ESPN's Ford Can Predict Injuries

(Standard disclaimer: I like ESPN's Chad Ford, and I think he's excellent at what he does.)

Ford updates his feelings on which NBA prospects are having good or bad NCAA tournaments. The bulk is on point (the Lopezes? good! Eric Gordon? bad). But one passage -- the unsurprising Part III of Ford's crusade against UCLA's Kevin Love -- must not pass without notice. Ford quotes a scout and responds:

"How many big guys can do the types of things Kevin Love can do?" he said. "His skill-set is so complete. He can't really run or jump, but once you get past that ... he's got everything. I think with the proper conditioning, he could be very good."

Sounds a lot like the analysis people started to make about Sean May after UNC won the title. That's worked out well for the Bobcats ... hasn't it?

May has suffered from knee problems during his NBA career, and had microfracture surgery this past summer. But when May has been on the floor, he's been dynamite: about 18 points and 10 rebounds per 36 minutes of play, on efficient shooting. On the floor, May has been a success. Unfortunately, he hasn't been on the floor enough to make Bernie Bickerstaff look smart.

To compare Love to May as a way to argue Love will be a bust is saying you think Love will be as injury-prone as May has been. No matter how much of a draft soothsayer Ford can claim to be, he cannot predict whether a guy will tear a tendon at some point.