The pace of the men's basketball World Cup is getting closer and closer, and all teams are also preparing for the game. But for the U.S. men's basketball team and team head coach Popovich, in recent times, he has received news that a big star has withdrawn from the national team and not played the World Cup almost every few days, and the pressure on the shoulders of the old coach is also increasing. Recently, Popovich got another piece of bad news, and Kyle Lowry, a guard who recently won a championship with the Raptors, also announced his retirement from the U.S. team.
An important reason for Lowry's withdrawal from the national team is that he has injuries. After finishing the previous season, Lowry underwent thumb surgery last month to fix an old injury there. Lowry had been training with the team lately, and he had hoped to be able to restore his fingers to the point where he could play before the World Cup began. But contrary to expectations, the recovery of the finger after the operation was not as fast as expected, which forced Lowry to finally choose to withdraw from the World Cup.
At present, the U.S. national team is training intensively in Southern California. Although Lowry has announced that he cannot play in the World Cup, in order to show his support for the team, he will continue to stay in the training camp, train with the team and cheer for his teammates. "I really want to play for Team USA, but I can only leave the team now," Lowry said through his social media, "I'll cheer you on at home." ”
After Lowry opts out, the U.S. team currently has 15 players left in training, and among them, the final 12-man World Cup lineup will be produced.
At present, the remaining 15 players on the U.S. team are: Celtics' Jalen Brown, Tatum, Kemba Walker and Smart who is also injured; Harrison Barnes and Fox of the Kings; Lopez and Middleton of the Bucks; Joe Harris of the Nets; Kuzma of the Lakers; Mitchell of the Jazz; Mason Plumlee of the Nuggets; Tucker of the Rockets; Miles Turner of the Pacers and Derrick White of the Spurs.
For U.S. coach Popovich, Lowry's exit has left him with one less option on the defensive line. Fortunately, the team also has Kemba Walker, plus "his own" Derek White's recent training performance is also very good, but also to solve the old coach's urgent needs. But america's prospects for the World Cup have dimmed a bit because of Lowry's exit.