Medic!

by Fantasy Junkie on Oct 24, 2006 8:46 AM PDT in Links

Injuries are a part of the game, but these Warriors seem to get injured all the time. In the summer league it was Monta and POB. Then in August came JRich's surgery. Taft is done for the season. Murphy gets his nose broken and now Baron is sitting out a couple games to get healthy. This is not good news for a team that plans to run and run and run. Players can't get into shape if they're constantly recovering from injuries.

Three weeks into training camp, Nelson is running low on reserves. Injuries to major players have left him with a team he says is having "some fatigue problems" -- a potential concern given Nelson's up-tempo style.

The coach says to be in shape, because like it or not, conditioning is crucial to effectively running his small-ball sets. The Warriors' best players are their guards and they aren't a great shooting team, so Nelson's solution is to run, run, run.

Nelson said that Dunleavy, Mickael Pietrus, Anthony Roberson and Davis -- pre-thigh trouble -- are among those in great shape.

As for Wagner, he's looking solid this preseason, but when the regular season starts his minutes will have to be carefully monitored because of his condition.

The same goes for Wagner, who had his colon removed almost exactly a year ago and has not played in regular-season game for almost two seasons. Though Wagner has been subbing for Richardson in the starting lineup, Nelson said the guard fatigues quickly because of his condition. Said Nelson: "He's got to go in and play at a really high level for four minutes, and that's probably all he can do anyways."

I don't get it. Do we just have a team of injury prone players? Last year was similar with players missing considerable amounts of time. If our top players are missing too many games, this season won't turn out to be successful. Do you think all these injuries during training camp are a sign of things to come during the regular season?

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hold on...

taft is done for the season? when did this happen? if so that's 2 years in a row that he's been out..dude's career isn't looking too promising

the crowning achievement of ira newble's illustrious career

by JudBooshlur on Oct 24, 2006 9:04 AM PDT reply actions

I hadn't heard Taft was done for the season

What happened? Is he ever going to play again?

I was watching his Youtube highlite reel the past two days and he's got some ferocious dunks in there. He's huge! I wouldn't be so fast to cut him if there was hope he'd play like that again.

by Gain on 10 on Oct 24, 2006 11:04 AM PDT reply actions

Taft out for season

I don't think it's certain, but it's widely assumed. The Warriors haven't officially said he's out for the season. They've said out for a few months if I remember correctly.

We'll make sure to investigate although I really don't think he's ever going to be much of a factor in the NBA.

by Atma Brother ONE on Oct 24, 2006 11:35 AM PDT reply actions

Injury prone or adjusting to the high tempo game..

I think that all the things happening in the preaseason is just natural. Players will get extra tired because of a new system that requires you to "run run run" but that doesn't mean that these players are injury prone. The Troy Murphy "injury" was a freak accident (well maybe an accident considering that it was Randolph involved), Taft has been injury prone coming out of college, Monta Ellis sprained ankles in last season's camp/summer league but look at how he ended up playing last season, Richardson's minor knee surgery was a little late but he played through the pain for 70 plus games last season, so this shouldn't set him back too far (that and Kobe had major surgery just a month before J-Rich did and is expected to be ok), Davis' "soreness" is the same kind of "soreness" that all veterans feel towards the end of the preseason that allow them to sit out these semi-pointless games, and as for Wagner... Let's give this guy a break man. He isn't Jeebus or something and he is going to still have to work towards having game style stamina after his whole ordeal. It was a gamble Mullin knew of in signing him, and it really looks like it's going to pay off. If his rotation in the lineup seems a little irregular, it'll be alright... we still have Monta and Roberson. I'm not worried about the injuries on this team as of right now. I'm just ready for the season to start...

by mightymadskillz on Oct 24, 2006 11:46 AM PDT reply actions

Not Just About Wagner....

"He's got to go in and play at a really high level for four minutes, and that's probably all he can do anyways."

This could go for Ike, POB, Zarko and all the role players. If these guys reach or exceed expectations in their specific roles envisioned by Nellie, the W's become a contender

by miguelito on Oct 24, 2006 3:47 PM PDT reply actions

Taft is gone

for two more weeks. Two more weeks....

IMO, other teams are having to deal with injuried just as bad. Even with all of these injuries, it looks like we're only going to have two guys out for the start of the season at most (taft+Jrich) and Taft doesn't even matter. Can that guy walk? His back must be like glass.