Andre Iguodala is playing hurt. The chondromalacia in Iguodala's right knee, a chronic condition that dates back more than 5 years, flared in mid-March. Had the Sixers been out of the playoff picture, Iguodala would have been shut down. Instead, he played for the next month. The knee cost Iguodala only the last two games of the regular season, when Sixers management insisted he sit, general manager Ed Stafanski said. "It hurts, because you can't really lift," Iguodala said. "You go into a jump shot and you feel like it's going to give at times. You feel a pinch. You don't know if the pain is going to come back. You're thinking about it every shot. Every plant. That's probably the toughest." http://www.philly.com/philly/sports/sixers/20110427_Iguodala_has_been_noble_warrior_for_Sixers.html
That's nice to know, he's one of my favorite players and I was confused to why he's been stinking it up lately.
5 years. That means he's been playing with this since at least his 2nd year. This is a guy who missed a grand total of 6 games before this season. He's kept everything in line with his career averages, although this is the third consecutive year his scoring has declined. Looks like Iggy's slowly being reduced to a facilitator role. He's still a plus defender, even if he's facing the buzzsaw known as LeBron and D-Wade this series.
I wouldn't mind it if we could steal iggy let him rehabilitate for a season and get him back. He's not playing his worth right now but maybe he needs a year to get his knee back. With him at the 3 and a decent center we'd be nasty.
Good thing is an offseason of rest and low weight-bearing exercise is enough to let the surface of the cartilage heal. Chondromalacia is unlike arthritis
I have dealt with this for 15 years. The right doctor males a huge difference. Usually surgery can help. The thing is that it isn't really a huge deal with activity in itself - it is more of a recovery thing. I can only imagine how much it would suck to play three games a week of whatever and not allow the week or two it can often take to feel normal again. I have it in both knees and it is the reason I stopped playing basketball.
Standing too long hurts. Sitting too long hurts. Wearing hard-soled shoes hurts. I have been told basketball and tennis would be particularly bad because of the impact of jumping and the impact/direction change/planting in tennis. I started playing soccer again just to do something active and have as soft a surface as possible and even then there are times when I can barely walk for a week after a game. Over the last two years, though, I have been much improved because of surgery. Again, surgery can help but even that isn't a long-term cure.
Hey! My daughter's name is Chondromalacia!!! But her middle name is more traditionally anglo-saxon: Congradulazha.
No thanks. Chronic condition means he'll be dealing with this for the rest of his career. IMO it's not a risk the Rockets should take, especially since we're nowhere near contending. Teams like Dallas or Orlando, I could see taking a chance at him.
