Jason Smith Status

Sixerhappy · Post #1 » by **Sixerhappy** » Fri Sep 12, 2008 12:11 pm

I have heard nothing for a long time about the severity of his injury and how long he will be out. Has he had surgery yet? I think he can become a very good NBA player so I hope that the team does not abandon him like often happens in these cases.

Post #2 » by **The Guilty Party** » Fri Sep 12, 2008 1:00 pm

Abandon him? He was a first round pick 1 year ago. As for his status, I haven't read anything about his status in a while either and I'm sure he's had his surgery by now.

geiger · Post #3 » by **geiger** » Fri Sep 12, 2008 2:34 pm

I don't know that he's had it. Sometimes, depending on the type of ACL tare, they ask the guys to do some exercises to strengthen the surrounding joints and the other leg a little bit. But we won't hear much for about 8 more months, which is when he'll be able to resume working out. His season is done. He'll be on IR this entire season, then come in and play in the summer league next year to try to get back in basketball shape and hopefully will spend a lot of time in the weight room during his rehab and come into pre-season in great shape next season and be able to pick up where he left of.

phillyborn_jacksonite · Post #4 » by **phillyborn_jacksonite** » Fri Sep 12, 2008 3:20 pm

dont expect much fromhim next year either. i have had this surgery and it always takes at least 1 year till you get your hops and more importantnly your confidence back. look at willie. unfortunately this takes away his biggest asset as defender. his athleticism. i hop he can complety recover becuase without his hops he goes from being an average defender with a low ceiling to a below average defender stuck ina crawl space.

geiger · Post #5 » by **geiger** » Fri Sep 12, 2008 5:46 pm

He has over 1 year before the start of next season to recover. It takes a regular person 8 to 12 months. Athletes usually take 6 to 8, but it's true, that even for stud athletes, it takes up to a full year to get back to full strength, and that with proper rehab. But Jason Smith will have 14 months between his injury and the first game of next season to recover. I think we should expect from him next season what we expected from him this season - be a solid back up shooting big man off the bench who can space the floor, show some athleticism on driving to the hoop, become an average defender and rebounder, and give us a little bit of a different dimension as a back-up 4 and 5 than we get from our starters. I don't see why he can't fully recover from a pretty standard ACL tare to do that in 14 months time.

freshie2 · Post #6 » by **freshie2** » Fri Sep 12, 2008 10:16 pm

Smith will be fine next season, and even better in year 2. You can function at a high level in less than a year, but you really aren't yourself until the second year. As was mentioned, he has about 14 months before the next season, so he has a lot of time to heal and rehab.

freshie2 · Post #7 » by **freshie2** » Fri Sep 12, 2008 10:22 pm

phillyborn_jacksonite wrote:dont expect much fromhim next year either. i have had this surgery and it always takes at least 1 year till you get your hops and more importantnly your confidence back. look at willie. unfortunately this takes away his biggest asset as defender. his athleticism. i hop he can complety recover becuase without his hops he goes from being an average defender with a low ceiling to a below average defender stuck ina crawl space.

Doesn't sound like you had a good outcome, but this is a pretty basic injury/surgery/rehab, and he shouldn't lose that much. I had the surgery as well, am mid 30s, and am slower more due to weight gain than the ACL. Smith is still a very high end athlete, with trainers, nutrition experts, etc...I'm not worried about his recovery.

geiger · Post #8 » by **geiger** » Mon Sep 15, 2008 4:22 pm

He faces the same risk most guys who suffer injuries do - is he up to the challenge physically and mentally to dedicate himself 100% to rehab? It takes hard work, heart and dedication. Some guys come back as strong or even stronger, others have lingering effects and are never the same even though they had identical injuries. None of us know Jason Smith and how he will respond to this, but being that he is a young, talented guy and doesn't have a history of being lazy or not loving basketball enough, etc. that we know of, there is little reason to think that he won't give it his all in rehab.

jmon · Post #9 » by **jmon** » Mon Sep 15, 2008 4:50 pm

He will be fine. This injury is basic nowadays. The advances in ACL surgery over the last 10 years are staggerring.

I hope Smith takes this opportunity to work on other things since he is overly dependant on his athleticism. He should come back bigger, and shooting 85% from the FT line IMO.

geiger · Post #10 » by **geiger** » Tue Sep 16, 2008 12:52 pm

Sixers' center Jason Smith will have surgery Wednesday to repair the torn ACL in his left knee, according to a published report on Monday.

Citing Smith’s agent Marc Bartelstein, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported that Smith will have the procedure done by Dr. David Altchek.

ITK9 · Post #11 » by **ITK9** » Tue Sep 16, 2008 3:43 pm

why did he waited one month to have the surgery?

ChuckS · Post #12 » by **ChuckS** » Tue Sep 16, 2008 4:05 pm

[quote]By Kate Fagan

Inquirer Staff Writer

... Bartelstein said Smith was in Philadelphia completing pre-surgery physical therapy to strengthen the muscles around the knee.[/quote]

I have no medical training, but it seems plausible.

geiger · Post #13 » by **geiger** » Tue Sep 16, 2008 10:01 pm

See my July 17, 2008 post above. It's routine to have guys strengthen the other knee and joints around the ACL prior to the surgery. Makes rehab go faster and smoother and reduces the possibility of him over-compensating when he returns and injuring the other leg.

Post #14 » by **The Guilty Party** » Wed Sep 17, 2008 4:14 pm

From today's Daily News...

Sixers center Jason Smith will undergo surgery on his left knee today.

Smith suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament on Aug. 6. No timetable has been set for Smith's return.

The surgery will be performed by Dr. David Altchek at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City. Team physician Jack McPhilemy is scheduled to observe the surgery. *

geiger · Post #15 » by **geiger** » Thu Sep 18, 2008 1:00 pm

Surgery successful.

ankle420breaker · Post #16 » by **ankle420breaker** » Thu Sep 18, 2008 1:01 pm

http://basketball.realgm.com/src_wireta ... l_surgery/

Surgery was successful. Smith should be released from the hospital this afternoon.

ryst · Post #17 » by **ryst** » Thu Sep 18, 2008 7:18 pm

ITK9 wrote:why did he waited one month to have the surgery?

sometimes they have to wait because the knee is too tender or because they want the swelling to go down.
same as tom brady from the patriots , they know what kind of surgery they need to do but are waiting for the swelling to go down.

freshie2 · Post #18 » by **freshie2** » Fri Sep 19, 2008 11:23 am

The wait was most likely to strengthen the leg before surgery...if you have that luxury of waiting, it's not uncommon to do this. The swelling in the knee will most likely shut down one of the quad muscles, which is a key piece of the post surgical rehab, but I'm sure he'll do fine.