Heat duo pull out of Olympics

Updated June 30, 2012 09:59:28

The US Olympic basketball team will be without two of Miami Heat's 'big three' after Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh pulled out of the squad for London.

Wade, with a knee injury, and Bosh, with an abdominal complaint, played through injuries in the Heat's run to finals victory and both need time for their problems to heal.

Other candidates who have withdrawn due to injury include Derrick Rose of the Chicago Bulls and Dwight Howard of the Orlando Magic.

"We've taken four bullets with the injuries to Rose, Howard, Wade and Bosh and it will now be a testimony to the infrastructure we put in with the national team roster. I feel very confident about our roster going forward," USA basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo said.

Wade, who won a bronze medal in Athens and a gold four years ago in Beijing, said his body would not allow him to play in a third games.

"As many people may know, throughout the season, I struggled with a recurring knee issue," Wade said.

"After the championship game, I visited with my doctors for a round of comprehensive medical tests, and the recent results dictate the need for surgery.

Bosh missed nine games during the playoffs but returned to help Miami defeat the Oklahoma City Thunder in five games to win his first title since moving to South Beach.

"I am extremely disappointed to say that due to injury I cannot represent my country in the 2012 Olympics in London," Bosh said.

"The abdominal injury I suffered in Game One of the Eastern Conference semi-finals is not fully healed."

With Wade and Bosh out of consideration, there are 16 players left for 12 spots on the US team, down from an initial pool of 20.

One member of the NBA champion Heat remains on the roster that will begin training next week in Las Vegas, three-times league Most Valuable Player and NBA Finals MVP LeBron James.

Finalists for the US team: Lebron James (Heat), Carmelo Anthony (Knicks), Kobe Bryant (Lakers), Tyson Chandler (Knicks), Anthony Davis (University of Kentucky), Kevin Durant (Thunder), Rudy Gay (Grizzlies), Eric Gordon (Hornets), Blake Griffin (Clippers), James Harden (Thunder), Andre Iguodala (76ers), Kevin Love (Timberwolves), Lamar Odom (Mavericks), Chris Paul (Clippers), Russell Westbrook (Thunder) and Deron Williams (Nets).

Reuters/ABC

Tags: sport, basketball, olympics-summer, united-states

First posted June 30, 2012 09:58:18

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Boomer Mills to hit top form at Olympics

Updated June 12, 2012 17:54:21

Australia coach Brett Brown predicts the basketball career of Patty Mills will continue to soar after the star guard's successful stint at NBA powerhouse San Antonio Spurs.

Brown also believes Australian basketball will reap the benefits of Mills' sky-high confidence at the London Olympics.

Mills' journeyman career appeared at the cross-roads in January when his contract with Xinjiang was controversially terminated, with the Chinese club accusing him of faking a hamstring injury.

But a lifeline from San Antonio, where Brown is an assistant coach, has sparked a bright new chapter for Mills, with the former Portland guard hitting career-best form at the star-studded Spurs.

Mills nailed an impressive 27 points against Phoenix on April 25, before setting a new Australian single-game record with a 34-point haul against Golden State just one day later.

The 23-year-old was barely sighted during the play-offs as stars Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili returned to run the show, but Brown believed Mills' experience at the Spurs would prove to be career-defining.

"I think it resurrected his career," Brown said on Tuesday.

"He was caught at a cross-roads where he was in between leagues, he was in between teams.

"To be able to be brought in by such a great franchise like the Spurs and have the opportunity to again be with me ... it was a win on everyone's part.

"The Spurs were fortunate to have him, he was fortunate to have the Spurs and if you put your Boomers hat on, basketball in Australia will reap the benefits of he and I being able to be together.

"He experienced some great NBA performances.

"The relationships he shared with Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili and other internationals ... you can't put a price tag on that experience."

Mills, who has the option of playing on with the Spurs next season, has remained in San Antonio to work on his fitness and skills, meaning he will miss Wednesday night's third and final clash with China in Perth.

Australia leads the series 2-0, and Brown said he was looking forward to being thrust back into the hot seat after flying in from America on Monday following San Antonio's play-off exit at the hands of Oklahoma City.

"The disappointment of getting bumped out of the NBA play-offs was significant, but to have something as exciting as the preparation of the Olympic Games waiting for me makes it a little bit easier," Brown said.

AAP

Tags: basketball, olympics-summer, sport, australia

First posted June 12, 2012 17:54:21

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Bogut to miss Olympics

Updated April 22, 2012 13:38:03

Australia's Andrew Bogut says he is shattered to miss the London Olympics after being forced to withraw on Sunday.

NBA star Bogut will have arthroscopic surgery on the ankle he broke in January, and will not be fit enough to play for the Boomers at the Games in July.

"After seeing a specialist I have decided it would be best to get my ankle cleaned out via arthroscopic surgery," Bogut said on Twitter.

"There is simply not enough time to rehab and be fully fit for the games.

"Shattered thinking about missing the 2012 Olympics.

"They truly are a life-changing experience and something that you will always remember."

Bogut was always facing an uphill battle to be fit for London after fracturing his ankle, then being traded to Golden State Warriors, for whom he is yet to play a game.

As Australia's highest-profile basketballer and a two-time Olympian, Bogut was to be one of the cornerstones of Australian coach Brett Brown's plans for London.

While the 27-year-old's withdrawal is a blow, the Boomers do at least have strong depth in the centre's role.

