Completely predictable.."Injured" most of this season..(Except I thought we might get 40-45 games this season.
He'll make a miraculous recovery in his contract year next year. 70 games next season.
JO has bone-on-bone in his knee, causing it to repeatedly swell. I don't understand the skepticism about the "injury".
If JO plays 70 games next season, after the surgery he'll be getting in the off-season, good for him. It's very likely, though, that he'll be playing those 70 games in pain.
Pain or not, he's got to earn his money so he better be able to produce on the court for us when it counts. From Danny's comments, it sounds like JO showed up a bit out of shape for training camp which caused him to have more problems with his knee than he should have.
That's easier said than done, isn't it? I mean, "earning his money" is pretty hard to do when his body won't comply. Compare KG last year to this year, or Tony Allen when he was coming back from injury, or pretty much anybody else. They're just not going to be the same player.
As for not being in shape, here's what Danny said:
“I think when you’re out with a bad knee, it’s tough to condition basketball wise,” Ainge said. “I mean, he was on the treadmill, the non-weight bearing treadmill, the swimming pool, a lot of things like that.
In other words, JO wasn't sitting around eating twinkies. He was working, but it's pretty hard to get into NBA shape when your body is broken down. Also, people have these grand ideas regarding the rehab plan JO should have been following, but where was the Celtics training / medical staff during this time? Why is it JO that has to come up with a strengthening regimen, rather than having the plan come from the team? Recently, our track record with guys coming back from injuries -- Big Al, Pierce, Delonte, Wally, possibly KG, etc., etc. -- has been less than stellar, so I wouldn't be so quick to put the sole blame on JO.
