As Heartbreaks Pile Up, Jensen Grows Closer To Blazers

[ABM]

http://www.columbian.com/weblogs/bl...heartbreaks-pile-jensen-grows-closer-blazers/

Trail Blazers coach Nate McMillan referred to him as his “right-hand man.”

General manager Kevin Pritchard called him the “greatest man in show business.”

And Blazers such as Greg Oden, Travis Outlaw and Jerryd Bayless hold him in the highest of regards.

Which talented, big-name, Rip City superstar is the recipient of such lofty praise?

Owner Paul Allen? President Larry Miller? All-Star guard Brandon Roy?

To all of the above: No.

It is Jay Jensen, head athletic trainer for the Blazers.

During a surreal season in which injuries have rivaled victories and setbacks have sometimes trumped progress, Jensen has been at the center of the storm.

“It breaks your heart,” Jensen said.

And he has witnessed all the heartbreak.

When Oden fractured his left patella and crashed hard against the Rose Garden floor in pain, Jensen was there. When center Joel Przybilla followed up Oden’s pain with more of his own, Jensen was there. And when everyone from Outlaw and Bayless to Roy, Steve Blake and LaMarcus Aldridge have added their names to a list that has seen the Blazers rack up 242 games missed due to injury, Jensen has been there.

McMillan said Jensen is irreplaceable. Spot on with his observations. Heartfelt and caring in his approach. But also tough and unbending as steel when he has to make a call.

“He and I talk more than anybody,” McMillan said. “Because he’s letting me know where the players are. How they feel. Who can go, who can’t. Our travel plans, he arranges all of that.”

Moreover, Jensen blurs the lines between trainer and friend. His attention to detail and intricate medical and psychological observations are uncanny, McMillan said. But what makes Jensen special is that he goes the extra mile. Where most trainers would wait in the hallway while a player is being cut open on the operating table, Jensen insists on being in the room and watching everything up close.

McMillan referred to the Blazers’ injuries this season as “freak accidents.” And Jensen has provided Portland’s coach with a window into the hearts and minds of his players as he patiently waits for reinforcements to arrive.

“It’s almost like a doctor-patient,” said McMillan, who has balanced a ruptured Achilles tendon with coaching duties. “He loves (them). These are his guys. And it’s like your kids. We all our his kids. And he wants us to be healthy. He does everything possibly known to try and keep us healthy.”

Jensen has served 20 seasons in the NBA and is in his 16th year with the Blazers. In contrast, McMillan is in the middle of his fifth season with Portland.

Jensen has applied tape, stopped bleeding wounds and propped up bruised egos while P.J. Carlesimo, Mike Dunleavy, Maurice Cheeks, Pritchard and McMillan have all coached the black and red. And Jensen said it has taken time to build an open, honest relationship with McMillan — one that has evolved over time into something special and lasting.

“To be quite honest with you, although I work for the Trail Blazers, I work for the coach, too,” Jensen said. “And I kind of carry out whatever it is that he wants to have done. I make Nate aware of everything that’s happened that he needs to be aware of, in order to make him a better coach and make him successful.”

The diverse list includes flight, practice and meeting times, as well as varying schedules for shootarounds and rest.

“We talk everyday,” Jensen said. “And I give Nate an unbiased opinion. If he asks me for it, I’ll tell him what I think.”..................

.....“Jay is a great guy,” Oden said. “He has a lot on his plate, but he handles it well. And he makes sure all of us are all taken care of.”

However, the always on-call lifestyle at the core of Jensen’s job transfers from the professional to the personal.

While an embarrassed Oden manned up and apologized Jan. 26 for nude, private pictures of himself that were posted on the internet, Jensen stood in the shadows, pacing back and forth and watching from afar. And as soon as Oden’s media session at the Blazers’ practice facility in Tualatin, Ore., drew to a close, it was Jensen who Oden walked straight toward.

“We all mistakes. They’re not perfect, and we’re not perfect,” Jensen said. “And there’s only one perfect man to my knowledge that’s ever been on the face of this earth.”

He added: “(That) doesn’t affect one little bit how I feel about Greg Oden. He’s welcome in my house with my family anytime he wants. And I love the kid.”

 

[MARIS61]

It is often the loving caretaker who turns out to be the mercy killer.

Someone needs to keep an eye on this guy.

 

[THE HCP]

He is a great guy. Very well respected around the league.

 

[UKRAINEFAN]

Maybe all the accidents are freak accidents. But If I am boss of the Blazers I would want to examine and evaluate. Is it just a coincidence that the 37 year old Howard has had no problems and that he also spent his summer at a Tim Grover facility? I understand it could be a coincidence as the 34 year old Miller also never has problems and did nothing this summer. (Although it would be nice to have a player who is both healthy and well conditioned.)

But I certainly would look at it, I would send somebody to look at what they do there and ask why. I would ask a lot of questions of experts in physiology; just look at the possibililty that the Blazers could be doing better.

 

[handiman]

I suppose the old adage, "nice guys finish last," doesn't apply to trainers?

 

[Fez Hammersticks]

I remember many fans were calling for this guys head after the tenth injury.

 

[barfo]

“We all mistakes. They’re not perfect, and we’re not perfect,” Jensen said. “And there’s only one perfect man to my knowledge that’s ever been on the face of this earth.”

And so we should never forget about Jason Jennings.

barfo

 

[Entity]

And so we should never forget about Jason Jennings.

barfo

Oh... for a second I thought "the perfect man" was that same guy all the women seem to keep talking about. Or maybe it IS Jason...

 

[oldmangrouch]

The whole injury issue is bloody complicated.

Injuries are part of the game, and no team is immune. On the flip side, the sheer volume of injuries that have hit the Blazers is hard to rationalize.

Is it a treatment issue, where minor injuries are mistreated until they become major problems?

Is it a conditioning issue, where players are getting needless injuries because they aren't in shape?

Is it a scouting issue, where the team doesn't properly screen prospective players?

As tempting as it is to blame some mystical curse that the team is powerless to do anything about, simply throwing up your hands in dispair doesn't seem very constructive.

 

[oldmangrouch]

It is often the loving caretaker who turns out to be the mercy killer.

Someone needs to keep an eye on this guy.

Ah, but is it "mercy". or just a case of a medical professional burying his mistakes....and (more importantly) will the team get a roster exemption/salary cap relief out of it?

 

[jlprk]

It is often the loving caretaker who turns out to be the mercy killer. Someone needs to keep an eye on this guy.

Maybe all the accidents are freak accidents. But If I am boss of the Blazers I would want to examine and evaluate. Is it just a coincidence that the 37 year old Howard has had no problems and that he also spent his summer at a Tim Grover facility? I understand it could be a coincidence as the 34 year old Miller also never has problems and did nothing this summer.

Reading between the lines of that sanctimonious article, I smell a Uriah Heep.

Ah, but is it "mercy". or just a case of a medical porfessional burying his mistakes....and (more importantly) will the team get a roster exemption/salary cap relief out of it?

The so-called rash of injuries may be Pritchard's plan to sign someone from the D-League because he lacks the talent to make trades. He's secretly as bored as I am with no roster change and this is his only trick left, besides not playing someone for a season to collect on the insurance. I get warm and fuzzy when I think of him. He's a genius. In KP I trust. Like my ex-wife.