OT: Blair has no ACLs?

[jump]

Watching the Jazz/Spurs game last night and I swear I heard Doug Collins say that the reason teams were scared away from Blair is that x-rays showed he had NO ACLs. Is that possible?

Also, Boozer looked outstanding. It makes me wonder if the Jazz will really let him go.

[AirP.]

Watching the Jazz/Spurs game last night and I swear I heard Doug Collins say that the reason teams were scared away from Blair is that x-rays showed he had NO ACLs. Is that possible?

Also, Boozer looked outstanding. It makes me wonder if the Jazz will really let him go.

I believe what I heard was that they either repaired or replaced them in HS and they were absorbed by his body in a few years.

[Sham]

Is that possible?

Yep, and that's why he fell like he did. Everyone's like, "woah, how the hell."

[Cliff Levingston]

Cliff Levingston remembers hearing something about Roberto Garza not having an ACL in one of his knees when he joined the Bears. Cliff Levingston guesses it's possible to not have an ACL, but probably not recommended.

[TB#1]

Yes, the ligaments were completely removed, leaving him to flop around like the Scarecrow in Wizard of Oz.

I swear to God, Doug Collins was a dumb jock before it was cool to be a dumb jock.

He does know something about basketball, credit where credit is due, but other than that: bag of rocks.

[greenwing]

I mean, if that's true he could still function but I'm sure he's putting an awful lot of pressure on the remaining ligaments in his knees. Your knees are such relatively soft joints. I'll be surprised if he could ever average starters' minutes. And if he does I doubt he'll last more than 2-3 years in this league. I can't imagine how much potential damage he's doing to his knees right now.

[TB#1]

Cliff Levingston remembers hearing something about Roberto Garza not having an ACL in one of his knees when he joined the Bears. I guess it's possible to not have an ACL, but probably not recommended.

You are apparently correct. It apparently can happen and people can come back even without the ligament and play from what I've read. Seems dubious to me.

From everything I've read Blair has ACLs but injured both in HS seriously enough to raise all those red flags. Collins is the first one I recall saying he had NO ACLs and I think he just misspoke.

[t-time]

Umm when you tear your ACL, dont they replace it with a synthetic band? (accountant here obviously not a doctor)

[Sham]

Yes, the ligaments were completely removed, leaving him to flop around like the Scarecrow in Wizard of Oz.

I swear to God, Doug Collins was a dumb jock before it was cool to be a dumb jock.

He does know something about basketball, credit where credit is due, but other than that: bag of rocks.

What part of what Doug Collins said is wrong? Blair DOES have no ACL's, and that IS the reason why he dropped in the draft.

[princeofpalace]

I remember reading this from a pistons blog after draft day

http://www.pistonpowered.com/2009/06/a-doctor-weighs-in-on-dejuan-blair-and-austin-dayes-medical-histories/

[madvillian]

I think you guys are just getting mixed up with the semantics. He probably doesn't have the ACLs he was born with. When you tear your ACL the doctors grab a ligament from elsewhere on your body and graft it on to where the original ACL was torn.

With a bunch of rehab it's usually as good as new.

Rather than debate semantics, I'd be more worried about how much cartilage he has left in his knees and how strong the grafts have taken. Usually when you tear the ACL there is also at least some significant cartilage damage as well. If he's lost a bunch of cartilage, he's going to have problems getting out of bed in the morning, let along running all night long on a hard court.

Cartilage problems mean microfracture, and for an already rather floor bound player that would probably be his death knell.

Also, if he blows out one of his ACLs again will he every be able to play in the NBA? I would have to doubt it.

So while Collins might have been technically wrong, his larger point stands: Blair is a huge injury risk going forward.

I still think the Bulls should have taken that risk, but it's not my money.

[Scott May]

You know who would probably frown upon a player's not having ACLs?

You guessed it . . .




Dr. Barry Maron. And Frank Stallone.

[Ben B.]

Dejuan Blair and his 24.4 PER (and league-leading FG%) say that ACLs are for the weak.

[t-time]

Does he have a penis? Luol Deng has proven you can play without one for 2 years and still get $72 million dollars.

[Sever82]

Its a known fact from draft workouts that he doesn't have any ACLs. People said it many times when they were doing the draft combines. I mean he looks good now but then again this is the NBA and his knees will take a lot of banging on the court. Reading the pistons blog about the doctor's opinion, compared to other sports, you probably use your ACL more in basketball, unless you're a soccer player or a running back or WR in the NFL. According to the doc, it will have an affect on him if he starts and stops a lot which you do a lot in basketball. I think he'll be fine as a bench option but if he develops into a starter and plays heavy minutes, i would guess he'll end up having some kind of surgery later down in his career.

Just a side note but i find it funny how some of you were complaining about Amare's knee or bosh's knee but yet you wanted to draft Blair when Blair's injuries are much more severe.