I'm not sure I understand the fear if him continually getting injured. One was preventative, and the other was fluke
I'm not writing him off, I'm just saying that the longer you are out of competitive sports the harder it is to get back into the flow -- especially since he's never really established himself in the league yet -- and when there is a never ending flow of younger players entering the league looking to take some veteran's job, teams can and will ditch a player in favor of the next thing.
He also had issues at Memphis right? Wasn't that why his draft stock was down? In any case I wouldn't say I "fear" him getting hurt again, I'm just saying if the past is any guide, he may have some trouble finding a foothold in the league. Hopefully that's not the case.
Just general Blazers fan paranoia. Yeah, the surgeries to stabilize his patellae did not seem to rob him of any of his crazy athleticism and the shoulder injury was totally unrelated. The good news in all this is, he probably would have went higher in the draft if not for the impending knee surgeries. So, talent wise, the Blazers got a steal at 22. Lets see how he does this year before we write him off. BNM
No, he played in all 34 games at Memphis and averaged over 33 MPG (that's a lot of minutes for a college player). He tweaked the patella in one of his knees during a draft work out and that's when it came out that he might need surgery to stabilize both knee caps. That's why his draft stock was down. The surgery was elective. He could have put it off, but the Blazers thought it better to get it taken care of and reduce the risk of future problems. It's not like he was going to play much that year anyway. The Blazers had Brandon Roy, Wes Matthews and Rudy Fernandez all ahead of him in the rotation. So, might as well think long term and get both knees stabilized. BNM
Well I hope it was all just a fluke. God knows the Blazers could use some good news for once in the health department.
SI (pre-draft) compared his ability to shoot and attack to Ginobli. Of course, this was before he started to break down.
Not sure if he's "broken down". The knee surgeries were to stabilize his patellae and do not seem to have hurt his athleticism in any way. He was still jumping out of the gym after the operations. Not saying Elliot will be the next Manu, but Manu could never get up as high as Elliot. I hope Elliot has Manu's ability to attack, because if he does, he certainly has the ability to finish. BNM
Manu has ball-handling abilities that very few SG's have. They are both left-handed though. I just wanna see some kind of ability of Williams being able to create his own shot. Oh ya, and stay on the court.
His agent said the microfracture surgery they performed on both elbows went very well, and he should be ready to resume workouts in March. Elliot's jaw had been fused shut, so he couldn't speak.
I heard that Elliot's knee caps were a condition he had since he was young, and that they'd dislocate easily. It was a simple and relatively very safe operation to repair them, that posed no risk to his future health. His shoulder was bad luck. The little I saw him play, he just looked like a good player. He had confidence. He had a little swagger. He had athleticism and intensity. I don't know how good he'll be, but I have a hunch he will be pretty darn good in a couple years.
