Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Breaking down Jameer's injury


12:30 Update:
The Orlando Sentinel is reporting Jameer tore his labrum. Options are rehab or season ending surgery. Regardless, it will be a lot of time out of the lineup.

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First, the Magic fell to the Mavericks last night 105-95 in what was a rather poor effort. During the 3rd quarter Jameer Nelson hurt himself chasing a loose ball near the Maverick bench. Favoring his right side he immediately went to the locker room.

ESPN highlights
NBA.com highlights

An MRI comes today. Word is a dislocated shoulder. Of course, injury time varies. Recently Brandan Wright was put on the shelf for a minimum of 3 weeks. Larry Hughes was lost "six to eight weeks" and Elton Brand missed a month. But whatever, I'm not a doctor.

So, what does this mean to the Magic, both short and long term?
  • This obviously changes Jameer and the All-Star game. He was confirmed as a participant in the skills competition and was certainly going to assist Dwight in the dunk contest. This also opens the door for Mo Williams, the Cleveland point who was the biggest snub in the East.
  • If Jameer is out for a significant amount of time it will certainly change the seating of the Eastern Conference's elite. Whoever ends up first in the East, whether that be Orlando, Boston, or Cleveland, will have a huge advantage as they will not have to face one of the other two until the 3rd round.
  • If Jameer were to be out for a month or longer, now is a much better time than two months from now when the playoffs are looming.
  • Another point guard will need to be brought in. AJ is a suitable backup but will have a problem handling the minutes of a starter. So who should the Magic bring in? Bianchi of the Orlando Sentinel seems to think Jason Williams might work. Marbury? Tinsley? Carlos Arroyo? One thing is for sure, Otis Smith is not about to bring in a questionable character that might negatively influence this already great locker room.
  • Before the season, after the injury to Mike Wilks, there was talk of Courtney Lee potentially moving over to the point for some minutes. The injury to Jameer might force this and further help develop this rookie who is having a stellar year. Courtney aside, everyone is going to have to take it up a notch and shot a bit better than 3-20 from three point range...
  • Talk recently has been that Orlando needs help for Dwight down low. Not anymore.
  • Jameer missed 5 games earlier this year and the Magic went 4-1 with the only loss being a 107-88 beat down to the Celtics.
  • It's interesting that before the season many people were saying that Orlando couldn't win it all with Jameer. Now it sounds like people are saying Orlando can't win it without him.
How do I feel about this? It certainly rains a bit on our parade, but I don't doubt that we will be fine in the end. If Dwight is the superstar he is suppose to be, he will put this entire team on his shoulders.

Thanks to NBullsBasketball for the Jameer image.

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