Sports are fun
to play. The exercise is good for you (unless you overdo it) and it is not only
fun, but you can interact with some cool people, both teammates and opponents.
Unfortunately, both in amateur and especially in professional sports, injuries
are part of the game. Most injuries occur during the game, and a rare few occur
elsewhere, most of which are …questionable. We will leave it at that.
When you see a pro
athlete get hurt, especially serious injuries, you have to feel bad for the
player. In Chicago and Miami yesterday,
we saw a player go down with a season-ending knee injury, worse yet, each
injury occurred in a non-contact situation. For the Knicks’ rookie Iman
Shumpert, it was a sudden torn ACL injury that happens on occasion in all
sports. Unfortunately, with this NBA season being more compacted than usual,
leaving less time for rest and/or rehab, and no less in-game intensity,
especially in the playoffs, this kind of thing may (or will) happen more than
normal.
For the Bulls’
Derrick Rose, last year’s NBA MVP, his torn ACL may well put the final period
on a injury-filled season. One can argue
whether he should have been in with just over a minute left in a game when the
Bulls were ahead by double digits, but the bottom line is that a NBA team, with
a little luck and a lot of good shots and execution, can run off a dozen points
in a minute, with the 24-second shot clock and hitting a lot of 3-pointers. In
Game One of a playoff series, especially if your team is favored to win, you
want to send a message to your opponents, current and possible future ones,
about what your team is about, and build momentum. Would you be happier if he went down 1 minute
after the game starts? I didn’t think so. Some teams have overcome major
injuries (to superstars and/or important role players) and still win. Sometimes
it is luck, sometimes it is true grit and determination, sometimes…it is some
of both.
Rose would not have
wanted to sit at that time, earlier injuries or not. You do not baby your players, especially the
face of the franchise, once the playoffs start. However, the Bulls have played
a third of their schedule without Rose. They can beat Philly without Rose, but
can they beat Boston and/or Miami or Indiana (if they survive after Orlando’s
Game 1 upset)? Why not? Just because your team has more talent, on paper or
otherwise, does not guarantee a team playoff (or regular season) wins, much
less titles. Miami knows about that! Jeremy Lin is going to try to get back to play
for the Knicks in this series, which could help, even if he can do little in
the box score. It could be a Willis Reed-like moment, if the Knicks can win
games 2 on the road and 3 and/or 4 in New York, make it 2-2 and extend this
series to best of 3...and New York knows all about that. And if this series
goes to a seventh game (in Miami)…all bets are off!
Orlando won at
Indiana without superstar center Dwight Howard, out for the year with a back
injury (Perhaps the Magic should have traded him at the trade deadline for high
picks and maybe more after all?). Indiana has no superstars (Roy Hibbert is
nice at center and a new All-Star, but he is no Howard overall). The Pacers knew the situation, and blowing
Game One at home under these circumstances is INEXCUSEABLE! Can the Bulls shock
the world without Rose? Orlando without Howard? the Knicks without Shumpert, maybe Lin and so on? Why not? The Bulls (nor any of these teams) are not a one-man team (maybe Orlando is) and they play
good D as a team (Rose is not an all-world defender…but Howard is....and Shumpert is heading that way...sorry).
Good D and great
team play can overcome a lot. Boston is old…and Miami is not great on the road.
The Bulls still have home-court in a series against ANYBODY. Win your 3 (or 4)
at home, and be competitive on the road…you win series, because a home team can
choke one at anytime. Ask the LA Kings or the Washington Capitals about that!
That is the beauty of a best-of –seven series and of the playoffs in general.
Anyone can go down, anyone can rise and anything can happen. Orlando can do the
same. So can New York. After one game played…you never know. Good luck to
Howard, Rose and Shumpert on their recoveries and hopefully all will be back
next season. Unfortunately, Howard and Rose will not be able (we think) to play for Team USA at the Olympics in a few months. This is unfortunate, but this is life. Both are young enough that, if they wish to, and they are healthy (and are chosen), that they can be on the Olympic team in 2016 and compete for NBA titles in 2012-13 and beyond. Injuries are part of life. So is disappointment. In individual or team sports, talent and desire alone (or together) does NOT guarantee a (professional) championship by your name. A lot of Hall-of Fame level athletes, like Charles Barkley and Reggie Miller, to name two, can attest to that.
