Topic: 2019 NBA Pre-Season - page 523. (Read 921455 times)

I think the last two seasons in a row he was pretty much healed as the playoffs rolled around. Both times he chose not to play. I think probably 95% of players in his position would’ve chose to play the end of both those seasons, but not Zion. He doesn’t have that Mamba Mentality. He’s a beast though and it’s a good thing he’s being careful. Maybe he’ll figure out the injury stuff this year. We’ll see.

If I'm the one to take it, I will go with load management, but injury is something that uncontrollable, and with the way Zion plays the game, there are always chances that he might get into trouble.

His weight really affecting his movements, with his powerful attempts to make a basket always accompanied by
the chance that he may land wrongly and got injured.

Without him controlling his physical health, he's always prone to injury that may really affect him and the whole
squad.

He truly is a destructive power in the center which makes him even more dangerous, and he can be a menace at times too. It's just unfortunate that he cannot play that much in the league in the past few seasons that he's been in because of the injuries that he acquired that seems not going away from him. And to make things worse, he keeps on getting a season threatening injury when the season is approaching its end, meaning the team badly needs him during those times but he cannot do anything but to see in the sidelines cheering for his team.

They will try to make some room for that so that Zion can adjust during his playtime but for only a limited time because they cannot handle these kinds of setting if they are already approaching a much intense games like the ones before the season will end mainly if they can grab a secure seat towards the playoffs.

As for now, let's just hope for Zion's situation because it's much more entertaining if we can see him play more games compared to the recent season he had. You know, Pelicans can be a dark horse as well, it's just that they have a situation that is giving them struggles almost every season.

I guess that's part of it because before entering into the league, these players surely know what they are up to and there's no guarantee that they can play as many seasons as they like because there will be some factors along the road that will somehow prevent these players to finish strong. Load management is a good thing but I don't see any ways right now to help the players more but to take care of their health themselves so that they can somehow prevent an injury. Having less games means less business, that's why I don't think that it will happen.

He got the best contract in his rookie year They thought he was gonna be a phenomenal player who will bring the team in the championship in the future but his been prone to injuries every year and hasn't been playing complete games in a season since then. That's right if they cannot figure out how they gonna effectively use him without risking too much in a game, then their dream of getting the championship will still be a dream for a long long time because Zion's skills are rusting and won't improve if he doesn't play much basketball in the NBA and learn to adjust so that he won't get injured too often.

It's worth noting that Shaq wasn't prone to injuries like Zion is, even though Shaq weighed a lot more than Zion, and he played in a time when the paint was more contact-oriented rather than as soft as it is now. By comparison, Shaq missed only 5 games in his first three seasons in the NBA, while Zion missed 161 games in his first three seasons. It's hard to imagine what the Pelicans management and medical staff should do to keep Zion healthy throughout his NBA career.

We just have to trust the health experts and his conditioning coach to do their job. Zion is still young, and there's still a chance for him to improve himself, as we have already seen results. We have divided opinions on what we've seen and are still somewhat disappointed, especially since every season for Zion has been a mess. So, this might be the final season for him, and let's give him another try.

If minutes restriction and load management will be impose by the coaching staff for him, then be it if it's for the better.

I think he will be put in restrictive minutes here just to preserved his money because I also agree that he might not take that gruelling 82 games without hurting his body unless he is really that freak of nature like Lebron or Giannis who can sustain that run.

And the team and medical stuff at NOP should know by now how to take care of Zion. They have been doing their job already, but it seems that he still got injured last season when we thought that he has come back and strong and fully rehabilitated and can play and help NOP.

And that's really separate the great players in the past, I mean Jordan had his body being bang with the series for 3 straight years with the Pistons and yet he remain so focus and try to improved his body. Iron man like AC Green and John Stockton remain in the league for so long and just missing just couple of games.

But now as the game progresses, this superstars doesn't remain healthy at all, most of them got injured, never play again, some recovers but not the same player and then there are others who really try to progress like Kawhi and yet still prone to injuries.

Well, we might truly see a repetition of what has happened to him for several seasons having an injury. But boy, I've seen the recent photos of him and he's got more buff. I guess it's time for him to invest in how to maintain his body but not compromise his performance just as Lebron takes care of his body.

This is without any doubt. We do recognize how good and full package he is.

