I was just wondering reading a few threads here how our staff stacks up against the rest of the NBA. Is it me or do the Rockets seem to be one of the most banged up teams in the NBA year after year? The Suns have taken an interesting approach and they are one of the least injured teams in the NBA. Here is a vid explaining the approach they take so I'm wondering where we are in comparison?? It just makes you wonder. <object width="425" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/jAz5EVqi6SM"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/jAz5EVqi6SM" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed></object>
The two issues that have stuck with me are Tracy's delayed MRI and Yao's shoes -- especially after Van Gundy's direct comments about the Reebok problems. Med staff needs to be on top of the shoes making sure they have everything in place for Yao's unique size and foot stresses.
i though our medical staff was one of the best before this season, especially since keith jones was the trainer for the us team. lots of worse injuries occur compared to the injuries our players had. Carl Landry only out a few games - out more than 2 weeks and was out of shape and might still be. Tmac nothing serious on his knees, just play through, had to sit out a handfull. Yao had just a minor injury during the dallas game (yao's foot got stepped on) had stress fracture i'm hoping it was just bad luck.
Maybe it was just bad luck. Sure would be nice for the Rockets to put something up like the Suns did to tell us how they stack up against the rest of the league though. At least for peace of mind for us fans.
Here's another video from the Suns <object width="425" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/eaxvDtE54nQ"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/eaxvDtE54nQ" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed></object>
The shoe issue really doesn't make sense, they should have been all over that. The Rockets seem to have more injuries than other teams. Conditioning? Preventive techniques? Inappropriate response? Something is amiss.
that delayed MRI shows how bad our staff is. tracy said MANY times he was afraid to take an MRI b/c he fears something worse would reveal and he would miss time. how the hell you gonna let a guy without a college education make the right guess? unbelievable
shouldnt the shoes be more of reebok/equipment manager's issue than the training staff? People running into Yao's leg isn't Keith Jones fault. People stepping on Yao's foot or Yao stepping on someone's fault is not the trainers fault. Keith Jones cannot speed up the recovery.
Just like a coach, you can blamn everything on players after losing a game, but there shouldn't be any doubt that the coach is reponsible too. Same thing apply to our medical staff, you can blamn on bad luck when players get injuried, but when our team have sufferred more major injuries than any other teams in the last 3-4 years. It's time for Les and Morey to look into this matter..
What rubbed me the wrong way was that the first test they gave him was the wrong one, because it wasn't until his 2nd MRI or whatever that showed a small problem that the first one didn't.
My take on it is, Keith Jones is Head Trainer AND Senior VP of Operations. Dude, just stick to one damn job. Focus on 2 people especially. You know, the guys who are the most paid and most injured. /rant
I am surprised Grant Hill's health wasn't mentioned in the first video. He hasn't played 70 games in any of the seasons with the Orlando Magic. This year, he has managed to stay healthy. Shaq came to the Suns injured and has recovered very well. Shawn Marion gets traded to the Heat and gets injured and takes a long time to recover. The Rockets on the other hand, get Bob Sura/Steve Francis/Yao Ming/T-mac type injuries. How come we don't have a partnership with the National Association for Sports Medicine? How come we don't hear about players coming back from injuries sooner than expected? It's always, "It's worse than we thought it would be. He's going to need more time to recover." Morey needs to fix the medical staff.
I've noticed in a couple of YouTube videos posted that Tracy's personal weight trainer lets him get away with really poor form on some of his exercises. On one of the vids his bench press form really stood out -- it was terrible for someone with a bad back. There is no excuse for that -- too much weight -- as they say, 'lighten up and grow'. Too much arching and twisting of his lower back/ spine as he struggled to get the weight up.
I wonder if Morey has stacks of data on player injuries in the league. If he keeps stats on missed games, healthiest starters, fastest recovery from surgery, etc. It would be a dream, if he could steal some of the medical staff from these other teams. Which teams have the best recovery time from ligament and tendon injuries Which ones have the best recovery time from bone fractures? If's Morey's stats can help us anywhere, this would be it.
I did not know that our Head Trainer is also Senior VP of Operations. Is that really true? If so that's ridiculous. How do you do you stay involved in all phases of the Rockets business and keep your most valuable assets "the players", healthy? Someone + Staff just needs to attend to the players full time and it's their job and their career. That's it.
I believe that those guys were prior to the current Suns training and medical staff. In the old days, heck all they did was wait till someone got hurt. Shoot in painkillers, wrap it up and send em back out. Like Bill Walton. Makes for a short career.
Yes sir yes sir. http://www.nba.com/coachfile/keith_jones/index.html?nav=page Quite a few of us were happy for him *at the time* to get promoted. Keith works VERY hard I'm sure. But I could care less. I'd rather have a healthy, badass team than a smoothly operated ticket sales department. I'd rather have both my superstars playing 75+ games than having a cheesy marketing group make dumb slogans like "it's time" Stick to one job.You can't wear multiple hats while working. We all know it doesn't work for Isiah Thomas or Pat Riley. Shouldn't be an issue for you either Keith.
