The injury bug has reared its ugly head during the first round of the NBA playoffs and the team that wins this year may not be the best team but have the last man standing.
Many players, coaches and trainers have blamed the grueling schedule that was implemented this year due to the lock out. The recovery time for athletes was diminished and that increased the risk of injury. This should favor younger guys as their bodies are able to recuperate quicker, however this doesn’t seem to be the case and maybe that’s psychological. The older players know it’s a marathon not a sprint and have taken more time to recover from “minor” injuries while the young guns rush back to the court. Whatever the reason the playoffs are suffering because injuries have removed some of the league’s best.
Da Bulls and the city of Chicago have been the hardest hit with injuries and their effects. The city of Chicago believed this was the year. Derrick Rose was suppose to show he could do in Chicago what #23 did. He could lead this team to not only the championship but build a dynasty. This is a city that during the glory days won 6 championships in 10 years but since the end of Jordan & Co. have not seen a title game. It will be difficult for the Bulls to beat the Sixers without Rose and almost impossible to win it all…but then Joakim Noah went down with an ankle injury.
The Knicks are in a similar situation to the Bulls. Melo was suppose to bring the Knicks back to the days of Patrick Ewing but in Un-Ewinglike fashion Melo has yet to show up in the playoffs. In fact, Melo has been the epitome of futility during the playoffs though out his career and it probably didn’t help that this year’s co-star Amare Stoudemire had an outburst that cost him a broken hand. Plus, the supporting cast of Jeremy Lin (injured during the season) and Iman Shumpert’s (Playoff ACL tear) have been written out of the script. Maybe next year NY…maybe next year.
The Magic lost Dwight Howard before the playoffs even started.
So far the other playoff teams have avoided major season ending injuries and teams like the Sixers, Clippers, Nuggets, Grizzlies and Thunder should feel confident in the youth of their stars but the Celtics, Spurs and Lakers are in the danger zone. The Pacers and Heat fall into some sort of middle ground where there should be some normal injury concern but their stars should be fine.
All in all this year’s NBA champion will be the team that can avoid injuries and continue to everything else that got them to this point.
Action Jackson Sports 