European-based David Andersen will most likely shoulder the bulk of the inside responsibility in Bogut's absence.

Emerging Aleks Maric, who was outstanding for Australia in the recent Olympic qualifiers, AJ Ogilvy and Aron Baynes are also playing in Europe.

Golden State Warriors general manager Larry Riley said Bogut's surgery was likely to ensure he would be fit for the start of next NBA season, and labelled the procedure "routine".

"I characterise it as something that is as much a preventive thing than anything else," Riley told The Associated Press.

Bogut's NBA career has been blighted by injuries despite his imposing record when he has been fit for previous club Milwaukee Bucks.

The 2005 number one overall draft pick had serious elbow and wrist injuries hinder him last season, before the NBA lockout, personal issues which forced a mercy dash to Australia and his ankle injury hampered his 2011-12 campaign.

It is the second blow to Australian basketball's Olympic hopes after women's star Penny Taylor was ruled out of the Opals team for London following a serious knee injury.

AAP

Tags: basketball, sport, olympics-summer, united-states

First posted April 22, 2012 07:19:24

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Opals lose Penny Taylor for Olympics

Updated April 11, 2012 12:33:30

Australian basketball coach Carrie Graf has described the loss of Penny Taylor to injury as a devastating blow to the country's Olympic hopes.

Basketball Australia this morning confirmed Taylor will miss the London Games with an anterior cruciate ligament injury.

The 30-year-old will have an operation in Melbourne next week and will miss the rest of the year.

"It's a devastating blow to our team and certainly to Penny herself as an athlete," Graf said.

"You know she was going to her third Olympic Games, she's a legitimate world superstar player and a huge part of her campaign, so devastating for Penny and certainly a big blow to our team."

Taylor injured her knee playing for her Turkish club Fenerbahce in the EuroLeague.

Scans have shown she has torn her anterior cruciate ligament and will have to undergo surgery.

The 30-year-old has been part of every major Australian women's basketball success for the past decade, including their 2006 world championship win and Olympic silver medals in Athens and Beijing.

Taylor has also won an American WNBA championship with the Phoenix Mercury.

The Victorian would have been a certain selection in the Opals' final 12 for London, which would have been her third Olympic Games.

Taylor's injury will also rule her out of the Mercury's upcoming WNBA season starting next month.

She has been in superb club form, recently being named European player of the year for 2011 by respected web site Eurobasket.com after averaging more than 19 points a game for Fenerbahce.

AAP

Tags: sport, olympics-summer, basketball, australia, united-kingdom

First posted April 11, 2012 08:05:25

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Bogut's Olympics future hinges on ankle scans

Updated March 16, 2012 15:40:39

Australian basketball star Andrew Bogut's Olympic Games fate is set to be decided in the next three weeks.

Scans on the ankle Bogut broke in late January will determine whether he is any chance of playing for his new club Golden State Warriors this season, and his hopes of representing his country in London.

Bogut, who was traded from Milwaukee to Golden State in a blockbuster move this week, admits it will be a tough ask for him to play in the NBA this season regardless of how well his injury is healing.

A favourable scan means he should be fit in time for London.

But any complications, and Australia's highest profile basketballer faces an uphill battle to be at his peak for July's Games.

Regardless of the scan results, Bogut believes the Warriors are more likely to hold him back for 2012-13 rather than risk him in a handful of late-season games which may not matter.

"The last thing they'll want to do is rush me back to play in a couple of games," Bogut said.

"I've got to have scans at the eight-week point after I broke my ankle.

"If the scan goes well, and we make the playoffs, I could definitely be back.

"If the scan says we want you in the (moon) boot for another three or four weeks or they don't want me resuming too quick, it will come down to missing the season."

Bogut admits a season in which he has dealt with the NBA lockout, personal issues which forced a mercy dash to Australia once the season started, his latest injury and now his trade meant he had not thought much about the Olympics.

But if given the medical all-clear, Bogut is confident he can prepare solidly for London even without having played since January 25.

"It's a tough question to answer right now. To be honest, I haven't given it a whole lot of thought," Bogut said of whether he would be fit for Australia's Games campaign.

"Without talking myself up, I think I'm as professional as they come.

"I have my own workout and training facility in Melbourne, I'd be rehabbing and training like I would for any other event, and we have enough lead-up games to the Olympics to get ourselves ready."

Bogut completed medical checks with the Warriors on Thursday, and met his new team-mates and key club officials.

He will be presented to Warriors fans at the team's game on Saturday (AEDT) - against his old club Milwaukee.

Bogut joined the Bucks in 2005 - the first Australian to be selected at number one in the NBA draft.

The 27-year-old said he had experienced mixed emotions since finding out about his move, but was now relishing the prospect.

The California-based Warriors are thrilled with snaring Bogut, and are likely to build their team around him once he returns to full fitness.

"When I first heard the news I was excited. It's a franchise on the way up, a new city to live in, it's only one flight from Australia rather than two," he said.

"Then the next day when I started packing, I was sad because the Milwaukee Bucks are all I know in the NBA.

"Saying goodbye to the city where I spent my whole career, to the fans, it was tough.

"I've made a lot of great friends there, but at the same time, I'm excited about the journey that lies ahead."

AAP

Tags: sport, basketball, australia, united-states

First posted March 16, 2012 15:40:39

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Boomers hopeful for spot at Olympics

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