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The Injuries. Come On Man It Must Be a Curse

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Re: The Injuries. Come On Man It Must Be a Curse 

Post#16 » by montestewart » Tue Dec 11, 2012 5:16 am

Has there been any compilation of injuries by team (players injured, days/games lost to injuries, injuries to starters vs. reserves, etc.) that might tell Wizards fans exactly how bad the Bullets/Wizards injury luck and/or medical staff incompetence really is? I could swear I've seen something like that somewhere.
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Re: The Injuries. Come On Man It Must Be a Curse 

Post#17 » by Nivek » Tue Dec 11, 2012 9:29 am

montestewart wrote:Has there been any compilation of injuries by team (players injured, days/games lost to injuries, injuries to starters vs. reserves, etc.) that might tell Wizards fans exactly how bad the Bullets/Wizards injury luck and/or medical staff incompetence really is? I could swear I've seen something like that somewhere.


Yep, Kevin Pelton did the work for the past three seasons. From 2009-2012, Wizards lost the 4th most games due to injury, 2nd most minutes, but just the 5th fewest lost wins. So, Wizards hit by lots of injuries, but they didn't matter all that much because while the players were expected to consume a lot of minutes, they sucked anyway.
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Re: The Injuries. Come On Man It Must Be a Curse 

Post#18 » by Chocolate City Jordanaire » Tue Dec 11, 2012 2:51 pm

Thanks, Nivek. Pelton's article for BP shows Phoenix at the top or second in fewest injuries. I recall Shaq praising the medical staff of the Suns. This is something a team owner like Ted should consider to protect his investments, his players.

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The Suns' training staff has earned a legendary reputation for keeping players healthy and productive, particularly vets like Hill, Shaq and Nash. Here's how they do it.


Read more: http://valleyofthesuns.com/2012/04/05/s ... z2EkoRPjQq

Frye explained that his right butt cheek shut off, which then affected his thigh and his hamstring and threw off his balance and ultimately his shot. Once the Suns’ training staff fixed the first issue, Frye felt –- and played – like a different player.

“They’re geniuses about this kind of stuff, so they’re like, ‘Oh yeah, this isn’t working, that’s why this is,’” Frye said. “Just so, so technical it’s ridiculous.”

The Suns’ training staff has earned a reputation as the league’s best thanks to an unorthodox style focused on preventing injuries through constant surveillance and integrating the latest medical research.

That has been the formula for doing the unthinkable — keeping Steve Nash healthy enough to play like an All-Star at 38, transforming the formerly brittle Grant Hill into a 39-year-old iron man (his recent knee injury notwithstanding) and eeking one last All-Star season out of Shaq, who played more games for Phoenix in 2008-09 than he had since 1999-00 and looked retired after he left – while keeping the rest of the squad as healthy as any team in the NBA.

“They’re by far the best training staff,” Frye said. “You can ask anybody who’s played here. It’s just the honest truth.”

So how do they do it?

Shaq dubbed the Suns’ training staff the YUMS, which stands for Young Unorthodox Medical Staff.

But to head athletic trainer Aaron Nelson, the Suns’ methods only seemed unorthodox to Shaq because he wasn’t used to them.

“To him it’s unorthodox, to us it’s regular science,” Nelson said. “It’s regular kinesiology, physiology, functional anatomy.”


The Suns’ Moneyball

The Suns’ training staff aims to stay ahead of the curve, which is why this season Phoenix became one of four NBA teams to introduce a Cryosauna (Suns.com likens its look to “a refrigerator for people”) into its players’ recovery routine at a cost of around $50,000, The Arizona Republic reported.


Pretty cool that if you read to the bottom of the Sun's report above it mentions Kevin Pelton's article!
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Re: The Injuries. Come On Man It Must Be a Curse 

Post#19 » by Nivek » Tue Dec 11, 2012 2:58 pm

What a weird concept: preventing injuries by watching carefully and applying the latest medical research. Way too radical an approach for the Wizards.

Of course, even the Suns training staff transplanted to the Wizards wouldn't matter much because of Les Boulez's curse. Might be worth a try anyway.

At least until we can figure out how to lift The Curse.
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Re: The Injuries. Come On Man It Must Be a Curse 

Post#20 » by Chocolate City Jordanaire » Tue Dec 11, 2012 3:12 pm

More on that wierd concept, Nivek.

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Suns trainer Aaron Nelson says he looks for movement dysfunction in players and then tries to prevent injuries before they happen.


While Suns head trainer Aaron Nelson is quick to credit the commitment both Nash and Hill have put in to their health, the Suns' success is built largely on a philosophical approach that differs from many training staffs in the NBA. "Most teams treat athletes from a regional perspective," Hill said. "If your knee hurts, they treat the knee. [The Suns'] approach is to try to find the root of the problem, what's causing the knee to hurt. It might be that the opposite ankle's flexibility is not good, or your hamstrings are tight, or the SI (Sacroiliac) joint in your lower back is off. They spend a lot of time digging into your body and it involves a lot of manual therapy. It's part art, part science."

