Using injuries as excuse? Here's a hard dose of reality
At this stage of the season, it's common for apologists to start making excuses.
You've probably already seen Joe Sportscaster break down the large assortment of injuries that have plagued your city's team. The guy at the bar who always has his team's cap on goes one further, lamenting an unfair schedule. Too many back-to-backs ... that really tough road swing came at the most inopportune time ... blah, blah and blah.
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| Despite being hit hardest by injuries, Chris Paul and the Hornets are still in the playoff conversation. (AP) |
Here are, in descending order, the 10 teams that have had the roughest time of it, with a grade on how they handled that adversity. Notice that in this sampling, you won't see Dallas, Phoenix, San Antonio or Detroit on this list. Consider that proof that being lucky health-wise is just as important as being good.
New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets: Byron Scott got to enjoy his projected starting lineup for all of seven games this season. By the time November ended, David West (elbow) was done until deep into January and Peja Stojakovic (back) remains out. Chris Paul joined them on the IR in late December due to a bad ankle, and he's playing with a stress fracture in his left foot that's going to require surgery at season's end. Tyson Chandler is trying to play through a toe injury that makes it painful to walk, and Desmond Mason is out for the season after having his nose broken. He's having surgery Friday to repair a deviated septum. Sixth man Bobby Jackson, who has missed over 25 games with various injuries, described his team's season on his blog the following way: It's almost like you getting one cut on one arm, and as soon as you put a band-aid on it to stop the bleeding, you get a cut on your other arm and must take the band-aid from your original cut and put it on the most recent one, after a while all the cuts bleed a little at a time ... Despite the blood, the Hornets still find themselves in the playoff chase, which is a testament to their resiliency and Scott's ability to mix and match combinations to remain afloat. Grade: A.
Milwaukee Bucks Being unable to persevere through injuries ultimately cost Terry Stotts his job, but new coach Larry Krystkowiak isn't faring all that well, either. Charlie Villanueva's shoulder has made him a non-factor for most of the season, but the bottom really fell out when Michael Redd came down wrong after a meaningless last-minute dunk in January that ended up costing him 20 games. The Bucks won three of those. A heel injury kept projected starting small forward Bobby Simmons from even suiting up this season, while Andrew Bogut (foot), Villanueva and Redd have each joined him on the sidelines the rest of the way. The only starter left to end the season is Mo Williams, and not surprisingly, the Bucks are limping toward the finish. Grade: F.
Washington Wizards: Prized offseason pickup Darius Songaila never got started, but unless you count Etan Thomas and Brendan Haywood's repeated skirmishes, Washington wasn't really affected by adversity until late January. Antawn Jamison sprained a knee and missed a dozen games, eight of which ended up losses. Caron Butler was absent for the final three setbacks during that stretch, and a knee contusion sidelined him for an additional six games in mid-to-late March. In his third game back on April 1, Butler broke his hand against the Bucks, requiring season-ending surgery. Less than 72 hours later, Gerald Wallace fell into Gilbert Arenas' left knee run, costing the All-Star guard the remainder of the season. Eddie Jordan's team is playoff bound, but it has no chance of winning a series. When either Arenas, Butler or Jamison has missed a game this season, Washington is 6-17 entering its April 11 visit to Miami. There's simply not enough depth on board to overcome the absence of any of its "Big Three." The Wizards have been in most games without Arenas and Butler, but have faded down the stretch as a direct result of being so short-handed. Grade: F.
Miami Heat: Dwyane Wade's return to the lineup on April 8 marked the first time Miami had all its key pieces together all season. Shaquille O'Neal went down early in November with a bum knee, Jason Williams has been in and out of the lineup with his knee woes, Pat Riley left for over a month to undergo hip replacement surgery, and Eddie Jones didn't arrive until Wade was already out with his torn labrum. The reunion lasted just one game, because O'Neal's grandfather died, and Gary Payton is out the rest of the regular season with a torn calf muscle. If it hasn't been one thing for the Heat, it's been another. Wade looks far removed from his normal self, which combined with a likely No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs, stands to make their hopes of a repeat a longshot. All things considered, being able to overcome injuries to its two All-Stars and still managing to win its division does count for something, especially since there were many who wrote Miami's postseason hopes off once Wade went down. Grade: B.
