd say. I'm happy that he gets to experience that. I also liked his comments about how he never thought he'd be boys with Draymond Green and them, and how he's ready to hate them again as soon as he's done with this.

Not sure I would've liked Blake going to the Olympics a year before his free agency, better not to risk the chance of getting any extra ideas into his head lol

[mkwest]

DeAndre Jordan, The Evolved Center

Offensive success in the modern NBA is predicated upon one thing: ball movement. Though Jordan is not particularly known for his ability to pass, what he does on the court creates opportunities for others and opens up the offense as a whole. In fact, the Clippers had a higher points per possession mark, field goal percentage, effective field goal percentage, true shooting percentage, and 3-point shooting percentage when Jordan played last season. Perhaps most important, however, is the team had a higher percentage of field goal makes assisted when Jordan was on the court— indicating that he played an active role in the team’s ball movement despite not necessarily being a great passer himself.

While Jordan is a great offensive tool for the aforementioned reasons, where he really excels in terms of individual ability is on the defensive end. One of the best defensive players in the league, Jordan was able to make his mark on that end thanks to his combination of awareness and physical measurables. In a league dominated by speedy point guards, centers have a larger burden than ever before when it comes to protecting the rim and guarding multiple positions.

This is exactly where Jordan excels, as his quick feet and mammoth, 7-foot-6 wingspan tremendously bolstered the Clippers’ team defense. In fact, Jordan registered the top defensive real plus-minus rating among centers who had played at least 30 minutes per game last season.

Like Bogut, DeAndre Jordan is a center who contributes greatly to his team’s success notwithstanding unimpressive box score statistics. Indeed, Jordan contributed 6.0 offensive win shares and 5.5 defensive win shares last season despite averaging a pedestrian 12.7 points per game.

As far as value is concerned, Jordan’s is rivaled by few. If the Clippers decide to break up its formidable nucleus in the event of the failure win a championship in 2016, Jordan should be among those who are kept. Though he may not have the game of a superstar, he offers the next-best alternative — something that any team can appreciate.

Advith Sarikonda, BBall Breakdown