DeJuan Blair's knees
by Nate Timmons on Nov 5, 2009 3:57 PM MST
13 comments
Many of us here on Denver Stiffs wanted the Nuggets to use their second round draft pick on DeJuan Blair ... the rebounding machine from Pittsburgh that ENDED UP BEING DRAFTED BY THE FREAKING SPURS!
Well, as it's been well documented or at least talked about ... Blair has no ACLs. The concern is that Blair may have a very short NBA career because his knees will not hold up. The guys over at SB Nation's Spurs blog Pounding the Rock were also very interested in this, so Fred Silva brought in an expert and got his take on Blair's knees.
I highly recommend giving it a read. CLICK HERE.
And while you are over on Pounding the Rock be sure to vote on the "Best NBA hair" poll ... Birdman needs some love!
A quick bit:
As most are now aware, DeJuan Blair is missing both of his ACLs. While in high school, Blair tore both ACLs and had them surgically repaired. Unfortunately, the surgeries were unsuccessful as it has been revealed that he does not have either ACL. After the surgeries, his body must have rejected the repaired ACLs and absorbed them. I had many questions about DeJuan Blair's knees so I decided to find the most knowledgeable person possible in order to get some answers. Enter Steve Stratton, PHD, PT, ATC and founder of Steven Stratton Physical Therapy located in San Antonio, TX.
Dr. Stratton began our discussion by explaining that the ACL is simply a stabilizer of the knee, and is not the most critical stabilizer; that would be the PCL. He said 95% of athletes that have their ACL surgically repaired return to their sport. He explained that he played running back at BYU for two years and had his ACL-less knee hit every way imaginable without any problems. It is not unheard of for a person without an ACL, or two, to have a lengthy, successful athletic career.
However, a knee without an ACL is an injured knee that can give at any moment. The wrong tweak or hit could damage the PCL, at which point it would be game over. I then asked, "How many years can we expect from DeJuan Blair?" ... click the link to find out the answer ...
Write respectfully of your SB Nation community and yourself.
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Did you'all see the note that
the Nugs were all set to sell that pick to the Cavs for 2M when S.A. outbid them in the last ten seconds for 2.25M . . .seems sending Blair ro cleveland instead of the Spurs might come back to haunt us if we miss home court by a game or two.
by Frontrange on Nov 5, 2009 4:22 PM MST reply actions 0 recs
what are u talking about?
the nuggets never drafted blair… we drafted surgio llull and traded him to houston for 2 mil…
then like 4 picks later blair was chosen by SA
by hvino on Nov 5, 2009 4:39 PM MST up reply actions 0 recs
Yeah
I highly doubt that S.A. paid us 2 million to NOT draft him…lol
by InboundingLobPass on Nov 5, 2009 5:25 PM MST reply actions 0 recs
Technically speaking that is accurate . .
http://espn.go.com/blog/truehoop/post/_/id/10372/blair-10-seconds-away-from-being-a-cav
Apparently the pick used on Llull was almost sold to Cleveland for the purpose of taking Blair . . .Houston upped the offer to 2.25M from Cleveland’s 2M. Sorry for the confusion.
by Frontrange on Nov 5, 2009 6:33 PM MST reply actions 0 recs
ya i found this article
http://www.realgm.com/src_wiretap_archives/62584/20091105/cavs_were_seconds_away_from_getting_blair/
so technically u were right…
by hvino on Nov 5, 2009 6:53 PM MST up reply actions 0 recs
there is some guy that used to play football
a long long time ago. he played without the acl in his right knee. i think he played quarterback and played for a long while. from what i heard he was even pretty good at it. i do not know if anybody in colorado has ever heard of this guy. his name was john elway.
pick up a calf every day pretty soon you will be picking up a cow
by nohoops4u on Nov 5, 2009 9:01 PM MST reply actions 0 recs
Indeed sir! Elway's knee was amazing ... I remember Marty Shot used to tell his Chiefs to go after Elways gimp knee.
Marty was and is a loser! 1997 & 1998!
Denver Stiffs.com: Defending the sovereignty of Nuggets Nation.
by Nate Timmons on Nov 6, 2009 8:51 AM MST up reply actions 0 recs
You have to admit that basketball is a lot harder on the knees though
I have had multiple doctors tell me I will have knee issues later in life if I keep playing basketball. In football you take the chance of a bad hit ruining your knee but in basketball you jump up and down on those knees on a hard surface every day over and over.
by Gasus on Nov 6, 2009 1:11 PM MST up reply actions 0 recs
agree
the thing about elway is i would have never known without somebody else telling me. he never used that as an excuse. there is a thrill factor involved in football when playing quarterback and having to run for your life when the play breaks down.
pick up a calf every day pretty soon you will be picking up a cow
by nohoops4u on Nov 6, 2009 3:23 PM MST up reply actions 0 recs
I still would’ve picked him. The nuggets need somebody like him for the immediate need, anything longer than the immediate need would’ve been a positive in my book. furthermore he was a second round pick, we’re talking cheap cheap cheap!
by NugNugz on Nov 5, 2009 9:28 PM MST reply actions 0 recs
I went for 13 years without an ACL which was torn in half during a pick-up basketball game in college. The doctors didn’t think it was serious at the time because they were unable to discern that the ACL was torn because my leg was so strong that it hid the injury. Now I have serious pain problems, I’ve had it repaired and then scoped twice. It’s about time for that knee replacement surgery. I expect it will catch up to him eventually.
Mark Price played nearly a season of NBA ball with a torn ACL and had it repaired after the season.
"Woohoo Denver, Yeah... All right Denver justify my love!" ...Homer Simpson
by Thursty on Nov 6, 2009 1:42 PM MST reply actions 0 recs
Ouch ... so did you ever have issues playing basketball after that? Did you keep playing?
Denver Stiffs.com: Defending the sovereignty of Nuggets Nation.
by Nate Timmons on Nov 6, 2009 3:38 PM MST up reply actions 0 recs
I played some after the reconstruction surgery, but I could never jump much after that and it takes a lot of re-hab on the quadricep. It turns out that knee pain causes atrophy of the quadriceps.. When I was a senior in high school I could touch the top of the box on a running jump and dunk like crazy. I made walk on in college probably because I dunked in some of the scrimmages. Making walk on isn’t so great because you’re basically a practice dummy, but despite that I was treated very well by the coaching staff and the athletic department. Even though I was only on the team for one year, the athletic director always greeted me by name even four years later.
I can’t play at all now because of problems in my feet due to nerve damage from chemotherapy and circulation damage from bad post-op care. I have enough trouble just waling now.
"Woohoo Denver, Yeah... All right Denver justify my love!" ...Homer Simpson
by Thursty on Nov 8, 2009 3:41 PM MST reply actions 0 recs
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