GAME 4 DIRKIE: KYRIE!

[KillerLeft]

I know Slovenia is Luka's home and he obviously likes going back to his roots in the off season, (I think he's buying a farm there?), but I wonder what would happen if he chose to spend a bigger chunk of the summer in DAL working with the coaching staff and teammates to refine their play styles and prepare for a potential championship run. No disrespect intended for out Slovenian board members. I don't know what his summer schedule was like, but the little news I heard was from there and I have the impression Luka arrived just in time for training camp. My apologies in advance if I'm mistaken.

The question for me has become this:

Is this a Dirk-like situation, wherein, despite lacking the MJ, Kobe "serial killer" level of commitment to competing right out of the gate, Luka will continuously mature and be more mindful of how to keep his body operating at a high level, OR, is Luka simply another example (regardless of how talented) of an Eastern European NBA player who limits their own potential due to a culturally different lens on what his job actually is? Vlade Divac and Hedo Turkoglu were both GREAT players. Not as great as Luka, but far above average, even by NBA standards. Both would've been even better had they made lifestyle sacrifices the way the best-of-the-best American athletes do. 

In a way, their (the Euro guys') approach is healthier, from a macro view, as I think one has to have basically a singular focus in life from an inappropriately young age to "make it" here as an athlete. The filter system just has so much more competition along the way over here, whereas (I think) making it to the NBA from over there is more about true talent, love for the sport, etc (in the most general of senses). But man, to my American-conditioned sensibilities, it's hard not to view some of those guys' careers as missed opportunities, rather than the success stories they are, in reality.