C.J. Watson has undergone surgery on both feet for plantar fasciitis. "It was hard," Watson said of playing through the condition. "I couldn't do all the things that I'm usually capable of doing. But I knew with Derrick (Rose) out, I had to give the team what I could." Watson underwent the same procedure last summer. Read more:http://www.chicagotribune.com/sport...rgoes-foot-procedure-20120517,0,2673894.story
I may be in the minority here (not sure) but I have a lot more faith in CJ being a valuable member of a championship team than either Korver or Brewer. I would be pretty bummed if the Bulls didn't pick up Watson's option. Korver or Brewer? Meh.
As I've said before, I don't think that it's a foregone conclusion that Watson's gone, particularly if Bulls management believe that his drop-off in production was due to injury. However, I'm concerned that Watson has had to have the same procedure two years running.
We've seen the plantar fasciitis movie before, starring Andres Nocioni. Before, he was an agressive SF who played some PF for us. After, he was a so-so 3pt shooter who played SG. I think he's still in the league, but he never was close to the player he was before.
As you may recall, Noah and Gibson have also suffered from PF, so the hero doesn't always die at the end.
http://chicago.sbnation.com/chicago-bulls/2012/5/17/3026722/c-j-watson-injury-surgery-feet It's a severe injury that has sank many careers in the past, including former Bulls forward Andres Nocioni. Former White Sox outfielder Carlos Quentin is another athlete who dealt with plantar fasciitis, which is also credited with helping end of the career of '80s Boston Celtics great Larry Bird. It's the second straight summer Watson has undergone a procedure to cure plantar fasciitis. Here's what he said of the surgery:
Learned a lot about PF when Noah had it. No question, when it flares, it's debilitating for an athlete. According to the Trib article, Watson had "shock wave therapy," the same procedure as Noah and Gibson underwent...non-invasive, but still no running or jumping for 4-6 weeks. Whatever his future, I wish him well.
And Transplant, try to keep the articles you write about him a little more subdued. That was a wicked spell you cast on him, fraying his ankle tendon and all. I bet CJ stays. Thibs really likes him. I think we saw what CJ could do for that time before Transplant's article. His injury will only help keep the price down. Bulls won't pass on that. Next year is going to be all about taking gambles, anyway.
Transplant, with great power comes great responsibility. You need to harness your power for the good! Man, what a downer that the Bulls are out of this :-( :sniff:
Derrick's injury really is bitter irony. Watching these playoffs, it's hard not to see us in the finals if we're reasonably healthy. The other teams simply do not have it. Question: If we finish next season with a healthy Luol, a 75% Derrick, and adequate replacements for Kyle/Ronnie......what are our chances of making the finals? I'd say 25% if the East stays like it is.
I've read a lot lately about how bad the East is, but I haven't seen much that's surprising. Clearly, the quality of competition in the East went down when Rose went down and the #1 seed subsequently went out. The Heat are missing one of their stars and the Pacers figured to give them a series regardless. While some who were in such a hurry to slam the Rose-less/Noah-less Bulls for losing to the "lowly Sixers" predicted that Philly would be lucky to win a game in the second round, they underestimated the Sixers who play excellent defense when they listen to Collins. The Celtics-Sixers series figured to be hard-fought...and kinda ugly to watch. This happens a lot when two defense-first teams square off. This said, yeah, the "what if?" of these playoffs for a Bulls fan is very damn painful. As for next season, the key is for the Bulls to make the playoffs. If they do and are healthy, they figure to have a legit shot.
I am seriously impressed with Collins. He's got his team playing just as scrappy a defense as we've ever played, and he's got a better grasp on the offensive side of things than Thibs does, IMO.
