Ford out for season, playoffs

Ford out for season, playoffs

Associated Press

MILWAUKEE -- Rookie point guard T.J. Ford will miss the rest of the regular season and the playoffs for the Milwaukee Bucks with a bruised spinal cord.

"I'm not going to get out there at 80 percent, 90 percent. There's just no need. I'm not going to put my career in jeopardy," Ford said after shooting some baskets before Wednesday night's game against Washington.

"I want to play the game. I love to play," Ford said. "But at the same time, I have a lot of life left. I'm young. I'm 21. I want to be healthy my whole life."

Ford hasn't played since being hurt Feb. 24 when he landed on his tailbone during the fourth quarter of a game against Minnesota at the Bradley Center.

"T.J.'s bruise hasn't healed as quickly as we had hoped," general manager Larry Harris said. "At this point, he would not have adequate practice time to return to playing condition, so the decision was made not to activate him for the remainder of the regular season and playoffs."

Ford said he has no symptoms such as residual weakness or numbness in his arms or legs _ "I'm feeling fine." _ but medical tests show he hasn't recovered.

He said he had no way of telling how close he is to returning to competition but remains confident his career isn't threatened: "Yeah, I'll be back," he said. "Next season."

Harris said Ford is expected to make a full recovery and be ready for training camp in October.

Ford has been running and shooting baskets on his own but hasn't had contact or even played one-on-one since being injured. He said his rehabilitation consisted of "just relaxing and doing everything the doctors tell me to do."

He said the decision to end his season was a collaborative one among himself, the Bucks and team doctors.

Ford has a history of spinal trouble but that didn't keep the Bucks from drafting him with the eighth pick last summer. Before his freshman season at Texas began in the fall of 2001, Ford was diagnosed with spinal stenosis, a narrowing of the openings of the vertebra the spinal cord runs through. After consulting with doctors, Ford decided against surgery to fix the problem, and tests later showed that the condition had improved.

Ford was hurt playing a pickup basketball game last April while still at the University of Texas. Although school officials and Ford refused to reveal the nature of the injury, citing federal privacy laws, a witness said Ford was slapped on the back of the neck and lay motionless after falling to the floor. He was treated at a hospital.

Ford averaged 7.1 points, 3.2 rebounds and 6.5 assists while sharing point guard duties with Damon Jones until his latest injury. When he was hurt, he was leading all rookies in assists and ranked ninth in the NBA in that category.

Ford will continue to attend games and practices and travel with the team.

"He will be involved in our playoff preparation and accompany the team on the road to maximize his playoff experience, despite not being able to play," Harris said.

While not entirely unexpected, the news that Ford's season was over hit his teammates hard.

"It's terribly unfortunate, not only for us but for him as a person," Michael Redd said.

"It makes me teary-eyed," Jones said. "It's going to be tough not seeing that smile on the court when he throws that no-look pass to somebody and somebody's dunking the basketball."

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I'm all for grabbing one of Milwaukee's backup PGs. Both Damon Jones and Brevin Knight are playing really well in TJ's absence and both are unrestricted free agents after this season.