Boston Celtics: Al Jefferson's breakout season ended prematurely due to a knee injury, but at least he got in 60-plus games. Paul Pierce's elbow problems and other nagging injuries will hold him to a career-low 47 appearances, a lower figure than even his strike-shortened rookie season. Wally Szczerbiak and Tony Allen each missed about 50 games. When veterans are forced to abandon an already young team, the end results tend to be ugly. It's like leaving a child stranded in the wild. Boston went 2-22 during the six-week stretch Pierce missed from late December through early January. The only saving graces are that Jefferson grew into a go-to type and that Greg Oden or Kevin Durant could make all the suffering worthwhile. Grade: F.
Atlanta Hawks: When Joe Johnson went down with the calf injury that cost him the remainder of his season, Atlanta somehow won four consecutive games. The surge was only temporary, followed by losses in nine of 10, ultimately flushing yet another season down the toilet. Mike Woodson entered the season with high hopes, but Marvin Williams broke his hand and never got started, Speedy Claxton also hurt his hand and was a non-factor in the team's largest problem area. To show how jinxed Atlanta has been, take into account that rookie Shelden Williams will wind up leading the team in games played. With Johnson, Claxton, and Josh Childress all ending the season inactive, second-year shooter Salim Stoudamire will pace the guards. Once again, a trip to the lottery awaits, but unless they get a top-three pick, Phoenix will receive the Hawks' pick as compensation for Joe Johnson. Grade: D.
Los Angeles Lakers: Lamar Odom was having the best season of his career when a knee sprain took him out three minutes into a win in Houston on Dec. 12. L.A. managed to tread water in his absence, but weren't so lucky when Luke Walton's shoulder betrayed him in late January. The Lakers went 6-15 in his absence, which included five consecutive losses at the tail end of the string when both he and Odom were out. Throw in Chris Mihm's bum ankle ending his season before it started, Kwame Brown missing half the season with an assortment of issues, and Vladimir Radmanovic separating his shoulder snowboarding, and it's a wonder Phil Jackson has had enough pieces to put together a frontcourt. Finishing seventh in the Western Conference is actually a decent accomplishment. Grade: C.
New York Knicks: A sprained toe has Stephon Marbury out of the lineup for the team's final playoff push, which is fitting given how 2007 has gone for them. I get on Isiah Thomas quite a bit, but do concede that New York lost three of its top five scorers for the season's final month, including David Lee, the team's heart and soul. Quentin Richardson was bouncing back nicely from a tough first season with the Knicks when his back gave out, requiring surgery. A strange leg injury did Lee in, and Crawford fractured an ankle. The Knicks are 3-11 since James Dolan gave Thomas his extension. Grade: F.
New Jersey Nets: You know things were going to get bad in Jersey when you saw Clifford Robinson go down. The 40-year old had never been on the injured list in his entire 18-year career when he hurt his knee back in November. Nenad Krstic was lost for the season on Dec. 23 with a torn ACL, and with rookie Josh Boone just coming back from injury, the Nets had no big men. Richard Jefferson's ankle required surgery come January, and he's only recently returned. Through it all, Lawrence Frank leaned on All-Stars Jason Kidd and Vince Carter to shepherd the team through all the rough patches, and got an unexpected boost from Mikki Moore to help offset the Nets' lack of size. Grade: C.
Houston Rockets: If you have to lose Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady, it's best to do so separately. That's what we learned this season, when the Rockets All-Stars went down for extended periods for the second consecutive season, but managed not to have those stints on IR overlap. McGrady returned from his back injury to help carry the Rockets when Yao broke his leg. They went 20-12 in their center's absence, with Jeff Van Gundy finding ways to win every given night. Being successful during that stretch is likely going to pay off in home-court advantage in Houston's upcoming first round series with Utah. Grade: A.
Others considered: Seattle Supersonics (Rashard Lewis and Ray Allen both out more than 20 games); Charlotte Bobcats (Gerald Wallace, Emeka Okafor, Sean May and Brevin Knight have all missed stretches); Denver Nuggets (Carmelo Anthony and J.R. Smith suspensions, Allen Iverson's ankle woes, and early injuries to Nene and Marcus Camby); Memphis Grizzlies (Pau Gasol out to start season, team starts 5-17. Mike Miller, Rudy Gay, Damon Stoudamire finish season on IR).
