Jorge Garbajosa ignored the advice of the Raptors and played in the European championship this summer. Even though that decision has backfired -- the team now claims that he needs another surgery before his leg will completely heal -- and his 2007-08 season may be completely derailed, don't expect to hear any bitterness from his teammates. From the Toronto Star:
"I didn't have a problem with it," [Chris] Bosh said yesterday after it became official that the Raptors' team doctors think a second surgery is necessary on Garbajosa's left leg and ankle. "If he wants to play, he wants to play. He's a man, he's going to make his own decisions whether you like it or not; if he's going to make that decision, I support him."
It's interesting to hear Bosh's take because he was in a similar situation as Garbajosa last summer: he pulled out of contention for a spot on Team USA once his foot started acted up.
Lately I've heard some rumblings from a few different people that the NBA needs to start recording the hockey assist -- that is, crediting a player for making the pass that sets up the pass that results in a score. Sounds a bit confusing, doesn't it? When you describe it, I suppose it does, but it's a simple thing and something they've done in hockey forever. Plus, Raptors coach Sam Mitchell thinks that it might actually benefit the flow of the game, at least among players concerned about their individual statistics. From the Toronto Star:
"If I'm T.J. Ford, I want the assist," said Mitchell, by way of example. "So instead of me swinging it to (Jorge Garbajosa) and Garbo swinging it to Anthony Parker in the corner and Anthony Parker shooting the wide-open shot, if I'm T.J., why don't I just see if there's a way I can skip Garbo and throw it to Anthony Parker directly?"
Ford's logic, in this completely hypothetical sketch, is understandable. NBA point guards are often judged, however erroneously, by one statistic – assists per game. So the best play for the team isn't always the best play for either a player's reputation or his net worth.
Ideally you'd like to think that players just play without any concern for the box score, but considering the phenomena of the "contract year" is a very real thing, we all know that's simply not the case. Incorporating another statistic that could hypothetically reward players for being less selfish would only be a good thing.
Don't expect the NBA to suddenly adopt it, though. First it'd have to gain traction at a site like 82games.com, just like how plus/minus stat (another good idea directly lifted from hockey) did in recent seasons. And then, once the NBA is ready to "unveil" it, they'd likely find a way to cash in by finding a sponsor first -- just like how the NBA wants us to call the plus/minus stat the "Lenovo Stat," the hockey assist would likely be dubbed something ridiculous like the FedEx Stat. But I'd be OK with that -- whatever it takes to get the ball rolling for more innovative ways of analyzing the game is fine with me.
"We [Calderon and Jorge Garbajosa ] want to get all the team together to go to some Spanish restaurants and show how Spain is our country," Calderon said. "And the same in Italy with Andrea (Bargnani).
"We are going to be a better team because sometimes you play better with your teammates once you know them outside, personally. In this kind of situation, we can make more family, more of a group."
By now, many (most?) teams have at least one or two foreign players, but the Raptors have five non-Americans under contract, not to mention three European training camp invitees (Roko Ukic, Uros Slokar and Girogos Printezis) and two Americans (Anthony Parker and Maceo Baston) who have played the majority of their professional career overseas. For most of these guys, taking a trip to Europe is literally no different than taking a trip to Indiana -- it just takes a little longer.
Call this the summer of ridiculous insurance policies for NBA players wishing to represent their home country in international competition. Boris Diaw and the French hoops federation combined to convince the Suns the franchise would be financially protected if Boom Boom broke something at Eurobasket. For Toronto's Jorge Garbajosa, it took until the 11th hour (and then some) to get clearance to play for Spain.
It took a series of all-night meetings and negotiations involving the Raptors, the Spanish basketball federation and insurance companies before the 29-year-old got final approval to play.
The Raptors, mindful of Garbajosa's place on their roster and the $8.4 million (U.S.) they owe him over the next two seasons, aren't overjoyed that he'll play, but the insurance issue gave them enough peace of mind to withdraw their objections.
Jorge has repeated how important pulling on a Spanish team jersey is to him, and that's fantastic. We should note, though, that Spain has little but pride to play for this month. As the defending world champions, Spain already has an Olympic bid sewn up. I'm sure they'd love to be European champions again... but is it enough to risk Garbo's burgeoning NBA career? I'm sure no one's forgotten his gruesome leg injury which has caused all this trepidation.
Meanwhile, Garbo's success in this issue gets Toronto out of playing the part of heel. Funny, these ultra-international NBA teams -- the Raps, San Antonio, Phoenix -- are the ones creating hurdles for their players to go overseas in the summer. (The Spurs essentially told Manu Ginobili and Fabricio Oberto 'no' and made Tony Parker get insurance.)
I'm guessing Bryan Colangelo isn't a popular man in Spain right about now. Just a hunch. From the Toronto Star:
The Raptors have ruled forward Jorge Garbajosa out of playing for Spain at the upcoming EuroBasket tournament, the club announced yesterday.
"Despite Jorge feeling and looking ready to play, the medical findings suggest otherwise," Raptors president and general manager Bryan Colangelo said in a statement.
Garbajosa suffered a broken fibula and torn ankle ligaments during a Raptors game in Boston in March.
The Raptors said Garbajosa was recently evaluated in Toronto by Raptors medical, training and coaching staffs, and was able to perform on-court drills proficiently and without pain. But a detailed review and assessment of the various images and scans taken have revealed insufficient healing of the fractured fibula.
To their credit, the Raptors did try to make this happen, but apparently the team was unable to find an adequate insurance policy should Garbajosa re-injure himself. Considering Garbajosa saw Pau Gasol, his teammate on Spain's national team, break his foot during the World Championships last summer, I'm sure he has to understand.
