A serious analysis of the Blazers and Injuries

[hasoos]

A note: Darius Miles, Zach Randolph, Isaiah Rider, Derek Anderson, Shareef Abdur-Rahim, Theo Ratliff all missed significant time with injuries before McMillian joined the team.

True enough, but I think you have to throw Derek Anderson and Theo out of that list, because they have been "hurt" everywhere they went. Sometimes it was only their feelings that were hurt, but that was enough to keep them on the bench.

 

[illmatic99]

I prefer having a bad roster and sucking because of lack of talent, over having one of the most talented rosters in the league with the majority of those players getting injured.

 

[chris_in_pdx]

I prefer having a bad roster and sucking because of lack of talent, over having one of the most talented rosters in the league with the majority of those players getting injured.

For me, one of the funnest seasons in recent memory was the 2006-07 team. Yes, they went 32-50 on the season, but the team was a kick in the pants to watch and root for. They had star pieces, but really didn't have the talent or chops to get over the hump, but they sure as hell tried, night in and night out.

 

[BlazerCaravan]

For me, one of the funnest seasons in recent memory was the 2006-07 team. Yes, they went 32-50 on the season, but the team was a kick in the pants to watch and root for. They had star pieces, but really didn't have the talent or chops to get over the hump, but they sure as hell tried, night in and night out.

This makes sense. There's been a few studies that show when expectations are low, happiness is easier to come by. Similar studies also show that minor disappointments are weighed more heavily than minor pleasures, so if expectations are high, a win is minor, but a loss is heavier. You can have a 54-win season (which is obviously more wins than losses) and still be devastated by an injury, playoff loss, or that one win we should have got but didn't because Blake missed 4 straight free throws.

 

[maxiep]

Przybilla - no history of knee injuries.
Camby - no history of knee injuries.
Pendergraph - no history of knee injuries. Had a hip issue, but that was resolved and wasn't a factor in the knee injury.
Oden - no history of knee injuries. Yeah, he had a wrist issue and the old "one leg is shorter than the other", but does anyone really think that should have been a red flag about him ultimately needing microfracture surgery on both knees?

So Roy and Williams, I'll give you. The rest is just the breaks of the game - no pun intended.

Other than Przy, you're spot on. Joel had knee issues with both MIL and ATL. He was a rock with us until last year, however.

I really think we need to look at our trainers. Some of it may be bad luck, some of it may be the players we draft, but some of these injuries have to fall on our conditioning and practice program. For example, who thinks it's a good idea after microfracture to create a program to make a player bigger, as we did with GO his rookie year? He should have come back in the 250s, not the 280s. Who allows Roy to return so soon after knee surgery, even though it was the playoffs?

I know the Blazers are perplexed, but perhaps that's the problem. I think they need to create an advisory board of trainers and physicians to review the practices of this team. The way they lift weights, the way they condition themselves and the way they practice.

 

[Shooter]

Are the floors at either the practice facility or at the Rose Garden harder/softer/more or less forgiving to impact, that's contributing to the deterioration of knees and legs?

Interesting question. Along those lines, I'm also curious about how many of these injuries are happening on our home court versus the other team's court?

 

[e_blazer]

I remember Joel had an ankle injury when he played for the Bucks and it cost him half a season. I don't remember any knee issues until he became a Blazer, but you may be right.

As far as the medical/training staff theory goes, it seems to me that the injuries are too diverse and are happening in too many ways for there to be any real connection. I agree with you on Oden and the weight issue, but my recollection is that it was Greg that fell in love with weight training after the first MF surgery and the Blazers had to push him to drop weight before he started playing again. Roy's knees were pretty much shot after that surgery last spring that removed the last of his meniscus. Hard to say what, if any, connection there is between playing during the playoffs and the pain that started this fall. All of that said, if I'm Paul Allen, I'd be getting some outside experts to review what's going on. A fresh set of eyes couldn't hurt.

 

[Nikolokolus]

Przybilla - no history of knee injuries.
Camby - no history of knee injuries.
Pendergraph - no history of knee injuries. Had a hip issue, but that was resolved and wasn't a factor in the knee injury.
Oden - no history of knee injuries. Yeah, he had a wrist issue and the old "one leg is shorter than the other", but does anyone really think that should have been a red flag about him ultimately needing microfracture surgery on both knees?

So Roy and Williams, I'll give you. The rest is just the breaks of the game - no pun intended.

Well I never parsed it out to only knee issues. But if you look at Pryzbilla he had durability issues early in his career, Oden had hip surgery in sixth grade, Camby has missed a ton of games throughout his career to various ailments ... the common theme here is that everything in your base is usually interconnected somehow, and if you are constantly injuring either your hip, your back, your knees or your feet any self respecting DO would tell you that there is usually some innate imbalance in your physiology and your body's mechanics that are contributing to those injuries. So maybe these guys are all getting hurt because of some inherent weaknesses in their bodies and then its being compounded by some kind of systemic training and conditioning errors being implemented by Bobby Medina et al.

Ian Thomsen from SI.com did a really nice piece on the Suns training staff a year or so back on their orthopedist and kinesiology influenced approach to training and how they were able to identify some of the issues that were plaguing Shaq when he was with Miami and rehab him in a new way and he's subsequently hired a guy with the same philosphy to be his personal trainer since then

 

[jlprk]

my recollection is that it was Greg that fell in love with weight training after the first MF surgery and the Blazers had to push him to drop weight before he started playing again.

The trainer proudly told the Oregonian of Oden's weight gain. The media told McMillan. He was displeased and got Pritchard to halt the weight gaining.