Blazers trainers

[PDXKnight]

Is it just me or do the blazers need to look at a new training staff with the rate of injuries we are having?

[BlazersBroncos]

I see no reason to blame the trainers for any of these injuries. If they misdiagnosed someone, or rushed someone back, or were handing out pain pills like candy to get guys to play though, then I would replace them.

You cant really get a trainer to abracadabra CJ's position in the air so he avoids rolling his ankle, mentally force push Nurkic into landing in a way that doesn't snap his leg or use XP points to improve the strength of Zach's labrum.

[Roy The Natural]

I see no reason to blame the trainers for any of these injuries. If they misdiagnosed someone, or rushed someone back, or were handing out pain pills like candy to get guys to play though, then I would replace them.

You cant really get a trainer to abracadabra CJ's position in the air so he avoids rolling his ankle, mentally force push Nurkic into landing in a way that doesn't snap his leg or use XP points to improve the strength of Zach's labrum.

While I sort of agree.

I believe that the Rodney Hood injury should see them fired. I think at the end of the year, you move on to a new training staff. After what happened to Durant last year, for Rodney Hood to be out there on a sore achilles was just pure negligence by the Blazer organization and the training staff. At the end of the year, anyone involved in determining that Hood was capable to go out and play should be fired, and replaced. That was completely unacceptable, and embarrassing for the franchise.

[The Sebastian Express]

The Rodney Hood thing is the only one I have issue with. Sometimes injuries happen. CJ spraining his ankle isn't a training staff issue. Nurk's leg isn't a training staff issue. Zach's shoulder being dislocated isn't an issue. We've had relatively good health (outside of Nurk) for the last few years. And then this year was a disaster. Sometimes stuff just happens.

[BlazersBroncos]

I disagree that the Hood injury is fire worthy. Durant clearly was tremendously injured. He missed numerous entire series of meaningful playoff games and was allowed to rush back.

Hood had a sore achilles, nothing of the caliber that Durant had. It may have been a bad call on the trainers part, but end of the day sometimes these things happen.

I think this is just a reactionary thread to the injuries that have piled up this season. Considering our tremendous lucky spell of seasons with few injuries (We must have been top-5 healthy team the past few years), we are now paying the so called statistical piper. A swing was due at some point, gradual or drastic like this season we were due for injuries.

If we are going to jump on the trainers for the bad luck we have had this season, than we should grant them the same magical healing or injury powers for the past years we have been outlandishly healthy. If the trainers are why this team was in such good shape the past few seasons, than that should override this bad season of injury woes.

In reality its just luck both ways.

[Wizenheimer]

the Hood injury is definitely reason to question the staff. You don't mess around with a sore Achilles, and Hood had one. That's especially true considering the Durant situation. But more than that, Portland had the Matthews situation as a template. Just like Hood, Matthews was dealing with a sore Achilles when it ruptured. That should have created some major institutional memory for Portland, but apparently not

[d-train]

I disagree that the Hood injury is fire worthy. Durant clearly was tremendously injured. He missed numerous entire series of meaningful playoff games and was allowed to rush back.

Hood had a sore achilles, nothing of the caliber that Durant had. It may have been a bad call on the trainers part, but end of the day sometimes these things happen.

I think this is just a reactionary thread to the injuries that have piled up this season. Considering our tremendous lucky spell of seasons with few injuries (We must have been top-5 healthy team the past few years), we are now paying the so called statistical piper. A swing was due at some point, gradual or drastic like this season we were due for injuries.

If we are going to jump on the trainers for the bad luck we have had this season, than we should grant them the same magical healing or injury powers for the past years we have been outlandishly healthy. If the trainers are why this team was in such good shape the past few seasons, than that should override this bad season of injury woes.

In reality its just luck both ways.

I think you are making some assumptions, but still I agree with your conclusions.

[Norm2953]

None of us really know how many guys play with a sore Achillies but I tend to give the training
staff a pass for there was real pressure to prove themselves against the conference leading
Lakers for the team had hope with Hood they could compete. The player has to decide if his
sore Achillies is going to be a problem.

