WOOOOHOOOO great news By MICHAEL MURPHY Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle Carl Landry knows people are going to have questions. After all, the rookie power forward had a few of his own after a nagging knee injury robbed Landry of the explosiveness that turned him from relatively anonymous second-round pick out of Purdue to fan favorite — and surprise impact player — during the Rockets' second-half run to 50-plus wins. Landry, a 6-9 human pogo stick, took a dunk-first-ask-questions-later approach to his role, something the stodgy Rockets needed. And something they will need in the playoffs. But an incidental knee bump — or so he thought — during a game against the Indiana Pacers on March 5 turned into something far worse. He played the next night against Dallas, finishing with 17 points on 6-of-9 shooting, but Landry was forced to sit out the next seven games with swelling in his knee. Unproductive stretch Although he returned with a bang, 17 points and eight rebounds in a victory at Golden State, his performances over the last five games have raised questions about Landry's health. Over that stretch, Landry has averaged 3.6 points, less than half his season average of 8.1 points. But, according to Landry, everything is fine, which he intends to prove to the fans — and perhaps himself — down the stretch, beginning tonight against the Seattle SuperSonics at Toyota Center. "I'm in the 90s — mid to high 90s," said Landry, 24, estimating how close he is to being 100 percent physically. "I did a workout (Tuesday) with the strength and conditioning coaches, and I felt good. After practice there really was no soreness in my knee, and I'm happy about that. "I'm moving a lot better and I'm jumping a lot better. You guys are going to start seeing dunks from me again pretty soon. My confidence is gearing up, so I'm heading in the right direction. "I'm feeling better about myself, and I'm going to continue to go out there and give 110 percent through the playoffs." Landry wants — needs — every minute he can in these last five games of the regular season to regain his timing and get his game back in rhythm. And there might be just a tiny bit of added motivation, too. Landry insists getting regular rotational minutes on a Western Conference playoff team is far more important than anything else, but getting mentioned on one of the NBA All-Rookie teams would be a nice finish for a guy who was the first pick in the second round of the 2007 draft. Comparable numbers Before his injury, Landry's numbers were as good, better even, than many of the power forwards picked ahead of him, even though he only began getting regular minutes in January. Milwaukee's Yi Jianlian, the No. 6 pick from China, is averaging 8.6 points and 5.2 rebounds per game, shooting 42.6 percent from the floor. Golden State's Brandan Wright, the eighth pick out of North Carolina, is putting up 3.9 points (on 54.6 percent shooting) and 2.6 rebounds per game. Philadelphia's Thaddeus Young, the 12th pick out of Georgia Tech, is averaging 7.8 points and 4.2 rebounds. "That would be great if I made it," said Landry, who is shooting 61.3 percent from the floor and averaging five rebounds in almost 17 minutes per game. "These last few games have not been great for me, but hey, I'm healthy. Our team is in the playoffs and I'm playing. "There are a lot of things that I'm happy about other than making the All-Rookie team." --------------------------------------------------------------- We need him back healthy baby ! DD
I hope this is very much the case with the playoffs fast approaching. We need his explosive play inside to match up with any of the teams that we have the chance of facing. I hate to admit it but I agreed with those that saw something different in Landry when he came back although I was quick to give him the benefit of the doubt because he was coming back from injury. Hopefully, we'll see what we saw a couple months ago.
So much of success is confidence, it sounds like he was doubting his injury and self and that led to a downturn in production. Let's hope he comes out hopping tonight !! DD
injuries affecting a player's explosiveness and having an effect on their game ... who would have thought.
man we need him to come back to full strength if we want any chance of an upset. our offense has not really been that consistent ever since he went out with the injury. with his finishing ability, it opens up so much for tmac.
Another injury would deflate his value on his contract next summer, and a good playoff apperance will enhance it. So I see he has been playing it conservative the last few games to make sure he is 100% before he puts it all out on the line. Financially he needs this first big contract guarantee, and he said he was only 90%+ so he must have still been feeling some pain in the knee. Here's to a great playoff series for him!
Landry's Dunks and explosiveness spark the team and the fans and we need lots of that in the playoffs. I think Rafer will come back much better becasue he will have something to prove.
If Landry does get to be 100% the Team as a whole had a shot just like any other team in the West. I believe that any team in West that can get rolling will win the Western Conference. Of course I am bias and say the Rockets will be the team to come out of the West.
Your signature is so bizarre that it makes me wish signatures were no longer an option here, but I hope you are right about Landry. I think his potential as a Dennis Rodman-like rebounder hasn't even been tapped yet. I hope that knee gets well.
I don't think it is an overstatement to say Landry may be a key in the playoffs. If he is healthy, he can have a significant impact.
I hope he starts playing well towards the last two games or the last game, and stays under the radar. I want our playoff opponent to forget about Landry and not gameplan against him until it's too late.
Let's hope we can win the next 5 games going to playoff, then we will surely get homecourt advantage and being on the top four teams. With landry exposiveness we can handle any team. amare who? duncan what? gasol huh? go eat the dust of our landry-afterburn!!! because he is ready to take off!
