NBA Nba Injuries

Celtics forward Leon Powe tore his ACL in Game 2 of Boston's playoff series against the Bulls. A hard-working fellow who, in two seasons, had put himself in position to get a decent contract in restricted free agency, Powe had suffered another in a long line of amazing disappointments. Powe grew up in a broken family, spending time in foster care. His mom died while he was in high school. He tore his ACL twice, once in high school and once at Cal.

Every challenge life has thrown out Powe has been defeated. This latest ACL tear has killed his chance of getting a big lucrative contract this summer. Even worse, it might leave Powe completely unsigned -- completely unemployed -- as the Celtics have decided to not make Powe a qualifying offer.

Warriors swingman Corey Maggette missed 31 games in 2008-09 with a variety of injuries. He had right hamstring issues, some ankle problems, a head injury and then post-concussion syndrome.

On Monday, Maggette underwent surgery on his right wrist. The Warriors said Maggette will require only minimal rehabilitation, but he won't be doing any basketball-related work for the next three or four weeks. The surgery was performed by Dr. Roy Meals of UCLA, according to the Warriors.

Although Maggette didn't miss any games in 2008-09 because of his wrist, he had said it was bothersome for much of the season.

The bad gets worse. Rockets team doctor Tom Clanton confirmed to the Houston Chronicle's Jonathan Feigen that Yao Ming's broken foot is so serious it could end the center's career. Earlier Monday, Yahoo!'s Adrian Wojnarowski reported that outside general managers had gotten the sense in dealings with Houston's Daryl Morey that Yao's injury is much worse than anyone had thought, to the point the Rockets could be without their talisman for the entire 2009-10 season.

But the coda from Clanton -- marking this fracture as the most serious injury in Yao's accursed reign -- bodes more doom than one more lost season. As you well know, the Rockets without Yao is like a jazz quartet without the bass or piano. He's not just the face of the franchise. He's the spine, the legs and the arms, too.

UPDATE: Rockets doctor Tom Clanton confirms report.

Dire news out of Houston, if reputable Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! has the right information. The Rockets announced last week that Yao Ming would remain out "indefinitely" -- in other words, the broken foot suffered in the playoffs that was set to be healed by now has not healed. But there's plenty of time until opening night, right?

Maybe not enough time. Woj reports the prognosis could have Yao on the bench for all of 2009-10, and there's a chance his basketball career is completely finished. The info comes from general managers who have talked trade with Houston GM Daryl Morey over the past weeks.

DeJuan Blair was one of the toughest players in the NCAA this year. He broke all sort of unofficial rebounding marks, manhandled No. 2 pick Hasheem Thabeet in front of the entire NBA, and gave some of the best interviews you've ever seen. His wingspan measured well in Chicago, and he dropped a ton of weight between the end of Pitt's season and the combine. He's an absolute beast.

But a bad MRI has been going around, and Blair -- who was considered a potential lottery pick this morning -- fell all the way out of the first round. And he kept falling. Past Portland for a third time, past Washington, past Memphis, past Detroit ... all the way to the Spurs at No. 37. It's the vogue thing to say Blair will now proceed to destroy the NBA. But it's also the accurate thing to say. Blair will now proceed to destroy the NBA.

Hasheem Thabeet, the top center prospect in this year's NBA Draft, had been scheduled to exit his Los Angeles cave this weekend to make a work-out appearance in lovely Memphis, where the Grizzlies will pick No. 2. But according to Chris Herrington of the Memphis Flyer, Thabeet has canceled, citing injury.

The official word is that Thabeet hasn't worked out for any NBA team yet, though there have been rumors Oklahoma City officials visited the Tanzanian in Los Angeles, where he has been working out with a trainer. Thabeet was also the only major prospect who attended the Chicago combine but refused to take part in athletic testing. (Thabeet just got measured -- no vertical jumps or agility drills.)

The big man's handlers understand he has an opportunity to go No. 2, right? Given that the No. 2 pick will make more than $3 million more than the No. 4 or No. 5 pick over the next two years, you'd think there would be some urgency here. Unless he thinks showing his skills will lead to slippage.

LOS ANGELES -- Well, Jameer Nelson played his first game in four months on Thursday night. And he didn't do badly, either. He did a lot better than most of his teammates, in fact.

Nelson, who suffered a torn labrum on Feb. 2, made his playoff debut against the Los Angeles Lakers, checking in to start the second quarter of Game 1 of the NBA Finals.

"My rhythm was a little off, but it was good to be back out there," Nelson said. "I thought I did some good things, and I also thought I did some bad things. Like I always think, there's always room for improvement."

LOS ANGELES -- This morning, a report indicated that Jameer Nelson was not only expected to miss Game 1 but likely the entirety of the Finals. But in his pre-game press conference tonight, Stan Van Gundy squashed that rumor, confirming Nelson will dress while adding that Nelson will likely serve as the team's primary backup behind Rafer Alston.

Nelson, who hasn't played in a game since Feb. 2, will take Tyronn Lue's spot on the active roster, and in all likelihood, Anthony Johnson's spot in the rotation.

Nelson figures to be rusty, but Magic general manager Otis Smith said he didn't anticipate conditioning would be a significant of an issue.

ORLANDO -- All-Star point guard Jameer Nelson, who hasn't played since February 2 because of a shoulder injury and resulting surgery, moved another step closer Tuesday to being activated by the Magic for Game 1 of the NBA Finals.

Nelson practiced for the first time in a full-scale workout with his teammates, who all left for Los Angeles believing that he would be playing against the Lakers.

"I expect to see him out there during the series,'' said backup point guard Anthony Johnson, who is most likely to lose playing time to Nelson. "He looked pretty good today. I expect him to contribute when given the opportunity.''

ORLANDO -- Orlando Magic point guard Jameer Nelson will rejoin his teammates for practice Tuesday for the first time since his injury Feb. 2, still hoping to play in the NBA Finals that begin Thursday in Los Angeles against the Lakers.

Nelson, who made the Eastern Conference All-Star team this season for the first time, has been out since right shoulder surgery to repair a torn labrum. He has been pushing coaches and management to return for the playoffs.

"A miracle has to happen, but I haven't given up,'' said Nelson, whose rehabilitation is way ahead of the six months he was expected to need. "We'll see how it feels tomorrow. I'm getting ready.''