Mo Bamba sent home from bubble to undergo a "comprehensive post-coronavirus evaluation" (Robbins)

[KillMonger]

The Bamba nightmare continues. This obviously extends beyond basketball and I do wish him the best, COVID certainly seems to affect everyone differently, I just think its incredibly unfortunate how, once again, this organization chose to handle things from a media standpoint.

Not disclosing the illness and seemingly using that and him, a professional athlete, being out of shape (despite apparently working out and putting on muscle) as an excuse not to play him just looked bad from that start. If he couldn't reveal the illness at least don't insinuate that him being out of shape due to putting on weight is why he couldn't. Especially after he went to the media and talked about how much he's been working out and the amount of muscle he put on.

They did the same thing with his stress fracture last year. They were so vague about his injury and when he would come back instead of just ruling him out for the season (he was a raw 20-year-old 7-1 center with a stress fracture for god's sake). Instead, all it did was cause people to speculate that Birch playing well and Bamba's poor play before the injury was the reason they didn't bring him back.

People can say that media and fan perception doesn't matter, but the fact is it does. It's why professional organizations have an entire team of people dedicated to handling it. We don't do it well.

Man that's why I would've much rather them be transparent, it comes across much more sincere. All this espionage is just unnecessary, if you kept it 100 from the jump then all the scrutiny and uncertainty wouldn't hold water. I say that to say this, it still seems strange to me or a bit off.

Coming into this mo said in an interview he was feeling good and ready to go. Even further into the seeding games playing under restriction he in another interview insinuated that he was frustrated with the minute restriction. Now is this something that flared up all of a sudden? Or did the doctors let something slip through the cracks? I'm sure he had to be cleared by doctors to even play so what happened here? Seems like he should've been shut down from the start.

[Knightro]

Man that's why I would've much rather them be transparent, it comes across much more sincere. All this espionage is just unnecessary, if you kept it 100 from the jump then all the scrutiny and uncertainty wouldn't hold water. I say that to say this, it still seems strange to me or a bit off.

Coming into this mo said in an interview he was feeling good and ready to go. Even further into the seeding games playing under restriction he in another interview insinuated that he was frustrated with the minute restriction. Now is this something that flared up all of a sudden? Or did the doctors let something slip through the cracks? I'm sure he had to be cleared by doctors to even play so what happened here? Seems like he should've been shut down from the start.

It may be less sinister than all that.

A plausible explanation to me could just be as simple as Bamba and the team thought Mo was fine conditioning wise and then realized he wasn't the more he tried to push through it and wasn't able to.

Mo didn't sick until June 11th. You figure he probably did little to no conditioning for the next 2-3 weeks while he was recovering. He and the rest of the Magic reported to the bubble on July 7th, so it wasn't really that long of a gap between his sickness and the Magic starting to practice.

Then you factor in all that weight Mo put on as well. I'm sure both he and the team figured it was the excess weight that was hurting his conditioning and that he'd eventually be able play his way into better shape with hard practices.

Once it became clear that wasn't happening and he was still getting tired when he shouldn't have been, then it became time to get reevaluated.

[pepe1991]

I am currently with covid 19

It had a weird effect on me. Only 1 day of symptoms which were sore throat, being lethargic, and fever. But for some reason this really affected my back. I have 2 herniated discs but I have been ok for years, but man it has been terrible since contracting this

Don't know if it's related, I know one of the symptoms is body aches and muscle pain, but maybe it's from being in a bed all day in quarantine.

Anyways. I have been able to lift at home and it has not affected my energy too much..I will let you guys know if it impacts my running once my back feels better

Get well soon man !

[Def Swami]

I am currently with covid 19

It had a weird effect on me. Only 1 day of symptoms which were sore throat, being lethargic, and fever. But for some reason this really affected my back. I have 2 herniated discs but I have been ok for years, but man it has been terrible since contracting this

Don't know if it's related, I know one of the symptoms is body aches and muscle pain, but maybe it's from being in a bed all day in quarantine.

Anyways. I have been able to lift at home and it has not affected my energy too much..I will let you guys know if it impacts my running once my back feels better

Hopefully you get some time to relax and heal. Get well soon.

