Celts Medical Staff Needs a Long Hard Look

[quidinqui33]

The latest news of Horford not progressing through the concussion protocol was so predictable to me.  As soon as I heard the news last week that he suddenly had a concussion, after being sent home for what was previously described as feeling "sick", I knew that this was more than meets the eye and that Horford's return would take longer than expected.  I have no confidence that Jae Crowder will return as planned or healed, and can already tell that Smart is still struggling with his ankle.

At some point the Celtics have to make a change.  How does Horford get a concussion this bad, and it took the staff several days to actually diagnose it?  Could they not have figured this out at the practice the Sunday he got hit?

To me this starts all the way back to KG's knee injury, and you can just work your way down the list.  Ray's bone spurs, Avery's shoudlers, Shaq's ankle, Jermaine, Sully's weight, Kelly's shoulder and how the surgery was scheduled, Jae's return last year, and I know I am forgetting others.  It's actually absurd at either how bad or how deceptive our medical staff is.

Individually, each of these can be explained away, but as a body of work, something is just not right.

Larry H. Russell, I know you are with me on this one, but our defense is not the only thing that needs to be fixed!

[alldaboston]

I actually kinda agree with this. The Horford stuff is just really suspicious, I can't help but wonder whether they're hiding something else. How come Horford is never available for media interviews after practice? Is a concussion that bad, that he can't talk to reporters for 5 minutes?

[saltlover]

Quite simply, concussions can be very serious, their full symptoms sometimes don't appear for up to 24 hours after the initial brain impact, and the severity of concussion is highly variable from one person to the next.

I would only judge the Celtics medical staff poorly due to a concussion if they clear a player too early.

[quidinqui33]

I have this bad feeling that Horford's situation is going to end up being something far worse (i.e., a Chris Bosh type situation).

I hate that I think this way, but our bad luck with player health and our iffy medical staff have me programmed this way.

Fingers crossed that I am wrong.

[droopdog7]

I'm going to speculate that if there is deception involved, it isn't from the medical staff. 

[chilidawg]

I love baseless speculation.  Why is it that it's always negative?

[KG Living Legend]

 What and who was this concussion from? A Jaylen Brown elbow?

[alldaboston]

 What and who was this concussion from? A Jaylen Brown elbow?

we dont know who hit him (although my money is on Zeller, he makes everything worse)

[Denis998]

Are you assuming its because of the medical staff that Al isnt back from a concussion? That is not something that you just give meds to fix; it takes time. And I remember hearing on a podcast that Boston has of the lowest injury frequencies in the NBA.

[GreenWarrior]

you'd think it was the Rock that landed the elbow.

as far as the medical staff. I don't know, it's certainly possible they aren't equipped to handle the job. but really we have nothing to really go on here. the stuff with KG and Ray imo were more about the team being secretive and not necessarily the medical staff being responsible. I mean as fans we all knew KG was done that yr.

[GRADYCOLNON]

are you suggesting that the medical team is jinxed?

[tarheelsxxiii]

Don't read too much into this.  Do you recall Klay passing the concussion protocol in the playoffs only to throw up after the game and need to be driven home? Steph, same series against the Rockets, took a blow to the head and started throwing airballs we'd never seen from him before.  Pretty confident that Alex Smith endured back-to-back concussions last week, too. 

Al is just getting the star treatment in Boston.  It's going to take time to gel.  We will be a strong defensive team again, just lots of moving parts right now.  At the end of the day, defense comes down in large part to effort, and this team was built to compete in blue-collar fashion.  That doesn't change with the acquisitions of Horford or Brown.  We do need a true defensive big sooner than later, though.

[LooseCannon]

I actually kinda agree with this. The Horford stuff is just really suspicious, I can't help but wonder whether they're hiding something else. How come Horford is never available for media interviews after practice? Is a concussion that bad, that he can't talk to reporters for 5 minutes?

I don't think they are hiding something, but if they were, it would be a cover story to hide that Horford got concussed doing something else that would be embarrassing to reveal.

[PhoSita]

I'd rather they take it slow and cautious early in the season than rush guys back too soon and pay the price later in the season.

Season is a marathon, not a sprint.

The Celts aren't making the Finals anyway, the big thing is getting in position to win a first round series.  If healthy they can do that versus anybody other than the Cavs.

[kozlodoev]

I actually kinda agree with this. The Horford stuff is just really suspicious, I can't help but wonder whether they're hiding something else. How come Horford is never available for media interviews after practice? Is a concussion that bad, that he can't talk to reporters for 5 minutes?

Um, he's in the concussion protocol and hasn't been cleared for team activities yet. I would presume he's not at practice at all.