Big Men Go Down After NBA Trade Deadline
It seems pretty weird to see three hottest NBA frontline players going down practically at the same time at the windup of the NBA trade deadline. The three, Amare Stoudemire, Kevin Garnett and Greg Oden have been sidelined due to various injuries and this has hurt their various ballclubs.
Kevin Garnett, one piece of the Boston Celtic’s big three went down with a knee injury a couple of days ago. He suffered the right knee against the Utah Jazz but has been thus far reported to be heading back to Boston. He will be out for at least three games.
Greg Oden of the Portland Trailblazers is also out with a knee injury. This rookie who seems to have the knack of being injured during the start of his career is not a good sign. After showing some promise, the Blazers center suffered the knee injury during a collision in their game at Golden State before the All-Star break. It forced him to miss the All-Star rookie challenge and their game against the Memphis Grizzlies.
Finally, there is Amare Stoudemire of the Suns. After slowly getting back his rhythm under their new system, Stoudemire suffered a recurring eye injury which is threatening to force him out of the season. This comes at a time when trade rumors were done away with while the Suns are rampaging once again. He has had eye surgery already.
Stoudemire, a starter for the West in Sunday’s All-Star Game, had eye surgery Friday and won’t be able to resume physical activity for about eight weeks.
“We’re going to be ultraconservative with this and if it means he misses the remainder of the season, so be it,” Suns general manager Steve Kerr said. “He’s got a long career and a long life ahead of him. And that’s the most important thing.”
The NBA playoffs begin eight weeks from Saturday, and it’s no sure thing the Suns will even be in the postseason, especially with their All-Star power forward unavailable for the final 29 games of the regular season.
“He was really discouraged,” Kerr said. “He was really starting to play well. He was feeling good about things. Our team obviously is feeling very good about things, just about the way the last couple of games have gone, and this is a major blow.”
The eye had been bothering Stoudemire before Wednesday night’s game against the Clippers in Los Angeles, where he scored 42 points in Phoenix’s 142-129 victory. A blow to the head early in the game may have aggravated the injury.
The Suns didn’t find out about the need for surgery until after Thursday’s trade deadline.
Win some or lose some, that is the plight of these guys. But it looks like while Garnett and Oden can make it back in time for the playoffs, Stoudemire may have played his last game against the Clippers at least for this season.
(Source) Yahoo Sports
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