[fendilim]

I am currently with covid 19

It had a weird effect on me. Only 1 day of symptoms which were sore throat, being lethargic, and fever. But for some reason this really affected my back. I have 2 herniated discs but I have been ok for years, but man it has been terrible since contracting this

Don't know if it's related, I know one of the symptoms is body aches and muscle pain, but maybe it's from being in a bed all day in quarantine.

Anyways. I have been able to lift at home and it has not affected my energy too much..I will let you guys know if it impacts my running once my back feels better

Praying for your speedy recovery!

[ChosenSavior]

I am currently with covid 19

It had a weird effect on me. Only 1 day of symptoms which were sore throat, being lethargic, and fever. But for some reason this really affected my back. I have 2 herniated discs but I have been ok for years, but man it has been terrible since contracting this

Don't know if it's related, I know one of the symptoms is body aches and muscle pain, but maybe it's from being in a bed all day in quarantine.

Anyways. I have been able to lift at home and it has not affected my energy too much..I will let you guys know if it impacts my running once my back feels better

I pray for a speedy recovery for you. I was mostly absent from here due to my fiance, her daughter and myself contracting COVID-19 during the month of July. The body aches and fatigue hindered me weeks after I got over the other symptoms and tested negative. That virus is nothing to joke around with so you take care of yourself.

[RookieStar]

Like I said maybe he's an A blood type, who it hits worse. I also heard it can cause blood clotting and severe fatigue that could last a lifetime.

Sent from my SM-G950U using RealGM mobile app

Where did you read about the A blood-type? Cuz what I read it was the B+??? And the "luckiest" were the O+?

Anyway back to the topic : YES, the org did the right thing. This virus is still new to us and as reports stated, everyone is affected DIFFERENTLY. If there is even a "slightest" chance of it affecting Mo's breathing/whatever.... well this is juts basketball compared to a person's life/health.

Did the org do the right thing? Why did he even come back in the first place? Why showcase his sick gainz? And then to go through practice, scrimmages, and real games only to get pulled out of the bubble afterwards..

Weird series of events. But 2020’s been a weird, terrible year all around. More than anything I hope Mo is alright in the long term.

Yes they did. Like I said, this virus is still new to all of us. Everyone can and did make mistakes with the little information available for us at first. Then, as more information came along we were a little more prepared.

Like I also said, everyone reacts to it differently. Some are fine and some didn't even know they had it so they continued like before. An unfortunate few ( which I think Bamba belongs to now ) has some lingering effects even after recovery. NO ONE can predict what happen.

So my assumption/guess is that the organization thought he was ok and fully recovered and thus continued on as before. Then when they noticed that he probably could not do everything before.. well limited-minutes, DNPS now shut-down.

These are all my guesses based on the little info we have on this virus.

[Dubious Kitty]

The WeHam bad streak continues...

[KillMonger]

Man that's why I would've much rather them be transparent, it comes across much more sincere. All this espionage is just unnecessary, if you kept it 100 from the jump then all the scrutiny and uncertainty wouldn't hold water. I say that to say this, it still seems strange to me or a bit off.

Coming into this mo said in an interview he was feeling good and ready to go. Even further into the seeding games playing under restriction he in another interview insinuated that he was frustrated with the minute restriction. Now is this something that flared up all of a sudden? Or did the doctors let something slip through the cracks? I'm sure he had to be cleared by doctors to even play so what happened here? Seems like he should've been shut down from the start.

It may be less sinister than all that.

A plausible explanation to me could just be as simple as Bamba and the team thought Mo was fine conditioning wise and then realized he wasn't the more he tried to push through it and wasn't able to.

Mo didn't sick until June 11th. You figure he probably did little to no conditioning for the next 2-3 weeks while he was recovering. He and the rest of the Magic reported to the bubble on July 7th, so it wasn't really that long of a gap between his sickness and the Magic starting to practice.

Then you factor in all that weight Mo put on as well. I'm sure both he and the team figured it was the excess weight that was hurting his conditioning and that he'd eventually be able play his way into better shape with hard practices.

