Also, isn't cramps more prominent in players with more muscle? If Bird got the cramp that game, I seriously doubt he would've played serious minutes...
Not really, more muscle doesn't affect it that much. I had a 56" chest, 32" waist, 30" thighs, 21" neck and and 20" inch arms and calves when I played for the US Army. I was 6'7" and 6 percent body fat then and when not playing ball I carried the M60 around on and did 26 miles marches as I was in the infantry . I rarely got cramps because we stayed hydrated and ran every day. We also had salt tabs and the like. I walked them off if I did get them but I only got them at night in my feet sometimes. I never got them in the games, 4 hour practices or army activites like marching. Some guys got them on the long marches in the heat. They were not big guys either. Sprinters who are very muscular are more prone to pulling muscles but not cramping.
Bird would have played with them but Bird would have never got them folks. He took conditioning seriously after Robey left. Bird and McHale were so much tougher than LeBron. Bird played with a fractured eye socket and McHale played on a broken foot. So yes, Larry would have played. ( You play a price for playing hurt though down the road, just ask Kevin, I once played with a broken ankle and it kills me 20 years later, my coach loved me, but it was not worth it) Cramps are painful but it goes away. You don't generally get them if you eat and drink right, stretch, are in shape and are hydrated. They need to address this heavily in future half times for him.
Read this one:
http://www.boston.com/sports/basketball/celtics/extras/celtics_blog/2014/06/you_know_who_didnt_cramp_in_extreme_heat_larry_bird.htmlunless LBJ wants to injure himself, and jeopardize the series.
He took himself out and jeopardized the series, It is one game that they could have won it. Now if they lose the next game it will weight heavy on them. A lot of this can be chalked up to the trainer not making his guys hydrate and deal with the heat. Wet towels on the neck, ice on the neck and oxygen. He tried a lot of this but only once it happened. The best way to work with cramps is too prevent them. I think the team should have used time outs and got him back on the floor. The bottom line is LeBron played well that game but let his team down when in needed him most. It was a two point game when he went out and the Spurs smelled the blood in the water and finished them off. Spoelstra is only as good as his players. He lost his best player and had no chance. He is a mouth piece for Riley and not a true coach. He did not have the experience or ability to better manage this situation. He also lacks the gravitas/kahunas to call LeBron out or ask him to go back into the game.
Interesting article on the matter.
http://hardwoodparoxysm.com/2014/06/06/lebron-james-game-1-cramps-injury-science-genetic/Some guys are more prone to cramps due to genetic predisposition it says and LeBron has got them often before folks.
If he loses this series now it will be a huge blight on his legacy.
Topic: lebron's greatest weakness: hot temperature (Read 10785 times)