I know he is no longer a Laker...but I'll always be a fan of his. It would be nice if the Lakers who have given up had half of his energy! Injury sidelines Madsen for rest of season By Daily News Wire Services Thursday, March 24, 2005 - Minnesota Timberwolves forward Mark Madsen will miss the remainder of the season with a ruptured ligament in his right wrist. Madsen, a former Lakers player, was injured March 15 against Dallas and hasn't played in the last three games. He also missed 24 games this season with a broken left thumb. "(Trainer) Gregg Farnam, Kevin McHale and I had a lot of talks about trying to play the rest of the season," said Madsen, who is averaging 2.1 points and 3.1 rebounds this season. "But we thought about the risks of that and that we have a healthy Ervin Johnson and it was a no-brainer." Madsen plans on having surgery sometime next week and expects to take about three months to recover. source
The Lakers are missing an energy guy like Madsen off the bench this year. They don't have a guy who will hustle to get them extra possessions, take charges, and just lift the overall energy of the team. Every team needs a 'Rudy' type player.
" Madsen's energy and defensive play in the post were more important than his scoring stats. He started at center in 14 games, and the Wolves went 10-4 in those starts." -- Star Tribune, 3/22/05 "It's always a loss. You always like to have (Madsen) and those guys; they come in, they give you energy, they play hard, they're assignment-driven. They do a lot of good stuff." -- Kevin McHale on the loss of Mark Madsen (Pioneer Press) That's what I'm talking about! But I digress...
