Dwight Howard Flees For Houston…Why Lakers Fans Shouldn’t Care

When news FINALLY came out last week that Dwight Howard had decided to take his jovial talents to Houston, my first thought, in all honesty, was “Good Riddance”. As a lifelong Lakers fan, I’d soured long ago on his hook shots from half court in pregame warm ups, constantly smiling and joking after losses in the locker room, and ridiculous complaints about not getting touches in the post (Google last year’s leaders for post touches…I dare you). It was almost exhausting trying to keep track of his moods and watching the Lakers’ organization tiptoe around him because they obviously wanted him to re-sign in the offseason.

Well, it was all for naught, and it really is for the better, and I have 4 really, really good reasons why this is true:

1. He was never comfortable in LA, playing in Kobe’s shadow, not taking ownership of this team. He just didn’t like the constant spotlight and how inherently wishy-washy some Lakers’ fans and media are. 
2. Dwight did not like playing with Kobe. And he could not stand the thought of potentially playing 2-3 more years with the Mamba. It was just a match made in hell, the uber-compeitive Bryant and the I-Just-Want-People-To-Like-Me Howard.
3. From the Lakers’ standpoint, why on earth would you want to commit 5 years of max $$ to a guy who has never proven he could handle a major team in a big market and lead them to the promised land? To a guy who says winning championships is all it’s about, but doesn’t back it up with his actions? And don’t forget that Howard has had nagging back and shoulder issues the last two years. Just sayin’
4. With Dwight and Kobe under contract, the Lakers lose the opportunity to cash in on the depth of free agents available in 2014 AND lose out on an opportunity to “lose gracefully” this season since they do own their own 2014 1st round pick (Andrew Wiggins anyone?). Now that the Lakers have DHo’s money available, trading Steve Nash and/or Pau Gasol while amnestying Metta Ron World Artest Peace would put the Lakers guaranteed cap commitments for 2014-15 at $0. WIth Dwight and Kobe (even at a discount), half of their cap space is instantly gobbled up.

Now don’t get me wrong, I think DHo is a fantastic player. He’s a difference maker defensively and this past season wasn’t even close to being his fault. You add significant injuries to your core players, horrible coaching throughout the season (don’t get me started on Mike Antoni…I will NOT add a D to his name after spending a season watching this team not play defense), and no consistent production from the bench, and what you have is a middling team that struggles to make the playoffs. When Howard is healthy and engaged, there is no better enforcer in the middle. However, he was neither of those things this past year, and the “not being engaged” part is what bothers me the most.

When you’re a star playing for the Lakers, you don’t have the luxury of taking nights off. It just doesn’t fly, because the team and its fans won’t tolerate it. Kobe Bryant won’t tolerate it. And at some point, your talent level doesn’t even matter anymore (right Shaq?). And when I think of the possibility of DHo “leading” this team for the next 5 years, hoping to have the baton passed to him by Kobe, it made me sick to my stomach. He’s not a leader. Never has been, never will be. (Say what you will about Kobe’s leadership skills and tactics, but it’s clearly proven to be effective. It may not always make people happy, but with the right mix of players, it works out just fine) He chose to go to a city where the pressure won’t be so high, where he can share the weight of the world with another young superstar (James Harden), and surround himself with a community that will absolutely shower him with praise. I totally understand where he’s coming from, I just don’t necessarily agree with that line of thinking.

And at the end of the day, the most consistent franchise in NBA history can’t be led by a player who doesn’t value and cherish winning above all else. Losing a player to a conference rival in his prime (kind of) and getting nothing in return can be devastating. But what the Lakers gain with Howard’s departure may not be seen for a season or two, but it will prove to be the right move for both DHo and the Lakers.

 

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Fibular Fractures: Why You Should Pay Attention to Steve Nash

So why should you care about Steve Nash and his fractured fibula?? Besides being a huge Laker fan (yes, it’s true, maybe that’s part of the reason I’m writing this as well), I’ve always be interested in how quickly players come back from fractured fibulas. You think to yourself, “If he has a fracture in his lower leg, how can he come back so quickly?” As I’ve said many times in the past, fractures typically require 6 weeks for physiologic healing, meaning that it’ll need 6 weeks to show proper bony growth and stability within the fractured site. But when Steve Nash was diagnosed with a non-displaced fractured fibula (non-displaced just tells you it’s only a crack in the bone, think a crack on a wall), the timeline was said to be 1 week. How on earth can it be one week when he’s a point guard who relies on speed and quickness and his leg is broken? Well, there’s a few reasons:

