Krzyzewski Wouldn't Mind If Finals Ended Tonight DURHAM, N.C. - Count Mike Krzyzewski among the more interested observers in the remainder of the N.B.A. finals, which could end Thursday night, which would be just fine with Krzyzewski, the Duke coach. His rooting interest lies with neither Miami nor Oklahoma City, but more with time - time off, time to heal and time to prepare. In addition to his job at Duke, Krzyzewski also coaches the U.S.A. Basketball men's national team. As he noted Thursday, inside a lounge at Duke's basketball facility, the national team's first practice is about two weeks away, and the London Games begin less than a month after the first practice. These N.B.A. Finals feature six players in U.S.A. Basketball's roster pool. Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook of the Thunder and LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh of the Heat would all seem likely to make the roster, which must be finalized by July 7. Oklahoma City's James Harden was recently added to the pool as well. But Krzyzewski said he learned in his seven years as with U.S.A. Basketball to never assume anything. That is why they asked for the extension to finalize the roster, after the start of training camp on July 5. The time before the roster deadline is less for an open tryout and more to give U.S.A. Basketball an idea of the health and mindset of individual players. Bosh missed part of the playoffs with an injury. There are murmurs that Wade is banged up, too. Both could decide they cannot play, joining the players Krzyzewski already lost to injury, stalwarts such as Dwight Howard and Derrick Rose. Beyond the mental and physical concerns, Krzyzewski said some players could have contractual concerns as well. "It's going to be interesting, with the finals ending so late," Krzyzewski said. I watch the games. First, you don't want anyone to get hurt. Second, you don't want an incident to occur where two guys start having a thing and two weeks from now we're going to have try to overcome that. Krzyzewski has been through this before, both as the coach of the team that won a gold medal at the Beijing Games in 2008 and as the coach of the victorious world championship squad two years later. Yet, in those instances and his current one, he found the dynamic vastly different. For an example, he noted that the Thunder, because of the N.B.A. lockout and the subsequent condensed season, have played a basketball game every 1.6 days. He repeated the number for emphasis. One-point-six. In two weeks, Durant, Westbrook and Harden will arrive in Las Vegas for the training camp. They will be asked to run a system they are less familiar with, with teammates that for the most part they know less well. They will be asked to practice. "In the last year, they might have had five days of practice," Krzyzewski said. We might ask them to practice for five days straight. Well, that's as much as they practiced all year. So how we conduct practice, how long, how much contact if any to begin with, those are really critical factors as we build a team and a system and try to peak once we've hit London. Talent helps, of course, and U.S.A. Basketball will easily be the most talented team at the Olympics. Durant, for example, didn't play for them in 2008. Anthony Davis, who won national player of the year honors with Kentucky last season, is also a candidate for the roster. Other points of note: Krzyzewski said the team will practice in front of 4,000 veterans, 200 of whom he called "Wounded Warriors," in their Olympic run-up. He said the mid-July exhibition game in Washington would be particularly infused with patriotism. "The armed services are the best team in the world right now," said Krzyzewski, a West Point graduate. Krzyzewski also said James would rise to "legendary status" should he secure an N.B.A. championship. Krzyzewski added: "I'm amazed at the constant talk about Russell Westbrook. This kid, at 23, is one of the most talented players on this planet. Yet he's critiqued so much.