History not kind for ruptured Achilles recovery

Seven of 18 players who suffered the injury from 1992 to 2012 never returned to the NBA at all.

http://www.cbssports.com/nba/fantas...095586/history-not-kind-for-ruptured-achilles

 

The list ranges from stars in their prime like Elton Brand and Christian Laettner to role players like Stanley Roberts and Jeff Taylor, and everyone in between, and it does not paint a pretty picture for Matthews next season. On average, players returning from a ruptured Achilles saw their minutes per game average drop 27 percent from their last full season to their first following recovery. Not a single one of them averaged as many minutes as the previous season, and only Chauncey Billups, Laphonso Ellis and Dominique Wilkins even played 90 percent as much in their first full season back.

Wilkins is the obvious best-case scenario, as he kept a string of seven-straight All-Star game appearances alive in his return from the injury in 1992-93. He actually averaged more points in his first season back, improved his shooting, continued to get to the free-throw line, and barely saw dip in his rate stats. He stands out as the outlier, and is basically the only player to return from a ruptured Achilles at something close to his previous form.

On the worst-case scenario side of the ledger, Kobe Bryant stands out, though he was significantly older than Matthews at the time of his injury. Bryant famously played just six games in his return before a knee injury sidelined him for the season again. Billups was in and out of the lineup for a few months before being shut down as well upon his return. The injury also essentially ended the NBA careers of Voshon Lenard and Mehmet Okur, and Dan Dickau lasted just three more seasons as a role player, after averaging 29.4 minutes in an age-26 breakout.

All in all, players who returned from a ruptured Achilles didn't see a huge dropoff in their rate stats in their first season back, surprisingly. On the whole, these players' usage, rebound and assists rates generally stayed constant. However, their efficiency took a hit, as the collective dropped from 45.9 percent shooting to 40.9 on average. That could be the result of players settling for more 3-pointers as they tried to get their legs under them, as the average 3-point rate rose 21 percent.

 

If I was to look at the players on that list I think are like Wes, there aren't a bunch. Voshon, Chauncey, maaaaaybe Old K*be.

 

I've decided to embrace the darkness.