• The most important reason is that if he was going to pick a bone to fracture in his leg, he picked the best one. Yes, the fibula is one of the two bones in the lower leg, but despite it’s important position, it’s a non-weight bearing bone. So when you put weight through your feet, the fibula (outside bone of the lower leg) actually doesn’t bear weight, it all gets transferred to the tibia. This is significant because he would be required to be immobilized had this been a tibial fracture and would have been on crutches for 6 weeks.
• The non-displaced component of his diagnosis is key. This means that there was no large separation of bone or missing pieces of bone, which is key. When someone has the type of fracture that Nash has, it makes it much easier for the body to heal itself because it’s just a matter of filling in the crack, not laying down a ton of new bone to help put the bone back together (Using the crack on the wall analogy, think of filling a crack with putty vs having to cut dry wall to fill in larger holes).
• Lastly, there was thankfully no involvement of joint/ligament with this fracture. Had there been more structural involvement, things would be much different in terms of his prognosis for healing. This fracture happened smack in the middle of the fibular shaft, which is an easier location in terms of healing time.

Before I tell you why this is important from a football standpoint, I think it’s important to understand what the actual function of the fibula is. Believe it or not, the most motion this bone undergoes occurs at the ankle. The very ends of both the fibula and the tibia form the outer supports of the ankle joint. These ends are individually called a malleolus, as both of them provide the lateral, bony stability of the ankle joint. When we walk or run, to allow our bodies to progress forward, the lower leg must be allowed to bend at the ankle (dorsiflexion) so that we can allow our momentum to continue moving forward. When this happens, the talus (large bone in the ankle that forms the ankle joint with the tibia/fibula) will cause the fibula and tibia to separate in order to allow more motion. This is where having a fibular fracture will come into play. With a fracture of the lower portion of the fibula, immobilization is necessary because we can’t have motion occurring at a fractured site. Check out the picture below to get a visual of all my ramblings:

So how does this all relate to fantasy football?I think the biggest take home message is that it’s not always horrendous news when you hear someone has suffered a fracture. Guys come back within weeks with hand fractures, sometimes not missing any time because it becomes more of a pain tolerance thing than anything else. For example, ever notice some defensive linemen who play with these big ol things on their arms that look like casts?? Well, they actually ARE casts, used to immobilize their hand/forearms when a fracture occurs. Does this mean they’re going to take even longer to heal? Does it mean that they won’t heal properly? Not necessarily. It just means that the fracture occurred in a place where they won’t be putting themselves in harms way by playing through it. Bernard Scott, RB for the Bengals, had a fractured hand that he began the season with. He was slated to come back in Week 3, but suffered a knee injury that sidelined him for the season. Could he play through a fractured hand? Absolutely, as it’s more about pain tolerance and how much function he has in the hand vs causing more damage. The only difference between a guy like him and a defensive linemen is that Scott’s hands are significant in terms of ball security and catching passes out of the backfield. So if the fracture or associated swelling limited his hand function/mobility to the point where he couldn’t make a fist, then he’s probably not playing through it. If the function is there, he probably plays. The point is, the fracture itself wouldn’t be restricting him, the restriction comes from the fracture side effects.

Another great example is Joe Mays, the linebacker for the Denver Broncos. He suffered a fractured fibula last week against the Saints. His fracture was different in that is was displaced and he required surgery to repair it. His season is said to be over, as 6-8 weeks from last week would put us at week 14. Is that enough time for him to get back in the swing of things? Possibly, but when you play such brutal, physical sport, the risk doesn’t really seem worth it. Compared to Nash, Mays’ fracture was much more significant because it was displaced, happened at the bottom portion of the fibula, and required surgery to repair it. Football or not, Mays was going to be out at least 6-8 weeks.

So what’s the point of this whole post? The main thing to remember is that all fractures are not created equal. Even when it’s the same diagnosis from player to player and from sport to sport, all factors must be taken into consideration. So if Tony Romo fractures his fibula, Drew Brees fractures the pinky on his non-throwing hand, and Arian Foster fractures his femur and tibia, I hope you can look at each one individually and know that some are much more serious than others. If not, you may end up dropping a guy who may only miss 1-2 weeks and keep a guy who should basically be ruled out for the season. And if you’re intent on dropping only Drew Brees in the scenario I set up above, please invite me to play in your league next year  🙂