Porzingis injury updates (soleus strain)

[Who]

Charles Barkley said more than once on the NBA on TNT that they can’t win a championship without hm. He says a lot of things that don’t come true, but I like Charles anyway. I don’t know what you all think.

They could beat Dallas without Porzingis. Not a sure thing but a solid chance against them. Maybe OKC as well. Not sure about Minnesota. Might still have a shot against Minnesota.

I don't think they could beat Denver without Porzingis.


I would put Dallas and OKC on a par with a healthy Cleveland team. I don't think either squad are elite teams. Nor are Cleveland. I thought Cleveland had a 50-50 shot against BOS without Porzingis had they been healthy. I would put the odds somewhere similar for Dallas and OKC vs Boston.

[keevsnick]

I think they've almost certainly lose against any of the remaining wets teams without him. maybe they have a shot against Dallas, but he's vital to the C's success against elite teams. 

Luckily I'm pretty sure he'll return at some point in the ECF.

[Vermont Green]

And then there's the worst case Kevin Durant scenario:  playing after on a torn calf after being medically cleared, and rupturing his Achilles.

So how do you mitigate that risk?  Would resting another week have made any difference?  Did the Doctors miss some damage to the Achilles as they treated the torn calf (Porzingis does not have a torn calf)?  Is there any point where there is zero risk of Porzingis injuring his Achilles?

Maybe the Doctors are saying that because of the calf strain, he is at a higher risk of Achilles damage if he plays.  But for how long does that heighten risk remain?  Probably for more than a couple of weeks.  Probably for the rest of his career.  That would make this into something very different than what it appears to be.  It appears to be a routine calf strain, a fairly common basketball injury.

I don't know what the Doctors are telling the team.  But when the Doctors tell the team it is safe to play him, and that he is ready to play, they should play him.  If the Doctors say playing him this week is much riskier than waiting another week, I would wait another week, unless we are down 2-1 in the finals or something and another week could be too late.

[Roy H.]

(Porzingis does not have a torn calf)

??

One of us is seemingly pretty confused right now.

A soleus strain is a torn calf muscle.

[Vermont Green]

(Porzingis does not have a torn calf)

??

One of us is seemingly pretty confused right now.

A soleus strain is a torn calf muscle.

Is a stain the same as a tear?  If that is the case, than I am mistaken.  I thought the diagnosis was a soleus muscle strain, not a muscle tear, and that a muscle strain is much less serious than a muscle tear.

Not that random information on the web is definitive, but here is what the web says:

If the injury is only a strain, you may feel a strong pulling in your lower leg. It may be uncomfortable. You may have a twinge of pain. More serious muscle tears will cause very sharp pain and leave you barely able to walk.

If this is a muscle tear, a tear in the way that I understand it, I don't see much chance he is coming back anytime in the playoffs.

[Neurotic Guy]

My guess is there is always uncertainty when applying extreme stress to the muscle after a strain.  You have to test it out at some point but i don’t think there’s any certainty that it won’t re-strain. Waiting as long as reasonably possible to put the calf through the wringer makes sense, but that also means waiting on high-level conditioning. I would think you let games 1 and 2 go, and then decide about game 3 depending on results of the first two games. If they are up 2-0 and can rest the calf for an additional few days, then do so.

[Roy H.]

(Porzingis does not have a torn calf)

??

One of us is seemingly pretty confused right now.

A soleus strain is a torn calf muscle.

Is a stain the same as a tear?  If that is the case, than I am mistaken.  I thought the diagnosis was a soleus muscle strain, not a muscle tear, and that a muscle strain is much less serious than a muscle tear.

Not that random information on the web is definitive, but here is what the web says:

If the injury is only a strain, you may feel a strong pulling in your lower leg. It may be uncomfortable. You may have a twinge of pain. More serious muscle tears will cause very sharp pain and leave you barely able to walk.

If this is a muscle tear, a tear in the way that I understand it, I don't see much chance he is coming back anytime in the playoffs.

Strains are tears of muscle fibers.  A muscle strain and a muscle tear are the same thing.  "A soleus strain, also known as a calf strain, is a tear or stretch in the soleus muscle of the lower leg."

[cman88]

Charles Barkley said more than once on the NBA on TNT that they can’t win a championship without hm. He says a lot of things that don’t come true, but I like Charles anyway. I don’t know what you all think.

I agree with him. But considering all signs point to KP coming back I’m not sure why he kept saying it.