[Goldbum]

I remember the game before Mathews got hurt he went for a layup and had sort of a "flat tire". The next game he had his blow out. IDK I not a doctor but it wasn't a good look

[Matt800]

the Hood injury is definitely reason to question the staff. You don't mess around with a sore Achilles, and Hood had one. That's especially true considering the Durant situation. But more than that, Portland had the Matthews situation as a template. Just like Hood, Matthews was dealing with a sore Achilles when it ruptured. That should have created some major institutional memory for Portland, but apparently not

From what I've heard they have protocols guys need to pass to be deemed able to play. So it is not the staff that is the issue, it is the accepted protocol for testing that sort of thing. I have no idea what the portland staff did with Hood, but I don't doubt that they did their jobs. Sometimes modern medicine is not great. I posted recently about oden being given orthotics because he had one leg longer than the other, and 2 days later his knee issues started. Kind of a nice idea they had, but orthotics are another thing that modern medicine doesn't really understand and can go poorly. To your point maybe there are more skilled people out there who could be hired, but sometimes the accepted protocol is the issue.

[Wizenheimer]

the Hood injury is definitely reason to question the staff. You don't mess around with a sore Achilles, and Hood had one. That's especially true considering the Durant situation. But more than that, Portland had the Matthews situation as a template. Just like Hood, Matthews was dealing with a sore Achilles when it ruptured. That should have created some major institutional memory for Portland, but apparently not

From what I've heard they have protocols guys need to pass to be deemed able to play. So it is not the staff that is the issue, it is the accepted protocol for testing that sort of thing. I have no idea what the portland staff did with Hood, but I don't doubt that they did their jobs. Sometimes modern medicine is not great. I posted recently about oden being given orthotics because he had one leg longer than the other, and 2 days later his knee issues started. Kind of a nice idea they had, but orthotics are another thing that modern medicine doesn't really understand and can go poorly. To your point maybe there are more skilled people out there who could be hired, but sometimes the accepted protocol is the issue.

I don't know if the staff adhered to the protocols or not. There would be a lot of ass-covering if they were in a grey area. Hood had a sore Achilles and had even talked about it. If the protocol says "go ahead and allow a guy to play when his Achilles is sore", then it's a trash protocol and a competent staff should have implemented a stronger one. A ruptured Achilles is a career altering injury and should not be risked. Like I said, after Matthews, there should have been institutional memory because Matthews was playing on a sore Achilles when he ruptured his

The Hood situation is a red flag IMO. It's probably not a fire-able offense, but it should put the staff, or at least the person with the final say, on probation. The other injuries can't really be put on the staff. Broken bones, dislocations, and sprained ankles probably can't be avoided just by being in shape

[DaVoiceMaster]

I'm with TSE, only the Hood injury should be questioned. Now, I have no clue what goes on behind closed doors or what the protocols are for allowing a player to play. It does seem questionable that they said he had a sore Achilles during the game before he ruptured it and he played the very next game. Bad idea. I want guys to play, but I didnt expect him to play that night. I figured he'd be out for a few weeks. Maybe he'd be back by now if he had.

[zzaj]

We've more or less had this thread pop up since before Roy was on the team...I suppose Aminu and Layman getting injured with the Magic and Wolves is the fault of the Blazer trainers too?

As a friend of one-time Blazer S&C coach Bobby Medina, I used to mention these threads to him--he'd just chuckle. As he explained to me many moons ago...all NBA teams basically are run the same way. Teams begin the season (before preseason) with a "goals and objectives" session with each player, and they have continual meetings with the various coaches, including the private coaches that players work with, throughout the season. You could literally take the S&C and athletic trainers from any NBA team and swap them with the Blazers staff and it wouldn't make a lick of difference. All teams cross train with Yoga, Pilates, isometrics, etc and have state of the art equipment for recovery including Hyperbaric and float chambers.

Apparently in the old days it would have made more of a difference. Back then less players actually had a S&C routine during the summer and things like yoga and stretching were less of a focus with players.

Now...

Achilles tendons. I have no idea why there isn't an imaging method to check achilles tendons for micro-tears and weakening. It seems pretty obvious that there is a need for that. If there is that technology, my only guess is that players talk about sore achilles tendons pretty constantly so it's hard to know when it's an issue or not. In my playing days I never dealt with that issue, but I had sore calves pretty constantly. Then again, I never got anywhere near the level of these players in terms of basketball focus.