Rockets M*A*S*H Unit: Definitive Injury Status Report?

well not sure anyone has a definite timeframe on Yao.

but it's longer than 2-3 weeks, I think more like 5-6 if I remember right.

DA's timeframe seems about right he's been out for 2 years already, a strained right calf can't take that long to heal

 

I was just wondering about that myself. We definitely need some relief...if ANY of these guys could get back soon it would help.

The chronicle had this to say about rehab...but from skimming it I didnt see project timetables for returns but not a bad read all the same...

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/3547841.html

Injured Rockets tolerate routine
Players prefer grueling practices to grind of rehab


By JONATHAN FEIGEN
Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle

The Rockets' morning shootaround was over, except for the last few free throws of the day.

Not far away, the upstairs weight room resonated with grunts from players who could not join the rest of the team in preparations for that night's game.

Rafer Alston was grinding through his new life on the elliptical machine. On a stationary bicycle, Dikembe Mutombo was doing the Tour de LaBranch. And Jon Barry and Derek Anderson were doing sit-ups while tossing the medicine ball.

The adage that rehab is a lonely time does not apply to the Rockets. Misery has plenty of company.

"When the team is at practice, we're in the weight room," said Barry, a guard. "It's harder than being in practice, but you have to do something.

"At times it feels like we're doing something just to do something. And you're dealing with an injury. I couldn't walk originally with my calf. You're doing ice and stimulation and stretching every day. It's not a country club, getting a nice massage, a sauna and getting out of there."

As demanding as coach Jeff Van Gundy's practices can be, the injured Rockets said those are preferable to a day with trainers Keith Jones, Michelle Leget and Samantha Hicks and strength and conditioning coaches Dave Macha and William Amonette.

With six players from the Rockets' planned rotation out with injuries, the side of the NBA that usually is ignored has moved into a spotlight. But the lives of the training staff have not changed.

About three hours before the team hits the court at 11 a.m. on a typical practice day, Jones and Leget arrive for the first of a series of meetings.

"Missy and I talk about the guys we have, the injuries we have, where they are, how we're going to progress them that day, real specific things," Jones said. "Then we talk to Samantha. She does a lot of the treatments. Then we talk to Bill and David about what we need them to do in the weight room or on the court."


Long day for Jones
When players begin that day's treatments — some combination of ice, heat, electric muscle stimulation, ultrasound, whirlpools, massage and stretching — Jones writes and orally delivers the daily rehab report, including the status of every player. Jones meets with Van Gundy, then moves on to general manager Carroll Dawson every day. He updates Rockets owner Leslie Alexander three to four times each week.

After that day's therapy, the player is sent to Macha and Amonette, who plot workouts with Jones and Leget.

"Keith, Missy, Bill and I come up with a plan to effect whatever we want to do," Macha said. "My background is in that field. We get together, come up with a list of what will work for him. Is he an old player or young player? Is it a chronic problem? Did it just come up? Are there special needs?

"And there are always special needs. It's not rocket science, but there is science there."

Speaking of rocket science, Amonette previously was a trainer for NASA astronauts, who have more injury issues than basketball players.

"The rehab process for these guys — they want to play basketball — can get monotonous," Amonette said. "We do it in a highly motivated fashion. We bring intensity and energy to the workout."

With light reading between the lines, "highly motivated fashion" and "intensity and energy" are easy to imagine.

"I talk to them the way I talk to them," Jones said. "Missy talks the way she talks to them. The way Sam talks — 'You're going to be OK; this is what you're feeling; this is why you're feeling it.' — is a little different. Then we send them to the pit bulls. They do what they need to do to get it done."


Sessions in weight room
Players go from trainers to strength coaches all season, when healthy or injured. Even when 15 players are well enough to practice, 11 might have been in therapy that morning. Every player must go through weight training. But when players are hurt and cannot play or practice, they still train.

"Those guys would much rather (have) coach Van Gundy be all over them on the basketball court, because that means they're doing what they love," Amonette said. "They're not weightlifters. They're basketball players. When the team's working, everybody is working. They're not going to sit in a lawn chair and watch practice.

"There's a lot of interesting things you can do with weights and medicine balls. There's probably 50 types of ab work we do, crunches and sit-ups and leg lifts. They love the v-ups."

The players aren't supposed to like it, he said.

"The mentality we want everybody to have is being injured is harder than being on the court," Amonette said. "These guys love to play basketball. They don't love to lift weights and do sit-ups all day."


Miss the competition
They don't "love" v-ups and likely don't find the latest exercises all that interesting.

"It's very frustrating when you have to spend day after day with them. It means you're not playing," guard Bob Sura said. "No player wants to go through rehab all the time, especially as much as I have.

"No athlete wants to be injured, sitting out on the side, watching, going through rehab for a couple hours and not competing. No competition, the juices aren't flowing. You do everything except compete. That's the hardest part of it."

These days, the training room is crowded with players who cannot play.

"It takes a split second to get hurt and forever to get healed," Anderson said. "It's hard. It's very difficult mentally."

But there is a benefit, beyond avoiding or coming back from injuries.

"We all look buff," Anderson said. "We have to get some new clothes."

jonathan.feigen@chron.com

 

During the Raptors (?) game a few days ago, I think Worrell mentioned that Alston was about 1-2 weeks away.

 

In the Rockets notes section a few days ago they said 2 players were coming back this week and next. Didn't say who though. I'm guessing it's Mutumbo and Alston.

 

I thought Barry was one.

 

I don't know how to pull up the rocket archives but I distinctly remember in the article it said that 2 injured players would be returning starting this week , or into next week at the latest. he didn't name any names though.

 

you're right about Deke. Berman is reporting Mutumbo will be back tomorrow night. it's a start.

 

If Rafer doesn't come back soon I for one am going to have to ask if he has a bad case of Rectal-GundyFootis Insertitus. It has to have been going on 5 weeks now, soon six?