Something in Dallas is fishy

[hwangjini_1]

If by "PEDs" you mean "the spacing created by the best shooting big man ever" and "second best coach in the league Rick Carlisle," you might be onto something.

cute, very cute. tp. 

[Snakehead]

For the past couple of years I've been hyper sensitive and suspicious when it comes to PEDs in sports. That especially goes for the NBA, whose testing program (from what I understand) is a joke. I see a distinct possibility that right now we're witnessing the equivalent of Barry Bonds, a hall-of-famer who catapulted himself into transcendent status; and a handful of Mark Maguires, guys whose whole career have been made by drugs.

I got this sensation again watching the DVR'd replay of the Mavs game last night. Think about this:

- Dirk is 37 and has barely seen any slippage in his game.
- Chandler Parsons had microfracture surgery in the offseason, a procedure famous for reducing guys' skills and explosiveness. His stats have slipped a bit this year, but he looked pretty much like his own self the other night.
- Similarly, Wesley Matthews tore his achilles last year and had surgery in the offseason. His stats are down, but he's more or less been able to come back and compete despite what's typically a devastating injury for players' careers.
- Deron Williams was essentially dead and buried with the Nets. This year he's scoring at a better rate despite being surrounded by much better offensive players. He looked noticeably quicker to me than he has the past couple of years.
- Raymond Felton looks diesel and noticeably quicker than when he was with the Knicks, where for the most part he was fat and slow.

I'm not saying the whole team's juiced up, but I am saying that in this current era of pro sports, there's circumstantial evidence all over the place.

Maybe I'm sore that the C's got beat, or maybe it's that I was hoping for a much better draft pick from the Mavs next offseason. Tell me I'm crazy.

I think you are on to something here!!!  How many even took the time to read the article about Cuban's stance and financial support for research on HGH before deciding that this has NO merit??  Own up and admit it IF you didn't read that article before calling Ed out on this!!!! Man up.

Smitty77

I read it.

HGH is used by many wealthy, especially older, men these days.  Joe Rogan (Comedian/UFC Commentator) for example is a big advocate for it and open user.

I for one will not be surprised if years from now there is not a dogma around HGH as the piece says.  Things change a lot.

As I said in my post, I think no fan has enough information to feel right making claims in this area.  Kobe and others go to Germany and have a procedure done where their blood is manipulated and then injected into your knee to repair damage.  I mean... where are the lines on this stuff?  Everything is too blurry and there is no good information for fans to have a firm stance on that can't be poked full of holes.  The drug testing allows for plenty of wiggle room for these players.

If people want to pick and choose they can but I think they are making a ton of assumptions and working with situations where there is not nearly enough information and the lines are all blurry.

[PhoSita]

Seriously, though, is it so surprising to see that the two teams in the league with the longest run of sustained success feature two of the top coaches in the league paired with two remarkably durable Hall of Fame big men?

[MasterEmile]

Wouldn't this apply to Jae Crowder and Thomas who were good players on their former teams,  but are playing at an (or near) all star level?

[Quetzalcoatl]

If by "PEDs" you mean "the spacing created by the best shooting big man ever" and "second best coach in the league Rick Carlisle," you might be onto something.

Performance Enhancing Dudes

[RJ87]

1.) Dirk's game has never been reliant on athleticism - it's all skill, footwork and shooting. Compared to other guys who's game relied on elite athleticism (Dwade, Kobe), he was always likely to age the best. Look at Tim Duncan and Pau Gasol. The one area where his age shows the most is defensively, he can't move laterally.

2.) Chandler had a hybrid microfracture procedure where bone marrow was transplanted from his hip as opposed to a typical microfracture. It's still a fairly new procedure at the NBA level, but is supposed to have a much better prognosis.

3.) Wes Matthews did come back early, but its really not surprising when you consider the player. He's had his bumps along the way but I think he would've attacked his rehab the same way and been back on opening night on any team he would've signed for. He legitimately seems to hate not being able to play.

4.) Deron's still having the same lower leg issues he had in NJ and while there's a slight uptick in his scoring and FG%, I don't think there's enough to completely discount Carlisle's system and not sharing a backcourt with Joe Johnson.

