Occupational Hazard: Spurs cautious with Duncan
T.J. Ford, PG, Raptors: When Al Horford delivered the hard foul to Ford on Tuesday, it resulted in another in a series of scary collisions for the young point guard and in Ford leaving the court strapped to a board. Let's start with a little background on Ford, so we can understand why nervous system trauma is such an issue for him. Ford has a condition known as spinal stenosis, which means the spinal cord does not have the same room to move within the vertebrae as do most people. This is not something that can be fixed. As the Globe and Mail's Michael Grange puts it, "It can't be fixed, it can't be cured. It's permanent and he's always had it."
Any time Ford suffers trauma to his back and, in particular, to his neck, he is at risk for a serious spinal injury. This explains his subjectivity to "stingers" and the like. It also explains why Ford had surgery back in 2004 to fuse two vertebrae in his neck; that area was where he was most at risk. The problem is when Ford's style of play -- fast and fearless -- collides with the bigger, stronger players in the paint. The forecast for this injury is Ford staying off the practice court for seven days, dating from Wednesday. After that, depending on how he feels, he will start practicing. Weekly league owners should not start Ford for next week. I will update you on his progress next Friday and let you know if he is a safe start. Until then, Jose Calderon will be the man for the Raptors and his owners.
LaMarcus Aldridge, PF/C, Trail Blazers: That ol' devil, plantar fasciitis, has claimed another victim. Aldridge has been sidelined all week with the condition and won't be back on the floor for the Blazers until next week. The Oregonian reported that he would miss at least a week and Wednesday's game against Toronto would be his first chance back, but the paper also quotes coach Nate McMillan as saying he'd love to have him back Monday. This is the difference between a two-game and three-game week for Aldridge. I would be surprised to see Aldridge back on Monday and McMillan's hope isn't the same thing as a prediction.
So, are you wondering what the heck plantar fasciitis is to start with? The plantar fascia is the tendon that runs under the arch of your foot. It connects the muscles of the bottom of your foot to the heel. When it is irritated or swollen, it is very painful to walk, much less run. If Aldridge has been feeling this for a while, it might explain the poor rebounding numbers (7.7) he has put up this season. Chris Bosh played through this condition last season and Tim Duncan suffered through it two seasons ago. It can be played through with proper treatment, starting with rest then taping and stretching. The key for Aldridge is not reaggravating the injury and making it worse. Until he is back, Joel Przybilla and Channing Frye will see more minutes.
Tim Duncan, PF/C, Spurs: Nope, he's not back yet. Duncan missed Thursday's game as the Spurs are being extra cautious with his sprained right ankle. The Spurs are a model franchise for protecting their players (note the minutes cap they have religiously followed with Manu Ginobili), so I am not reading this as an indication of a serious injury. Rather, the team knows they cannot go deep into the playoffs without Duncan and they won't have him back until he is 100 percent. That looks like it will be Saturday. The Associated Press reports that coach Gregg Popovich said Duncan might return to face the Nuggets.
Tony Parker, PG, Spurs: It appears extremely unlikely that Parker will be back in time for Saturday's game. The San Antonio Express News reports that Parker initially sprained his left ankle against the Wolves on November 30 and that he will miss at least Saturday's game. While Parker was not participating in practices following that late November game, he was playing 33.0 minutes per game since. The ankle was not getting the rest it needed and that has come back to bite him. Parker is a fantasy gamble going into next week, as he could miss Monday's game. Ginobili is going to see a lot of run with Parker out and I expect better production in points and assists, as he will need to initiate the offense from the perimeter.
Peja Stojakovic, SG/SF, Hornets: A strained groin has sidelined Stojakovic for the past two games. However, there is a good chance he will be back hucking 3s again soon. Indeed, coach Byron Scott didn't announce Peja's status as bench jockey until a little more than an hour before the game. He participated in the shootaround and was a possibility even then. All of this makes me think he was very close to going and he was just a little off. I like his chances of returning tonight, but the AP is reporting that the team still has him listed as questionable. I might as well kill two birds with one stone and mention that Morris Peterson (strained back) is also listed as questionable, but I think he is an even better bet to play tonight. As with all strains, it's all about the rest. If the rested muscles knitted themselves and retain strength, they will be good to go. If not, Rasual Butler is the player to have active.
Mehmet Okur, C, Jazz: Be ready to be without Okur through the weekend and possibly into next week with a strained left shoulder. The Deseret News reported on Thursday that coach Jerry Sloan said that Okur may miss multiple games. This might actually be good news for fantasy owners as it spares them the anxiety of whether to start Okur or a bench player who, given Okur's poor play this season, has every chance of outperforming him. Okur was injured after ball-faking Joel "Vanilla Gorilla" Przybilla, causing the very big man to fall on his shoulder. The Deseret News reports that while the team is calling the injury a sprained trapezius muscle, Okur is calling it a bruise. I would go with the former given the length of the time he will miss and the fact that muscle strains can often result in bruises. Paul Millsap should be added immediately if for some reason owners in your league slept on his 20 points, 13 boards, 2 steals and 2 blocks Wednesday.
Randy Foye, PG/SG, Timberwolves: This is what I was afraid of when news broke about Foye's stress reaction in his left knee: that it would be slow to heal and could become a stress fracture. That is exactly what happened. Though Foye had started practicing with increased vigor -- the Minneapolis Star-Tribune reported that he dunked last week for the first time since the injury -- an MRI revealed that the crack in his kneecap is still present. It is better than it was, but not quite ready for prime time, no matter how bad Foye wants to be back. The Star-Tribune says it will be another 3-4 weeks, so Sebastian Telfair and Marko Jaric owners can relax for a while longer.
Quentin Richardson, SG/SF, Knicks: There could be some hope yet for David Lee owners out there. Partly because Newsday is reporting that he may move into Eddy Curry's starting spot, and partly because even if he doesn't, minutes will open up in the frontcourt with Richardson sitting with a strained tendon in his right knee. Q hurt the knee Wednesday and is unlikely to play tonight. The fact that the New York papers aren't talking about him missing any time beyond this is a good sign for Richardson, but we will have to see how this plays out, as he is injury-prone. My guess is, even if he misses just one game, he will not play heavy minutes immediately. This could provide Lee with some minutes at small forward, along with Jared Jeffries and possibly Renaldo Balkman.
Kendrick Perkins, C, Celtics: In my "news of the weird" segment for the week, I bring you Perkins' big toe. According to the Boston Herald, and now every other Web-enabled publication in the English-speaking world, Kendrick was injured when his bed started to fall apart as he slept. When he tried to hold the bed together, it fell on his toe. The starting center for the Celtics, a millionaire, had his bed come apart on him as he slept. This could be a tale of dubious veracity as the Boston Globe was reminded of Pervis Ellison's coffee table incident in 1996. Regardless of what caused the bed to fall apart, Perkins' X-rays came back negative and he should be back in the pivot again soon.
Guy Lake is a fantasy basketball analyst for ESPN.com. He can be reached at GuyLake@TalentedMrRoto.com.
