[CHRON] Surgery calls, but Sura will not answer

Dude is a warrior. Can't have enough guys like him on your team.

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/sports/3020666

Sura worthy of all-Advil team

By JONATHAN FEIGEN

Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle

PHILADELPHIA - Bob Sura wanted to get on the court quickly. He wanted to find out if he could play. He wanted to demonstrate to Rockets trainer Keith Jones that he should be cleared to play.

Sura desperately wanted to get from the locker room to the FleetCenter court in Boston on Monday. But he couldn't. First, he needed to figure out a way to tie his shoes.

Such is life for Sura this season. He was brought in to be the Rockets' point guard but had to postpone that for back surgery on Sept. 21. He came back from surgery when a knee injury forced Charlie Ward to the injured list, but in rushing back, Sura damaged his left knee. He found a way to play with the knee injury and led the Rockets to a more high-scoring, high-energy style. But on Sunday in Miami, Sura tried to foul Shaquille O'Neal, succeeding only in dislocating his left ring finger.

By Monday, the Rockets had no idea if the splint protecting Sura's injury would allow him to catch or control the ball or even play. They knew only that it made handling shoelaces a challenge.

'Just a tough guy'
Then on the game's first possession, Sura got a step on Gary Payton and put in a layup with his left hand, never realizing the significance of the play long enough to enjoy a sense of relief that another injury had not stopped him.

"Bob's just a tough guy," said teammate Jon Barry, long known as an expert on the subject. "I knew he'd play tonight. There was never a doubt in my mind. There's guys that will do it, guys that won't do it. He cares about what goes on."

So damaged has Sura been that while taking an injection to allow doctors to put his injured finger back in place, he had X-rays on the finger and an examination of his injured knee.

"It's perfect timing," Sura said of his latest series of tests. "I was getting needles here, X-rays on this, and a look at the knee too."

Like a car brought in for a discount oil change but found to need massive repairs, Sura learned from his latest MRI that he needs surgery to repair the damage to his knee.

"I need to be scoped, like, right now," Sura said. "But as long as it doesn't keep getting bigger and bigger, I'll wait to the end of the season. But I need it."

If Sura, 31, had arthroscopic surgery, he would miss four to six weeks. But he said doctors have not tried to convince him to have surgery now.

"I don't think they really think that approach will work, so they haven't said it," Sura said. "They haven't tried to force it on me, I think, because they know it will be an argument."

Sura's numbers back him up. He had 10 points and 10 assists in his 31 minutes Monday. In his past 10 games, he has averaged 11.2 points, 6.2 rebounds and 5.5 assists.

In the first 22 games, the Rockets averaged 86.9 points. In the 24 games since, they have averaged 96.8. They have nine of their 11 100-point games in the past 24 games.

While there are factors throughout the Rockets rotation to explain the change, Sura has become nearly as irreplaceable as Yao Ming or Tracy McGrady with an attitude and manner that seem to have helped rid the Rockets of their early-season tendency toward lethargy.

"He's a natural two guard playing point with a power forward mentality," coach Jeff Van Gundy said. "He's tough. There's no softness in that man."

Setting an example
Assured that Sura is not risking further damage, Van Gundy said he just keeps tabs on how Sura is doing. Van Gundy stresses getting penetration to trigger the offense, either with a pass to Yao inside or to set up perimeter shots, and asks Sura to keep the ball moving. Mostly, Van Gundy seems impressed that Sura is on the court at all.

"I love his courage," Van Gundy said. "I love his toughness. And I love what he's trying to do. Like (Monday), I thought he had a great game. He was aggressive with the drive, appropriately, also searching other guys out.

"I think he should be applauded for all the things he's working through. There's no doubt he should be on the injured list for awhile. But we appreciate that toughness."

Sura has stopped worrying about injuries and rarely will talk about them.

"You get your adrenaline going, get into the game, and you can do a lot of things. It doesn't feel too bad," he said. "You have to answer the bell. When the bell rings, you have to be there."

With that, he struggled to lower himself into a chair and pulled on a pair of boots, thankful they had no laces.

jonathan.feigen@chron.com
Rockets Summary
Still on the mend
Rockets forward Maurice Taylor said he hoped a practice Thursday in Philadelphia would be a step toward getting off the injured list. Taylor went on the list Jan. 18, missing five games with the flu and three more because of inflammation in his right foot.

Taylor said he did not necessarily agree with the decision to keep him on the injured list but understood it.

"When I told everyone it was hurting, I think they kind of blew it up a bit," Taylor said. "But it's something they wanted to take care of. With me missing games with the flu and not really practicing, they felt I wasn't 100 percent.

"The conditioning wasn't really a problem. I missed three days. I was playing for two months. It was more my foot was hurting before I got sick. I got used to it."

Minute by minute
Rockets forward Tracy McGrady said he was still sore but that his back felt much better than when he struggled through 40 minutes against the Celtics on Monday.

McGrady leads the NBA with an average of 42.2 minutes per game. Philadelphia's Allen Iverson averages 42.1.

"That's not a good thing," Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy said. "If you look at his minutes, (they) have been ungodly. I think he's been under 40 one time in the last month, and that was when we got blown out in Milwaukee (Dec. 28, when McGrady played 34 minutes)."

In the past five games, McGrady has averaged 44.8 minutes.

Charge from Shaq
From the start of Monday's game, Yao Ming seemed energized and eager to have the ball in his hands. There was a reason for this, he said.

"After a Shaquille O'Neal game," Yao said, "I don't feel any center is stronger than that."

Yao made 11 of 15 shots for 23 points. Asked if he felt as if he could score easily, he said: "I like that feeling."

-- JONATHAN FEIGEN