Once it became clear that wasn't happening and he was still getting tired when he shouldn't have been, then it became time to get reevaluated.

perhaps, but i can't help but give the orlando magic medical staff the "side-eye" considering everything that has happened this year as far as injuries and how they've been handled is concerned.....

[Magic_Kingdom]

We all know injuries are part of the game, but it is mind-blowing how little Weltman and Hammond have gotten out of their three first-round draft picks (two of them in the Top 10) since they got here. Not a single one on the playoff roster, and you could argue that they don’t even qualify as tradeable assets. With Okeke they didn’t even try, they just drafted an injured player. Isaac and Bamba were both injuries waiting to happen, 7-foot stick men with little muscle in a league built around speedy guard play. Clifford is winning with Hennigan’s guys and bailing out Weltman and Hammond. How much heat would they be facing otherwise?

[pepe1991]

We all know injuries are part of the game, but it is mind-blowing how little Weltman and Hammond have gotten out of their three first-round draft picks (two of them in the Top 10) since they got here. Not a single one on the playoff roster, and you could argue that they don’t even qualify as tradeable assets. With Okeke they didn’t even try, they just drafted an injured player. Isaac and Bamba were both injuries waiting to happen, 7-foot stick men with little muscle in a league built around speedy guard play. Clifford is winning with Hennigan’s guys and bailing out Weltman and Hammond. How much heat would they be facing otherwise?

Injuries are hard to predict. It's not hard to bet against skinny tall players, but look at Durant.

Problem with Isaac was his obvious , repeated landing on left foot. I have seen hardcore fans on OPP pointing that out back in 2017. SO if fan can see how can scouts and medical team not figure he needs to change it? I have found medical articles about athletes and one-leg landings - leading to ACLs back to 2011. It's well documented list of accident that was waiting to happen.

Bamba's set of issues and overhyped draft position came from simply overvaluing his basketball skills.
He simply isn't great athlete and in same time he isn't really skilled.
His only tool is his wingspan and lenght. That won't get you far.

[tiderulz]

We all know injuries are part of the game, but it is mind-blowing how little Weltman and Hammond have gotten out of their three first-round draft picks (two of them in the Top 10) since they got here. Not a single one on the playoff roster, and you could argue that they don’t even qualify as tradeable assets. With Okeke they didn’t even try, they just drafted an injured player. Isaac and Bamba were both injuries waiting to happen, 7-foot stick men with little muscle in a league built around speedy guard play. Clifford is winning with Hennigan’s guys and bailing out Weltman and Hammond. How much heat would they be facing otherwise?

Injuries are hard to predict. It's not hard to bet against skinny tall players, but look at Durant.

Problem with Isaac was his obvious , repeated landing on left foot. I have seen hardcore fans on OPP pointing that out back in 2017. SO if fan can see how can scouts and medical team not figure he needs to change it? I have found medical articles about athletes and one-leg landings - leading to ACLs back to 2011. It's well documented list of accident that was waiting to happen.

Bamba's set of issues and overhyped draft position came from simply overvaluing his basketball skills.
He simply isn't great athlete and in same time he isn't really skilled.
His only tool is his wingspan and lenght. That won't get you far.

that and the fact you dont build around big men anymore unless they are transcendant. You absolutely need wings/scoring PG's, which we need an upgrade on.

[zaymon]

We all know injuries are part of the game, but it is mind-blowing how little Weltman and Hammond have gotten out of their three first-round draft picks (two of them in the Top 10) since they got here. Not a single one on the playoff roster, and you could argue that they don’t even qualify as tradeable assets. With Okeke they didn’t even try, they just drafted an injured player. Isaac and Bamba were both injuries waiting to happen, 7-foot stick men with little muscle in a league built around speedy guard play. Clifford is winning with Hennigan’s guys and bailing out Weltman and Hammond. How much heat would they be facing otherwise?

Injuries are hard to predict. It's not hard to bet against skinny tall players, but look at Durant.

Problem with Isaac was his obvious , repeated landing on left foot. I have seen hardcore fans on OPP pointing that out back in 2017. SO if fan can see how can scouts and medical team not figure he needs to change it? I have found medical articles about athletes and one-leg landings - leading to ACLs back to 2011. It's well documented list of accident that was waiting to happen.

