sunday wrapup: Roll of the ‘Dyess’

…when injuries derail a season!

by Guichard Cadet

·For the Knicks, it started with the 2002 NBA draft, when management gambled and traded its first round-pick and the injured Marcus Camby for Antonio McDyess.

In hindsight everyone criticizes this trade and then-GM Scott Layden never recovered from that transaction, because McDyess was never healthy enough to contribute. A similar thing happened in Orlando when the Magic signed free-agent Grant Hill who was coming off ankle surgery.

The Knicks’ most recent loss came at the hands of reigning NBA champions, the Detroit Pistons, McDyess’ new team.

The losses are adding up because the Knicks are not healthy, where they need it most. So far, this season, the injuries have mainly hit at two positions, shooting guard and small forward…. Allan Houston, Jamal Crawford, Anferne Hardaway, Tim Thomas, and possibly, Trevor Ariza, who twisted an ankle against the Pistons.

Unlike recent seasons, the Knicks have suitable backups at each position. But, with the injuries confined to their main perimeter offensive threats, it shows sometimes winning and losing is just a roll of the dice.


·Would the Pistons have won the championship had Jason Kidd not been hobbled and go “O-For” in the deciding game of the East Semi-Finals?

In the off-season, Nets management stuck to their belief of Kenyon Martin not being worth a long-term “max contract”, and shipped him to Denver. Subsequent trades and free agent signings pointed the way to the new owners’ wish of bottoming out.

The season started with Kidd on the injured reserve list. As the team compiled losses, injuries piled…Ron Mercer, Zoran Planinic, Alonzo Mourning, and Richard Jefferson. RJ’s season-ending injury came on the heels of a trade that sent Mourning to the Toronto Raptors for Vince Carter.

Proving that he is the clog that makes the machine run, Kidd has synchronized the team to three straight victories, as they end a five game west coast trip.

Offensively Vince Carter has carried the load, scoring over 20 points in 8 of the last 9 games. He may have to do more, if the ankle injury suffered by Rodney Buford is serious.

The injury came halfway in the fourth quarter, in a blowout win, against a Utah Jazz team that saw its season railroaded by an early season injury to All-Star Forward, Andrei Kirilenko.

Though we often hear ‘injuries are not an excuse’, it is clear they are a major factor…


· …unless you’re the New England Patriots. This season, the Patriots have won with a decimated secondary corps, including the loss of Pro-Bowler, Ty Law.

The talk during super-hype week has been whether Philadelphia Eagles receiver, Terrelll Owens should play, though his doctor has not cleared him medically.

With the game a week away, the Eagles are not going to tip their hand. They want the Patriots to spend time preparing as if Owens will play.

Owens is a tremendous factor in the Eagles’ success, as exhibited by quarterback Donavan McNabb posting career numbers in nearly every statistical category, except rushing.

The question for Owens: is he willing to roll the dice and re-injure his ankle, risking career-ending harm?