Paul Pierce amplifies injured Kevin Durant’s importance for Team USA despite LeBron James’ exploits
So far, Kevin Durant has been unable to play for Team USA leading up to the 2024 Paris Olympics. After arriving to training camp with a calf strain earlier this month, Durant was unable to fully participate in practice. The former MVP then wound up watching all of Team USA's international friendly games from the sidelines leading up to the Olympics, leaving fans concerned about his status.
The way Paul Pierce sees things, despite LeBron James leading Team USA to back-to-back wins, Durant's absence could leave a massive void in the team if he isn't fully healthy.
Heading into the start of the Olympics this weekend, the hope is that Durant will be able to fully participate in a scrimmage before the team heads to Paris. Leading up to the start of the Olympics, Durant's agent has refuted reports that he could miss Team USA's opening game against Serbia.
Despite that, NBA insider Brian Windhorst has reported that Team USA very well may end up playing their opening game without Durant. On Thursday's episode of Undisputed, Paul Pierce weighed in on the situation while discussing betting odds for Team USA's opening game against Serbia.
"I think he just adds such a dimension to the team, and he's the most experienced. He understands the rules. He understands the mentality you gotta have. He's the leading scorer in the history. He understands international play. ...KD is different.
"Regardless of the shape. He's still 7ft and can shoot over the top of anybody. You just throw him on the court. ... You can literally put KD on an airplane, fly around the world, don't know where you going for 36 hours, drop him off anywhere, and he can still make a bucket without having to play in like three months."
Looking at Kevin Durant's status for Team USA's opening game on Sunday
Since the start of training camp, there have been questions as to whether or not Kevin Durant would be healthy enough to compete in the Olympics. With Kawhi Leonard being replaced by Derrick White, and Durant's previous Achilles tear, fans questioned whether or not he too would be replaced given his calf strain.
As coach Steve Kerr explained, while the team was hopeful that Durant would be able to participate in one of their international friendlies, things didn't work out that way. Despite that, Kerr made it clear that there has been no talk of potentially replacing Kevin Durant on the Team USA roster.
With one more practice to go, the hope is that Kevin Durant will be able to scrimmage before Team USA plays their first Group Phase game on Sunday. The game will be played against Serbia, who finished second in last year's FIBA World Cup.
The two teams recently played on July 17 in an international friendly to prepare for the Olympics, with Team USA picking up a dominant 105-79 win. Since then, however, Team USA has been in two closely contested games that saw the team pick up narrow wins over Germany and South Sudan.
Following their opening game of the Group Phase on Sunday, Team USA will be back in action on July 31 when they face off with South Sudan in a highly-anticipated rematch where Kevin Durant is expected to play.
The team will then wrap up the Group Phase on Aug. 3 when they play Puerto Rico, before then shifting their sights to the knockout round.