Will Carroll on the Gasol Injury

by DexterFishmore on Nov 10, 2009 8:24 PM PST Comment 15 comments

Pau Gasol did not participate in the Lakers' practice today and will not play Thursday night against the Phoenix Suns. His strained right hamstring, which no one associated with the Lakers has ever described as serious, has now kept him out of game action for more than a month. The only information divulged by the team is that Pau is still experiencing pain in the hamstring and that there's no timetable for his return.

Out of curiosity and more than a little worry, I checked in tonight with sports-injury expert Will Carroll. Will, as many of you are no doubt aware, covers the injury scene for Basketball Prospectus and its sister publications and has written extensively in the past for both ESPN and Sports Illustrated. In the field of sports injuries his is the most authoritative media voice.

When I asked him for his take on the Gasol situation, Will was kind enough to share his thoughts:

It's not that unusual. He strained it, tried to come back too quickly, and re-started the process. If you think of it as two serial injuries, the timing makes more sense. Taken as one long process, it looks overlong. He needs to be more conservative this time, to make sure it stays at two.

Many of us suspected that Pau tried to return too soon, and Will's comments are unfortunate confirmation. And rest and taking it slowly are the answers here, so we shouldn't expect any quick fixes. He'll be back when he's back. The good news is that the prolonged wait probably isn't because it's an especially serious injury, but rather because he had to start his recovery all over again.

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No reason to rush at all

It actually gives other players valuable playing experience.

As long as Gasol come back before January, there is no harm in waiting.

"This is not a game for boys. This is a game for men." - Phil Jackson

by Gils_Keloids on Nov 10, 2009 8:40 PM PST reply actions 1 recs

Defenitely no need to worry and no need to rush him back

I just hope that other players really step up. With Kobe in the post or Bynum coming back it shouldn’t be an issue.

"When I walked into the locker room on my first day as a Laker and saw my gold uniform hanging there, I cried." - Magic Johnson (Best Laker Ever)

by PURPLE AND GOLD FOR LIFE on Nov 10, 2009 8:44 PM PST reply actions 1 recs

just as long as he comes back before the first

Cavs or Celtics game :)

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Play the game of which Lakers reminds you of: TA - TI, Shannon Brown - Chris Brown, Pau Gasol - Jesus, Machine - Luis Scola/Russell Brand, PJ with mustache and beard - Colonel Sanders.

by PeanutButterSpread on Nov 10, 2009 10:14 PM PST reply actions 1 recs

i guess theyre taking the extra extra cautious route on this

which is ok with me
not worth risking the entire season on a couple of games
but i didnt think it would go this long since there were no tears found
thought he would have played on sunday vs the hornets
i guess him playing next week is more likely to happen… :/

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1949,1950,1952,1953,1954,1972,1980,1982,1985,1987,1988,2000,2001,2002, 2009...

by shaqfor3 on Nov 10, 2009 10:31 PM PST reply actions 0 recs

Disappointing

Until Gasol comes back, expect Kobe’s shot #s to be higher and his assists to remain low.

The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist.

by Justin N. on Nov 10, 2009 11:04 PM PST reply actions 0 recs

maybe kobe can win mvp now

as long as gasol is back for X mas :) we got this. i would like to see bynum and gasol at the same time for once lol

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by Czheck on Nov 10, 2009 11:13 PM PST reply actions 0 recs

i still gasol will be back soon

i dont think he will miss more than 2 weeks

YOU CAN PUT IT ON THE BOARD YES!
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by Czheck on Nov 10, 2009 11:14 PM PST reply actions 0 recs

The silver lining is............

that his body is getting that much needed rest that it didn’t get over the summer.

If your team hangs Championship Banners instead of Pacific Division Banners this is probably a good thing.

Billy Mac: "Lamar, can you see yourself actually getting in the (boxing) ring"?
Lamar Odom: "No. My face is too pretty."

by pslakerfan on Nov 10, 2009 11:48 PM PST reply actions 0 recs

Yeah, this really is good news in disguise

Think of it this way: We’re basically trying to answer a very important question here. And that is, “Why has Gasol been out so long — longer than expected?”

The answer is that it was just a minor injury that was handled wrong, so the healing process started all over from the beginning. But it’s still a minor injury.

When you consider that the answer to the question could be, “Because it’s a major injury, much worse than originally thought,” this is actually very good news.

I’d much rather he be out longer than he expected because of complications to an injury that was, and still is, minor, than because of a major injury.

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It's good to be the Champs

by Josh Tucker on Nov 11, 2009 12:58 AM PST reply actions 0 recs

silver lining, but still not good news

ultimately this will affect our record and our playoff seeding

The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist.

by Justin N. on Nov 11, 2009 2:30 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs

If the Lakers loose a small amount of games

maybe it won’t feel like much.

"When I walked into the locker room on my first day as a Laker and saw my gold uniform hanging there, I cried." - Magic Johnson (Best Laker Ever)

by PURPLE AND GOLD FOR LIFE on Nov 11, 2009 6:20 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs

bynum needs to send pau some flowers

1. cause it’s nice and it’ll make him feel good
2. pau just guaranteed bynum his first all star appearance.

by rshinsec on Nov 11, 2009 5:37 AM PST reply actions 0 recs

i was about to ask if this is will carrol the comedian? lol different last name

by chaucer on Nov 11, 2009 6:58 AM PST reply actions 0 recs

It's all good

as long as we have one of our big men back.
I hope he comes back soon though

by Gasol.ina on Nov 11, 2009 9:08 AM PST reply actions 0 recs

we are still winning with out him

although i know we would win with mor ease if he were there, im not against him taking his time to get rest and get healthy.
breaking the bulls record is nowhere near as important as bringing in another banner come june

by true_lakerfan on Nov 11, 2009 10:35 AM PST reply actions 0 recs