I think they’re not going to be less games for sure. There will be another player who will become bigger and better perform well and get more money. If one player gets injured, another can obviously take its place. So the number of games are never going to reduce in my opinion.

Moreover, the intensification of competition is a continual reality. That is what makes the players actually getting injured more and more. Honestly, it does not matter how much the players take care of their health. If they are going to push hard to perform well, there is a big chance that they are actually going to get injured. Nothing is risk-free in life, that is the risk. They will have to take to get the reward that they want.

It's true and we already heard a lot of complaints from last season about how exhausting it is due to back-to-back games. Kyrie Irving was one who stood up and talked about it.
I think the NBA should find a solution to this. If it ain't cutting the number of games then they could lengthen the number of days that will be played in one season so that every team will have enough rest. If that doesn't work either because of conflicts in schedule with WNBA and other events that will use the homecourts then maybe cutting the minutes at every game could also be a great help.
I thought they made progress by applying the running time during the 4th quarter where a receiver doesn't need to hold the ball while the clock is running but the shot clock won't move but I guess that's not enough.
I think the best solution would be simply cutting the number of games in the season. Maybe 82 games is too much.

I think the problem is that players have gotten so much bigger and stronger over the years that injuries are just more likely. The obvious solution would be to have less games but that would mean less money and a nightmare for career stats. That’s why I understand load management. Players like Kobe or LeBron who are going for their legacy will always be out there if they can.

That's the downside, as fans often complain about load management. Some buy tickets well in advance, yet they might not know if a specific player will participate due to announcements being made as little as 24 hours before the game or even at game time. However, if we are following NBA, we would know that it exist, so as long as the NBA doesn't implement rules regarding this, teams are within their rights to utilize load management to safeguard the health of their players, particularly those prone to injury.

The best thing to do if they want to limit the possibility of Zion getting injured again is to take that load management thing. If the Raptors were successful with the load management they applied to Leonard, I see no reason why the Pelicans wouldn't be able to do the same. The good thing about the Pelicans is that even without Zion, they can still make the playoffs. This is a relief, as they can choose to let Zion focus on the playoffs.

However, fans might not like this load management approach, as they come to see their favorite players on the court. Zion is the team's best player, so it might disappoint some fans. Nevertheless, business is business, and the team needs to focus on what's best for the overall team.

It may be his upper body that is heavier than his lower body and that's why his injuries are mostly from the legs downward. I saw his photo and he is making muscles out of the fats but if this workout will make him heavier than before then it might be the wrong path for him. It's true that he will become one of the dominant players in the league if he can achieve the health that will make him play more but just like you said I also doubt that he can play for that long without hurting himself again. They may try load management just like what the Clippers is doing with Kawhi, but again there's no escaping injuries once it hit you.
New Orleans fans are getting restless, he needs to be better this season.

His body being too big might be cause for his injuries, but I believe that it can be solved thru exercise, scrimmages, healthy diet etc.

With our league now being a fast paced game, for sure it's hard for Zion's body to cope up with his strength, athleticism, and speed. I don't totally disagree with you that he can't play a full 82 game this season because it's hard to be healthy all throughout the season just by looking on how the pace is. The only player that I saw played 82 games straight for the past couple of years is Looney, but he's a slow center unlike Zion.

This is the reason why the Pelicans are hesitant to trade Zion to other team despite of him being an injury-prone player in his first years with the league. His talent is a generational one. He's has strength, athleticism, more faster than other players as well. I mean if only he wasn't injured last season, I see the Pelicans at least at the 4th spot or even higher at that time, but sh*t happens, and he got injured, and that ruined the team. Like you, I'm also hoping that he will be healthy next season, and for the rest of his career. If he will not become healthy this season, and got injured again, there's a high chance that he will be traded to another team already.

And I just hope that he will not be involved into another issue regarding women.

I used to get frustrated watching him play at Duke because RJ was always the number one option and the guy who would take “the shot” at the end of games, but he was a choke artist. When Zion had opportunities he definitely delivered. Those videos of him dunking from the free throw line at Duke in practice are insane.

Agree to that, Portland is aiming for a trade that will maximize Dame. If they will take the offer for KAT, it will hurt their cap
and for future reference, KAT may be a liability.

They might choose to take future picks and some role players who can add up to their offense and defense, while still in trying to build
a competitive team after Dame being traded.

Might be possible for another leader type star who can tower the offense but still accompany by future picks.