The Injury Bug Deception

[moiso]

I think all the injuries are legit.  A sprained ankle can take up to a few months to recover from depending on the severity and location.

And I don't think anyone is tired, either.  The Big 3 look phenomenal- as good as they have ever looked this late in the season.  There is no way that the Oneals could possibly be tired.

[csfansince60s]

How optimistic.

I think the guys really are old, injury-prone, and tired. Great players, but old, injury-prone, and tired.

true enough. but even with 5 of the top 10 players missing games due to injury, this team is looking at least as good as any other team in the nba.

if, and it's not a big if, this team has everyone playing come the play offs i dont see anyone else with as much depth. to be able to run out a second team of OJ/perk, big baby, marquis, west, and nate is amazing.

The more things change....the more they stay the same. Shaq,BBD,JO, DWest and Wafer are our 5 players now out with injury and we still have the best recoerd in the Eastjust like in December.

Now look at our second team which is significantly better than what we were raving about then: Kristic,Murphy/BBD, Green/Pavlovic, West/Wafer, West/Arroyo. Wow!

[Bankshot]

Fo' Fo' Fo'!

[droponov]

It's obvious to both Doc and Danny that this team will win the championship, regardless of what happens during the regular season

Therefore they decide to engage in some complex scheme of not playing their healthy players and faking injuries in hopes that the opponents somehow forget they're in the Celtics roster? Why worry about it, if it's obvious they're going to win regardless of what happens?

[blake]

I think the true test would be if we started losing a couple of games and started letting the home court slip away.  I have a sneaking suspicion that at least Shaq would be playing.

[Chris]

While I think the OP is taking it a little overboard with the conspiracy theory, I absolutely agree that this injuries the team has been facing are not nearly as bad as they seem.  I think their goal is to be healthy going into the playoffs, and they are not going to put that in jeopardy by playing guys less than 100% in the regular season.

Particularly with the older guys, or with injuries that have the potential to linger, they are going to be extra conscious, and take advantage of the opportunity to keep their guys fresh.

Although, I don't think there is really any deception there, since Doc, Danny, and the players have all been quoted numerous times that they are doing exactly that.  The thing we always hear is that "if it were the playoffs, they would be playing", and I don't think thats spin.  I think these guys have been dealing with minor injuries, and they have been babying them, so, like last year, they can be the healthiest they are all season when the playoffs start. 

[incoherent]

The injury bug is this year's distraction.

Last year, it was Operation Fo' Fo' Fo'

http://forums.celticsblog.com/index.php?topic=36355.0

It's obvious to both Doc and Danny that this team will win the championship, regardless of what happens during the regular season.

Thus, it's important to dissuade other teams from trying to overpower our troops, by forcing 'em to play at their best, night after night.

So I think it goes like this ...

Doc: "Shaq, how do you feel?"

Shaq responds, "A bit tired"

Doc answers, "Take the night off"

Then when Doc's in front of the camera, "Well, Shaq's got a nagging leg problem. We'll watch and see"

And so forth. This is a well disguised ploy to boost the morale of opponents, without needing to engage them head on.

Come playoff time, Orlando, Miami, and others will be calling the C's injury prone, old, etc, but then BAM! each playoff series is over before it even begins.

Doc's not that good a liar/actor.

yes he is

[TitleMaster]

Folks, remember last year, during the months before the playoffs. The C's were looking at a 50 win season and that's when I made my Operation Fo'Fo'Fo' call and that we'd crush opponents during the playoffs with 'Sheed playing in the post instead of out in 3pt land. Well, until it happened, few believed me.

This year, in a similar vein, injuries are taking over the spotlight but strangely enough, just like in the Fo'Fo'Fo' season, the insiders aren't worried. That's the cue for me and that's that the injury bug is a style of deception. Granted, there are sore joints, ligaments, tendons, etc, but let's get real, all athletes get 'em from time to time.

2010 Playoffs Operation Fo'Fo'Fo'
2011 Playoffs Injury Bug Deception