5.) Raymond Felton was still fat and out of shape most of last season - he got a chance in the playoffs last and I think he's trying to seize the opportunity in a contract season. His numbers this season are strikingly similar to his last season in NY, though.

[Smitty77]

1.) Dirk's game has never been reliant on athleticism - it's all skill, footwork and shooting. Compared to other guys who's game relied on elite athleticism (Dwade, Kobe), he was always likely to age the best. Look at Tim Duncan and Pau Gasol. The one area where his age shows the most is defensively, he can't move laterally.

2.) Chandler had a hybrid microfracture procedure where bone marrow was transplanted from his hip as opposed to a typical microfracture. It's still a fairly new procedure at the NBA level, but is supposed to have a much better prognosis.

3.) Wes Matthews did come back early, but its really not surprising when you consider the player. He's had his bumps along the way but I think he would've attacked his rehab the same way and been back on opening night on any team he would've signed for. He legitimately seems to hate not being able to play.

4.) Deron's still having the same lower leg issues he had in NJ and while there's a slight uptick in his scoring and FG%, I don't think there's enough to completely discount Carlisle's system and not sharing a backcourt with Joe Johnson.

5.) Raymond Felton was still fat and out of shape most of last season - he got a chance in the playoffs last and I think he's trying to seize the opportunity in a contract season. His numbers this season are strikingly similar to his last season in NY, though.

No matter how you slice it, Parsons' recovery is quite miraculous and almost unprecedented at this professional level.  Please give me another comparable example from the NBA or NFL.  Also, Wes Matthews' comeback speed is almost unheard of.  I guess that Peterson's comeback is comparable, but I cannot think of any other decent comparisons!!!

Smitty77

[makaveli]

Rondo refused the juice.

And Jae Crowder, well...  delayed effect.

nice one

[RJ87]

1.) Dirk's game has never been reliant on athleticism - it's all skill, footwork and shooting. Compared to other guys who's game relied on elite athleticism (Dwade, Kobe), he was always likely to age the best. Look at Tim Duncan and Pau Gasol. The one area where his age shows the most is defensively, he can't move laterally.

2.) Chandler had a hybrid microfracture procedure where bone marrow was transplanted from his hip as opposed to a typical microfracture. It's still a fairly new procedure at the NBA level, but is supposed to have a much better prognosis.

3.) Wes Matthews did come back early, but its really not surprising when you consider the player. He's had his bumps along the way but I think he would've attacked his rehab the same way and been back on opening night on any team he would've signed for. He legitimately seems to hate not being able to play.

4.) Deron's still having the same lower leg issues he had in NJ and while there's a slight uptick in his scoring and FG%, I don't think there's enough to completely discount Carlisle's system and not sharing a backcourt with Joe Johnson.

5.) Raymond Felton was still fat and out of shape most of last season - he got a chance in the playoffs last and I think he's trying to seize the opportunity in a contract season. His numbers this season are strikingly similar to his last season in NY, though.

No matter how you slice it, Parsons' recovery is quite miraculous and almost unprecedented at this professional level.  Please give me another comparable example from the NBA or NFL.  Also, Wes Matthews' comeback speed is almost unheard of.  I guess that Peterson's comeback is comparable, but I cannot think of any other decent comparisons!!!

Smitty77

You realize Jason Kidd and Zach Randolph both had microfractures surgeries and bounced back to elite levels? It is a risky procedure, but it is not without successes. Again, Parsons had a different procedure and even though he's playing, he just started playing back to backs and is still clearly a step behind his normal explosiveness. I really wish people would do research on these procedures instead of automatically thinking Greg Oden.

EDIT: And don't forget Amar'e Stoudemire made 5 all-star appearances after his microfracture surgery.

[Smitty77]

Has ANY other player than Thomas Davis in the NFL EVER come back from three torn ACL's to make the Pro Bowl??

I say that there is NO WAY that he didn't use and likely is still using HGH!!!!

Humanly IMPOSSIBLE!!!

Smitty77