Kristaps Porzingis' Injury Is A Reminder That Athletic, 7 Ft. Plus Tall Guys Are Not A Biological Fit For The NBA
There's a lesson in the bizarre Kristaps Porzingis injury I'm not seeing anyone else bring up. It's a pretty simple one that Spurs fans are going to hate to hear. You can't trust the elite tall guys who are atheletic. You just can't. Not now. Not ever.
The fact that Kristaps suffered an injury that no one outside of licenced physicians has ever heard of tells you all you need to know about the nature of 7 ft. plus lean guys who aren't just sitting next to the basket, but putting torque on their bodies to move around as is required in today's game.
Seriously? Retinaculum? Didn't know we had retinas in our feet. Reading that diagnosis was so absurd I figured the Celtics doctor was doing the ole mechanic "make up some things that don't exist but are broken" bit for some extra cash.
Let history be our guide here. I pulled the tallest players to ever play in the NBA who were listed as more than just a Center on Basketball Reference - indicating that they were actually atheletic - for a blog arguing the Spurs should have traded their Wemby pick for a kings ransom. As you can see it shows the injuries sustained and I added the latest one given to Porzingis from his possibly shady medical mechanic.
I don't know what else to say. It's a ticking time bomb. Are these guys fun to gamble on? Are they amazing when on the court? Sure. But if basketball is a game that generally requires it's champions to build some continuity, I just don't think you can have someone who's an injury guarantee be the core of that team.
Of course, none of this matters for the Celtics who are the deepest team in the league by a mile and rampaged their way through the Playoffs just fine without Porzingis. As good as he's been for the Celtics, he really hasn't been needed. He's not the team's center piece. The game plan doesn't revolve around him. Can't say the same for San Antoino. As amazing as Victor Wembanyama is on both sides of court, there's just no way he stays healthy throughout his career to build team cohesion.
The counter to this is none of these guys are remotely close to Wemby's skill level. Point taken. But how long do you have? Can he be the trend bucker or is he going to get seriously hurt in four years? Or three? Or next season? I guess if I'm the Spurs, I'd use this Porzingis freak injury as a reminder that you better cash in on championships with this guy while you can. Do whatever you can to get top free agents to make a run.
Here's another lesson we can all learn. Maybe get a second opinion before believing we have eyes in our feet? Just a thought.