Iguodala Injured, Will Play Tomorrow. But What About The Olympics?

There’s little news coming today out of the Sixers’ camp, other than follow-up news on Andre Iguodala‘s noticeable limp during the third quarter of game 2. After coming down from the rim from one of his three thunderous dunks, Iguodala aggravated what is currently being called Achilles tendinitis. From CSNPhilly.com’s John Finger:

"Iguodala first spoke about his Achilles issue after the Sixers’ 109-92 victory over the Bulls at the United Center after Game 2 on Tuesday night. With his feet plunged in a bucket of ice, Iguodala said he didn’t think the tendonitis would be an issue come game time on Friday and he stuck with that theory after practice on Thursday.“It’s a combination of everything,” Iguodala said of his sore Achilles. “Normal wear and tear.”Iguodala scored 11 points on 5-for-12 shooting, but made just one shot that wasn’t a dunk. Following a dunk in the third quarter, Iguodala was limping noticeably and he ended up spending the majority of the fourth quarter on the bench after playing 32 minutes.But no matter how much he’s limited physically, Iguodala says it shouldn’t affect his game come Friday night.“I feel like I can think the game so I’ll still be able to be effective out there,” Iguodala said."

Iguodala has played through injuries in the waning moments of the past two seasons. Right knee problems limited him to 67 games (of of 82) in 2010-11 and forced him to miss a couple of games this season as well. I’m no doctor, so I’m not sure how related these injuries are to each other. I can’t imagine trying to keep pressure off of one leg will help the other, however. He will play tomorrow, and it seemed as if he could perform okay when he remained on the court, but that he’s had trouble with both legs this year is a bit disconcerting.

What might be most relevant in all of this is the Olympics this summer. Iguodala is one of the finalists for the Olympic team, though not a favorite to actually make the team. His defensive prowess earned him a spot on the qualifying team, where he started and shut down practically every opponent he was tasked to defend. The international pool doesn’t have quite the athletes the U.S. can throw out there, so while shutting down guys like Linas Kleiza completely is a good thing, on the Olympic team it’s just a luxury. I think he could make the team as the 11th or 12th guy, but the odds aren’t entirely in his favor.

What I’m wondering, though, is whether it would be worth it for him to play. He looked excellent to start the season, like most other Sixers, and getting some rest certainly helped him. Obviously, the lure of a gold medal is intriguing, but if the odds of him making the team are slim, is it worth it for him to try out?

The reason I ask is this: the U.S. named a preliminary roster last summer. Iguodala and 19 others made the team. However, due to injuries both mental and physical, the number of candidates has decreased. Others on the team are free agents (namely Deron Williams and Eric Gordon) this summer whose wealth could be risked while playing for free. Iguodala is among 15 that are currently still under consideration (16 if you count Lamar Odom, but I’m not counting him after this year). Because they lacked bigs, the U.S. team was expected to add another 2 to the team. Except they added only one big among the two additional selections: über-prospect Anthony Davis. The other player added was James Harden.

Harden and Iguodala produce a lot but do so differently. Harden’s an offensive wizard, Iguodala a defensive one. But they play on the perimeter at the 2/3 positions, which means he’s another competitor that was somewhat unexpected. If the odds were iffy, they are even iffier now.