Bamba's set of issues and overhyped draft position came from simply overvaluing his basketball skills.
He simply isn't great athlete and in same time he isn't really skilled.
His only tool is his wingspan and lenght. That won't get you far.

that and the fact you dont build around big men anymore unless they are transcendant. You absolutely need wings/scoring PG's, which we need an upgrade on.

I would change that statement. You dont build around centers unless they are skilled. Shooting and passing centers are as dangerous as ever. Even gsw relied heavily on their center ( green) to create offense

[tiderulz]

Injuries are hard to predict. It's not hard to bet against skinny tall players, but look at Durant.

Problem with Isaac was his obvious , repeated landing on left foot. I have seen hardcore fans on OPP pointing that out back in 2017. SO if fan can see how can scouts and medical team not figure he needs to change it? I have found medical articles about athletes and one-leg landings - leading to ACLs back to 2011. It's well documented list of accident that was waiting to happen.

Bamba's set of issues and overhyped draft position came from simply overvaluing his basketball skills.
He simply isn't great athlete and in same time he isn't really skilled.
His only tool is his wingspan and lenght. That won't get you far.

that and the fact you dont build around big men anymore unless they are transcendant. You absolutely need wings/scoring PG's, which we need an upgrade on.

I would change that statement. You dont build around centers unless they are skilled. Shooting and passing centers are as dangerous as ever. Even gsw relied heavily on their center ( green) to create offense

Brook Lopez is skilled, would you build around him? no, the game has moved away from the basket. The winning teams now have their best players at the wing positions and guards. And Green really isnt a center, he is PF playing center when they go small to out athletic other teams to do what, put more wings on the court.

[zaymon]

that and the fact you dont build around big men anymore unless they are transcendant. You absolutely need wings/scoring PG's, which we need an upgrade on.

I would change that statement. You dont build around centers unless they are skilled. Shooting and passing centers are as dangerous as ever. Even gsw relied heavily on their center ( green) to create offense

Brook Lopez is skilled, would you build around him? no, the game has moved away from the basket. The winning teams now have their best players at the wing positions and guards. And Green really isnt a center, he is PF playing center when they go small to out athletic other teams to do what, put more wings on the court.

Maybe not building around but being part of the winning team. Lopez is a valueable part of the bucks. Green is as much of a center as Vucevic. Do you expect center to be your best shooter passer and decision maker ? Clifford said it many times, Vucevic is a guard in center body. Becouse how you define center ? Biggest player ? Rim protector ?

[tiderulz]

I would change that statement. You dont build around centers unless they are skilled. Shooting and passing centers are as dangerous as ever. Even gsw relied heavily on their center ( green) to create offense

Brook Lopez is skilled, would you build around him? no, the game has moved away from the basket. The winning teams now have their best players at the wing positions and guards. And Green really isnt a center, he is PF playing center when they go small to out athletic other teams to do what, put more wings on the court.

Maybe not building around but being part of the winning team. Lopez is a valueable part of the bucks. Green is as much of a center as Vucevic. Do you expect center to be your best shooter passer and decision maker ? Clifford said it many times, Vucevic is a guard in center body. Becouse how you define center ? Biggest player ? Rim protector ?

different opinions. I look at the past winners and they didnt always have greatly skilled big men. More often than not, they relied on them for defense and rim protection. if they can handle the ball a little and pass, great but not required. and i really wouldnt call Green a center, we only say that because he was defending the other teams center.

Gasol, Mozgov/Thompson, Bogut, Chandler, etc. to me, the game has moved to the wings. likely will until we get a large amount of big men back in the league. everything cycles around

[pepe1991]

Brook Lopez is skilled, would you build around him? no, the game has moved away from the basket. The winning teams now have their best players at the wing positions and guards. And Green really isnt a center, he is PF playing center when they go small to out athletic other teams to do what, put more wings on the court.

