We hear it so often from a high-profile athlete returning from a rather serious injury.
They proclaim to be 100% healthy and ready to pay without any restriction or limitations.
They’ve had access to world-class medical care and then there’s the training staff monitoring their every move as they inch closer to getting back on the playing floor to face the opposition again.
Tyrese John Haliburton missed the entire NBA season last year after suffering a traumatic injury against Oklahoma City in game seven of the NBA Finals, which in reality is the absolute worst setting an accomplished player can experience such a setback.
Sure, there’s never an ideal situation to sustain an injury of that magnitude, but with a championship in reach it was without question the most difficult pill he has had to swallow in his pro career.
It’s now been some 15 months since that dark day occurred, and if you listen to Haliburton, he’s 100% ready to go and with no restrictions prevailing.
By virtue of skipping medical school in favor of song and dance, l thought I’d reach out to a high-profile orthopedic surgeon who recently hung up his scrubs after a number of years concentrating on foot injuries, and quite a few of the same procedures that Halliburton experienced.
While he spoke glowingly about Dr. Martin J. O’Malley, who performed the surgery some 15 months ago, he was quick to add that many athletes can be impatient and overzealous when they attempt to determine when they are both physically and psychologically ready to play.
When l asked him about the late Kobe Bryant’s return from a similar injury in just eight months, l got a healthy dose of the recovery process being patient-specific with much of it being tied directly to the rehabilitative regime and the patient’s perseverance.
Translation: Bryant was a unique aberration.
Recently Halliburton released a video of him performing a through-the-legs dunk which made laymen like yours truly wonder why he’d a take such a risk of that nature?
Then again, by now he should know how he feels and what he’s capable of doing with his foot, but if he’s pressing the envelope, where does his employer come in to make sure he is ready and prevent him from complications or even re-injuring himself?
Let’s take the gloves off here and talk a little business.
Haliburton is looking at the opportunity of getting a contract extension done earlier than later and that is exactly what the Pacers must avoid until he has proven he is fully back and playing basketball at a very high level consistently.
That same surgeon told me it could very likely take the entire season for Haliburton to regain his form and pointed out how Boston’s Jayson Tatum played with a different gait in his stride and appeared at times to be playing rather cautiously, too.
The Pacers would be wise to limit their prized point guard’s minutes and allow him to blend in effectively and gradually, despite his declaration that he’s ready to go wide open. I do hope Number Zero comes back better than ever and the Pacers get their groove back, but someone has to call the shots on his playing time and it shouldn’t be Haliburton.
Danny Bridges, who would love to be wrong about all this, can be reached at (317) 370-8447 or at bridgeshd@aol.com.
Danny Bridges is an award-winning journalist and a longtime sports columnist for the Indianapolis Recorder. He covers college, professional sports and especially all things IndyCar racing. He can be reached at 317-370-8447 or at bridgeshd@aol.com.
