Kevin Garnett injured his knee on February 19, 2009, returned about a month later, played four games, and then we were told he needed some additional rest. One game of additional rest became two games, and one week became two weeks. On April 16, the Celtics announced Garnett would be out for the playoffs.
All along we were told that KG had two knee injuries: 1) strained popliteus tendon in right knee; 2) bone spurs in right knee. The second injury made the first one more painful, according to prevailing wisdom. KG then had surgery on May 26, after which we were told "the inflamed muscle indeed was caused by the bone spur," meaning it was really one injury, the bone spurs. Once the bone spurs were removed, wa lah, the knee is all better. A couple weeks later, Ainge added "I don't think (his knee) was real serious. I think it was painful, but I don't think it was real serious." It's all right here if you want to read it. Finally, we had the hokus-pokus about KG being 100% for camp and KG announcing he was "ahead of schedule."
Originally, the FOG AT WALTHAM was explained as tactical legerdemain. The Celtics were being Belichickian or whatever. But let's cut to the chase. The idea that Kevin Garnett hasn't run yet or that no one has seen him run is ridiculous. Doc, Danny, and Celtics' doctors have seen him run and they don't like what they saw. In fact, what they saw was so inconclusive that they have no timetable for his return.
This sounds exactly like last spring, which makes me wonder whether, in fact, the bone spurs were a side issue and the "posterior knee strain" was the real issue. The problem with that scenario is that according to reports, a "posterior knee strain" is only supposed to take a maximum of six weeks for recovery.
So where does that leave us?
Bill Walton and the Bill Walton Watch has returned to Boston, a place where players suffer injuries that befuddle the best doctors in the world.
Either that, or the Celtics' Curse I talked about before 2008 has returned. I might have to rename it "The Curse of Jersey #5."
7 comments:
Lex,
He could still be ready for Camp - camp hasn't started yet! Give it a couple more weeks!
Ok, slam. But my right knee is starting hurt thinking about it!
It is indeed frustrating that we get so many contradicting reports coming out of the Celtics camp. I alternate between two thoughts. One is that they are trying to make teams underestimate them by thinking that KG won't be 100%. The other is that they found some very serious damage and that KG is struggling to recover and may or may not be 100% at some time during the season.
Being the koolaid drinker that I am, I choose to look at it this way.
The injury was the bone spurs that somehow not just inflamed the tendon but injured it because he tried to come back too soon or pushed too hard to come back. After the spurs were removed and the tendon repaired, they had to do damage control, hence the Danny story that it wasn't serious and was just the bone spurs. He is doing fine and his recovery is on track. He will be back in time for the start of the season. They are taking it slow with his recovery so as not to make the same mistake he made trying to come back too quickly in the season. He may not be 100% by the beginning of the season but he will be playing and will be 100% not too long after the season starts.
They are hoping that teams will underestimate them because of the reports that KG isn't playing yet.
That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
"very serious damage"
God, please, no!
Pass the Koolaid over here! I am trying not think about KG's knee until training camp begins, which is soon enough. At that point should be able to draw conclusions based on more than fog. At the end of the day, I only trust my own eyes. If I see KG being KG, even if in limited minutes, then I will know all is well.
I wonder how long until we see him?
here's what I'm wondering ... recent research has shown that tendonitis responds fantastically well to eccentric exercise. I presume this sort of information spreads like wildfire through the sports training world. is this the sort of therapy KG is getting?
Post a Comment