Maybe not building around but being part of the winning team. Lopez is a valueable part of the bucks. Green is as much of a center as Vucevic. Do you expect center to be your best shooter passer and decision maker ? Clifford said it many times, Vucevic is a guard in center body. Becouse how you define center ? Biggest player ? Rim protector ?

different opinions. I look at the past winners and they didnt always have greatly skilled big men. More often than not, they relied on them for defense and rim protection. if they can handle the ball a little and pass, great but not required. and i really wouldnt call Green a center, we only say that because he was defending the other teams center.

Gasol, Mozgov/Thompson, Bogut, Chandler, etc. to me, the game has moved to the wings. likely will until we get a large amount of big men back in the league. everything cycles around

Center can't be your best player,but having good center in playoffs is always important especially because pace slows down and half court offense becomes only offense that is being used. So having somebody that can set picks, use missmatch and make good passes is nice thing to have.

Wings are still the most important players in todays's nba, by wide margin, but still having center in playoffs that isn't stiff wood has some value. Last night aside from Dame outclassing any Lakers guard, Portland won their Cs matchup as Nurkic and Whiteside outplayed McGee and Howard

[Knightro]

The *idea* of what Mo Bamba could be is a very valuable asset.

A mobile 7'1" player with a 7'10" wingspan is going to make an impact defensively pretty much no matter what and that has shown up in Year 2. His defensive impact increased across the board this year.

Throw in the ability (again this is all theoretical) play pick and pop out to the 3PT line *and* be a lob threat in pick and roll and you have a modern NBA center skill set to go with those A+ physical gifts.

The problem is two-fold.

1. Bamba's skill set, while developing, is still more raw than you'd like to see.

2. Bamba's intangibles appear to be on the low end. Does he have a good work ethic? Doesn't seem so. Does he have confidence in his ability? Doesn't seem so. Does he have good basketball IQ? Doesn't seem so.

[tiderulz]

Maybe not building around but being part of the winning team. Lopez is a valueable part of the bucks. Green is as much of a center as Vucevic. Do you expect center to be your best shooter passer and decision maker ? Clifford said it many times, Vucevic is a guard in center body. Becouse how you define center ? Biggest player ? Rim protector ?

different opinions. I look at the past winners and they didnt always have greatly skilled big men. More often than not, they relied on them for defense and rim protection. if they can handle the ball a little and pass, great but not required. and i really wouldnt call Green a center, we only say that because he was defending the other teams center.

Gasol, Mozgov/Thompson, Bogut, Chandler, etc. to me, the game has moved to the wings. likely will until we get a large amount of big men back in the league. everything cycles around

Center can't be your best player,but having good center in playoffs is always important especially because pace slows down and half court offense becomes only offense that is being used. So having somebody that can set picks, use missmatch and make good passes is nice thing to have.

Wings are still the most important players in todays's nba, by wide margin, but still having center in playoffs that isn't stiff wood has some value. Last night aside from Dame outclassing any Lakers guard, Portland won their Cs matchup as Nurkic and Whiteside outplayed McGee and Howard

helps that Howard a shell of himself, Mcgee 32 and never ever worked on his game. Nurkic alone is better than McGee/Howard today

[pepe1991]

different opinions. I look at the past winners and they didnt always have greatly skilled big men. More often than not, they relied on them for defense and rim protection. if they can handle the ball a little and pass, great but not required. and i really wouldnt call Green a center, we only say that because he was defending the other teams center.

Gasol, Mozgov/Thompson, Bogut, Chandler, etc. to me, the game has moved to the wings. likely will until we get a large amount of big men back in the league. everything cycles around

Center can't be your best player,but having good center in playoffs is always important especially because pace slows down and half court offense becomes only offense that is being used. So having somebody that can set picks, use missmatch and make good passes is nice thing to have.

Wings are still the most important players in todays's nba, by wide margin, but still having center in playoffs that isn't stiff wood has some value. Last night aside from Dame outclassing any Lakers guard, Portland won their Cs matchup as Nurkic and Whiteside outplayed McGee and Howard

helps that Howard a shell of himself, Mcgee 32 and never ever worked on his game. Nurkic alone is better than McGee/Howard today

Nurkić leg broke like a toothpick and was out of the action for a 16 months...