As posted in a similar thread a few days back... http://www.nba.com/rockets/news/injury_report0304.html
The Chron reported that they wanted him to go through at least one full practice before clearing him to play. Their next opportunity for that is Thursday meaning he could be back as soon as Friday at Portland.
we need PIKE NOW! have pike, boki, padgett, cuttino spotting up and YAO in the middle and we'll be a 3 POINT FREAK SHOW CIRCUS
For crying out loud! How long does it take to recover from a sprained ankle? Did Yao and Cato jump on Pike in practice or what? It's not like reoccuring injury either. Pike said he never before suffered an injury of any kind in his entire basketball career. Please, please, please come back to the team soon!
It was actually a HIGH ANKLE sprain, which if you've had one, can be MORE painful than a hairline fracture of your leg (which is what Michael Vick has... and its taken him months to recover). The fact that the pain and swelling lingers for so long is what keeps him from coming back so soon. And, the fact that its not chronic DOES NOT lead one to come back faster from it... if anything, if you get accustomed to dislocations and sprains, you can recover faster... not the other way around.
With this road trip coming up it would be nice to add him to the rotation. I really think getting Mo and Pike back into the rotation will really help this team's scoring. Just gives us more options on nights when other players are struggling. Don't be surprised when Pike gets back that Nachbar's minutes go way down. Nachbar has been played decently but in my opinion not good enough to keep Pike down.
Just ask Jim Jackson. He looked like he was ready to be the dominant 2 guard in the league after Jordan made his first retirement. He was taking the ball to the basket like a mad man for Dallas and scoring points in the bunches. Then came the high ankle sprain. His career took an immediate nose dive. JJ has never been as aggressive attacking the basket since that injury. I don't think he has ever had another 50 point game since that injury. Many people were saying that he had lost his nerve because of the injury and could not get past the mental road block. He was out for a very long time because of the injury. If Pike comes back as soon as the Portland game then that will be great.