The Suns' strategy emerged in 2000, when, after seven years as an assistant, Nelson became the team's head trainer and began working with Michael Clark, a recognized physical therapist at the National Academy of Sports Medicine.

"I was looking for some way to change not only how we treat and rehab injuries but how we prevent injuries," said Nelson. We've always looked at mechanisms of injury regardless of philosophy. But a lot of injuries are chronic in nature.

"Say a guy rolls his ankle: Outside of treating the ankle for swelling and maybe some ligament or tendon injury, we'll also look at what he may be predisposed to going forward. Could it be something that turns into plantar fasciitis, anterior knee pain, low back pain? And maybe it is something from that specific area of the foot and ankle, but a lot of times we'll see changes in the hips, glutes strength or pelvic rotation. So we'll constantly reassess and make sure everything is moving the way it is supposed to move."

Read More: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/w ... z2EkxCMaCp


That is so unlike the Wizards modus operandi. Proactive, cutting edge stuff. Wow.

**** In addition to having cutting edge medical personnel, physical therapists,trainers, and nutritionists for the physical well being of players; why not take care of their mental and spiritual well being also? Teams IMO should also employe sports psychologists who help players keep their mojo, and licensed clinical social workers not beholden to management to counsel players with any life issues that pop up from time to time; as well as approved, licensed clergy of various faiths on speed dial.

If any team had each of those key team support systems as part of their infrastructure, in addition with having good scouting, a competent GM, and a good coach; they would stay at or near the top. It is penny wise and pound foolish to pay athletes millions upon millions but not protect an investment in them by having those types of support available. All kinds of loss prevention could be covered.

Nivek, I would even employ tutors for a team. (Great gig for CCJ!) Players need to be educated on all sorts of topics. The NBA could borrow some of the aspects of European clubs that routinely draft very young players. NBA players are entering the league relatively highly physically developed but in many cases chronologically very young and immature. Instead of calling a guy a knucklehead, part of the draft process should entail psychological testing to see which players have a desire to be lifelong learners.

I value young players like Vesely for their potential beyond the court. Teams need to do so as well.
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Re: The Injuries. Come On Man It Must Be a Curse 

Post#21 » by Higga » Tue Dec 11, 2012 3:51 pm

We are just incompetent everywhere. I was hoping with Ted we would be a more modern and cutting edge franchise like what Cuban did with the Mavs but he's basically Pollin 2.0.
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Re: The Injuries. Come On Man It Must Be a Curse 

Post#22 » by Nivek » Tue Dec 11, 2012 4:24 pm

I agree with just about everything you're suggesting, CCJ. Teams burn money on player salaries and then get cheap on stuff that could help, and actually costs a lot less than hiring another player.

I think I've shared this story on the boards, but if not...it's been long enough ago...

Back in 2006, I did a short stint as a "consultant" for the Wizards with my defensive tracking project. It was mainly a trial thing. Which was bizarre in itself. I approached them with half a season of data and they asked for a report on the next 5 games. Okay...a 41-game sample is better than a 5-game sample, but...it's their money.

The 5-game sample grew to 10 games and then I asked for a fee for the remainder of the season. My front office contact replied several days later that it was too high. (I won't say exactly how much it was, but it was significantly less than $10k for the remaining 30 or so games.) No counter-offer. So, I reduced the fee 25%. Same response: it's not in our budget. I cut it again -- to half of what I'd originally asked. No response at all.

About the same time, the Wizards signed Billy Thomas to a couple 10-day contracts and then for the remainder of the season. He ended up playing 145 total minutes with the team that season and got paid a bit more than $200k.

Now, maybe they were right not to hire me. Maybe my data was garbage. That's not the feedback I got from...well...anyone, including people who worked for the team. (Closest thing I got to a negative response was from Eddie Jordan who said, "I'm not a big stat guy...") Looking at the standings for that season, the Wiz were the 5th seed with 42 wins. Moving up in the standings would've taken another 8-10 victories, and I don't think my stuff would have made that much of a difference. It might have helped in the playoffs (that was the year they lost in 6 to Lebron and Cleveland).

But, it woulda cost a lot less than Billy Thomas. And I think it would've helped more than Thomas did. (Obviously a biased view, but still.)
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Re: The Injuries. Come On Man It Must Be a Curse 

Post#23 » by AFM » Thu Dec 13, 2012 5:12 am

I will let Ted pay me $10k for my expert opinion on Vesely.
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Re: The Injuries. Come On Man It Must Be a Curse 

Post#24 » by Silvie Lysandra » Thu Dec 13, 2012 10:01 pm

It's not a curse.

It's crappy owners who see their teams as nothing more as wealth extraction engines due to revenue sharing who don't want to spend money on the stuff that mitigates injury risks.

I wish the NBA had a process of stripping bad owners of their teams. I mean, say what you want about BASKETBALL REASONS, Stern ran the Hornets a lot better than pretty much everyone in the CP3 era.

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