the same thing that he had last year in NY you guys are such huge Francis fans and you dont know about that? He has had knee tendinitis since last year, and judging by the amount of pain my wife experiences from her tendinitis, I cant imagine tryin to play competitive basketball with tendinitis. It was first mentioned at the beginning of the season by Worrell and Bullard that Francis had told them his knees were already hurting him. Face it guys, he isnt the Franchise anymore, he is a aging PG with gimpy knees that can help you from time to time, but will never be a high minute rotation player again. It pains me to say it, I was hoping coming to Houston would revive his career, but the physical stuff is just too hard to overcome for some people.
Surgery for this type of injury can revive a basketball players career. I don't know why he just doesn't bite the bullet and do it. Conservative (non-surgical) Treatment of patella tendonitis / patella tendinopathy This is normally advocated initially after diagnosis of patellar tendonopathy. Care must be taken so as to not overload the tendon. Treatment may involve: Quadriceps muscle strengthening program: in particular eccentric strengthening. These exercises involve working the muscles as they are lengthening and are thought to maximise tendinopathy recovery. Muscle strengthening of other weight bearing muscle groups, such as the calf muscles, may decrease the loading on the patellar tendon. Ice packs to reduce pain and inflammation. Massage therapy-Transverse (cross) friction techniques may be used. Aprotinin injections may help tendinopathies by restoring enzyme balance in the tendon. Surgical Treatment of patella tendonitis / patella tendinopathy This is normally advised as a last resort. Also, there is little convincing evidence to support the use of surgery over conservative treatment for patellar tendinopathy. Surgery either includes excision of the affected area of the tendon or a lateral release where small cuts are made at the sides of the tendon which take the pressure off the middle third. An intensive rehabilitative program is normally advised following surgery. In particular the use of eccentric strengthening exercises may help stimulate healing. A Sports Injury Specialist or Doctor may: Prescribe anti-inflammatory medication e.g. ibuprofen. Use ultrasound or laser treatment. Use cross friction massage techniques. Prescribe and supervise a full rehabilitation programme. A Surgeon can operate - see surgery for patella tendinopathy.
Where is the "Cause he sucks" option? The guy simply does not fit into the flow of the team. Trade him or release him so he can find a new home. DD
He doesn't suck. I think he may just need to go the Dwayne Wade route. This knee tendinitis thing has now been a problem for two seasons and isn't likely to go away without surgery. But then I"m not his personal doctor so who knows. http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2871328 But it was the knee, not the shoulder, that pained Wade most once he returned to the Heat lineup with six games remaining in the regular season. Commonly called "jumper's knee," his condition caused him to wince while trying to dunk, and Wade often said that he didn't have enough explosiveness to be his usual self on the floor. Recovery times from such a surgery vary; Heat guard Jason Williams had a similar procedure done last July and continued experiencing pain for much of the first half of this past regular season. Miami coach Pat Riley said last week that if Wade had surgery on both the knee and shoulder, it "might take six months" for the guard to recover.
See, this is where you weight a Champion's heart. How bad you wanna win. How much you willing to sacrifice for your NBA career. Are you willing to go through the pain and sacrifice? Or is 30 million dollars enough and at the end of the day you hang up your basketball shoes and enjoy the good life.
I don't know, I think he fits fine. His shot isn't there but in the games where we won, he played good and flowed right into the offense. He made plenty of passes that gave us easy buckets. At one point, he had like 21 ast to 4 TOs and rarely looked for his own shot. I remember him and Scola having pretty good chemisty together because Francis did a great job of finding him. Although, when we were losing, he looked bad out there.
Hawks Guard Jim Jackson undergoing new experimental treatment in Canada http://www.webmd.com/fitness-exercise/news/19991208/knee-tendinitis-surgery The treatment, called extracorporeal sound wave therapy (ESWT), involves focusing sound blasts to the area of pain. The treatment is being used in Canada and Europe to treat chronic pain or pain over a small area, particularly near a bone. The joint pain treated by this system includes the shoulder, elbow, ankle, and, as in Jackson's case, the knee.
Like a lot of people pointed out, Steve simply isn't good any more. He never knew how to play without the ball, and now you simply don't want someone like him to handle the ball a whole lot.
Found this statement by Stevie in Feb. 2007. Maybe it's time for that next step. Call up Dwayne Wades Doc. Steve Francis said it was time “to think about the next step” in dealing with the chronic tendinitis in his right knee. But he could not say what that step might be after meeting with the team doctor before last night’s game. “We really didn’t get into too much detail,” Francis said. “But we have more time to talk when it’s not a game day.” Francis missed his second consecutive game yesterday, and his 27th this season because of the knee. It is not clear whether he will return this season, and Francis provided no reason for optimism. He again ruled out surgery and said it was too soon, at age 30, to ponder retirement. “I guess resting it more and just trying to get it stronger will be the best thing,” he said. “There’s no tear or anything like that. Most people that have surgery for tendinitis, they said it really doesn’t work.” Francis said he had no plans to return to Houston, where he spent most of January rehabilitating. “I want to be here with my teammates,” he said. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/27/sports/basketball/27knicks.html
I dont think that you can jump to this conclusion yet. He played some good games, and I think he still has a shot at being a good player. I think it depends on how serious his injury is, because if you screw up your knee really bad there is a good possibility that it won't ever fully heal.
Personally I think the knee surgery is inevitable. He could opt out but then he'd be like Grant Hill and able to give us a little juice here and there but not at the former Franchise level. If he did the surgery, it is possible that he could have a renaissance similar to Baron Davis. Baron Davis was all but washed up too for awhile. Always injured. In and out with bad knees.
To save face, and I don't blame him. This has been a humiliating period in his life. Of course, all the money has surely eased the pain. This way, he is not playing because he is washed up, not very good, or the coach doesn't like him; he is not playing because he is injured. Works for me.
I can't believe how many people selected the second option in the poll. I figured that option was meant to be a joke. Adelman wouldn't avoid playing a guy just because he doesn't like him. I doubt he really likes Bonzi that much as a person (not that I would really know) but he plays him when he thinks he can help the team.
Brooksball, that was sadly the sentiment that I got from this board when I created the poll in November. It was appalling that so many would cling to that explanation as the reason for Francis riding the pine to start the season. I really couldnt believe that folks felt that way honestly. But I ran the poll and as of about November 17(before bumping it back up) it was 55% for Adelman hates him.