Besides, there's no room for moping in Toronto's locker room: Chris Bosh, a sure-fire lock to make Team USA, also pulled out of international competition this summer before of lingering plantar fasciitis in his right foot. The newly-acquired Carlos Delfino suffered a knee injury last week and almost had to pull out of the FIBA Americas tournament in Las Vegas, but it turns out his injury wasn't all that serious and he was in fact able to play for Argentina.
"The medical scans and workouts Jorge Garbajosa has undergone show his ankle is in perfect shape," Jesus Bueno, the executive director of the Spanish basketball federation, said yesterday. "Once all tests are passed the evaluation will be positive, however we need to wait in case complications exist."
[...] He will arrive in Madrid today to join the rest of Spain's squad, which is currently preparing for the Sept. 3-Sept. 16 EuroBasket tournament in Spain.
"It's nice to be returning to Spain feeling positive, but I have to be prudent because we're still waiting with hope on the final evaluation," Garbajosa said.
It's actually quite remarkable that he's gotten to this point so quickly. It was always his goal to play in the tournament, but immediately after his surgery it seemed like a long-shot that he'd be ready in time. Granted, I'm guessing the Raptors aren't all that excited about him playing, but if he does and manages to come out in one piece, at least the team will have the peace of mind that he really is in good shape heading into training camp.
Update: Not so fast, says the Raps. Bryan Colangelo says Garbajosa "has not yet been cleared by our medical team to participate in full basketball activity."
If you saw Jorge Garbajosa's ankle injury, you knew it had to hurt. But actually, it was seeing the injury -- his foot was wretched at such an unnatural angle that one of the first things the trainers did was put a towel over his foot -- that freaked Garbajosa out the most:
"It was not too much pain when I fell. It was just scary because I saw the foot," said Garbajosa.
Fortunately for both the 29-year-old rookie and and the Raptors, doctors have told him that he's expected to make a complete recovery, if not a speedy one:
"I'm not a young kid anymore . . . after they told me this I feel really good," said Garbajosa. "I just want to start to run and feel like everything did before." ...
"I'm trying to be positive, and say, it's already happened and what can I do to come back as soon as possible," said Garbajosa. "When you cannot (play) you feel frustrated. But I know it's going to be a long injury. If you try to make a step forward too quick, maybe you have to take a step back."
After a couple of weeks on the couch, Garbajosa is now able to sit on the team bench for games, and is at the Air Canada Centre every morning to receive treatment and lift some light weights. He hopes to be able to travel with the team through their playoff run.
It's not exactly clear how long he's going to be sidelined, but I'm sure the Raptors will pressure him to take his time instead of rushing back to play in the European Championships in September. Either way, I have to hand it to Garbajosa for dragging himself, cast and all, to the bench to watch his teammates finish out the season. It's not a choice all players would make, but it speaks volumes about the sense of unity that has developed on this team. Previously on FanHouse: Jorge Garbajosa's Ankle Isn't Supposed to Bend Like That Jorge Garbajosa Wanted to Watch His Surgery
The tired, old cliche about European players being "soft" officially died today. From the Toronto Star:
Facing Tuesday's 1 1/2-hour surgery to repair the gruesome lower-leg injury that fractured his fibula and spun his left foot to an inhuman angle, Jorge Garbajosa was asked for his preference of anaesthesia. There were, the story goes, two options: the full-body knockout or a needle in the lower back to numb everything below the waist.
"Garbo says to the doctor, `Just give me the back shot because I want to see what you're doing,'" said Maurizio Gherardini, the Raptors assistant general manager, flashing a broad smile as he told the tale. "That's the kind of guy he is."
His injury was absolutely gruesome, but the Raptors are hoping the 29-year-old Spaniard will make a full recovery in six months. Garbajosa is apparently hoping to return in five months, though, so that he can represent his country in the European basketball championship in September, which is being held in Garbajosa's hometown of Madrid. I'm sure the Raps would rather him err on the side of caution when it comes to his recovery, so we'll have to wait and see if that actually happens.
The Raptors aren't expected to be able to truly replace Garbajosa in their starting lineup -- especially with Andrea Bargnani also sidelined, they don't have another big man who can draw defenders out to the three-point line and also crash the boards because, well, those guys are pretty hard to find. They were able to crush the Heat in their first game without Garbajosa on Wednesday, and they'll be tested again on Friday when the face the Wizards, whom the Raptors are trying to stave off for the No 3 seed in the East.
While not quite as gruesome as Shaun Livingston's knee injury (which, in an eerie coincidence, happened exactly one month ago to the day), Jorge Garbajosa's ankle injury on Monday night certainly ranks up there. You may not think it's that bad at first, but that's probably because you're not getting the right angle on it -- fortunately, the first slow motion replay shows it pretty good (or bad, depending on your point of view).
I'm guessing it was even more disgusting up close -- watch teammate Jose Calderon's reaction as soon as he sees it. He does a double-take and then immediately motions to the bench. Al Jefferson's reaction once he finally notices is even more telling -- he immediately cringes and looks away. After the game, Jefferson had this to say:
"I really thought he broke his leg," Jefferson said. "We bumped, my leg hit his leg, and I looked down and he was all twisted up. He was screaming, and I could feel his pain."
Not surprisingly, someone quickly put a towel over Garbajosa's ankle as he was being tended to on the floor and then as he was carted off the court -- you don't want to subject fans sitting up close to something like that. The announcer guessed that he dislocated his ankle, which, considering the fact that bones were definitely not where they were supposed to be, I'd say sounds about right. Needless to say, whatever the official diagnosis is, it's safe to rule out him playing again this season and probably even the playoffs.
Jorge Garbajosa ignored the advice of the Raptors and played in the European championship this summer. Even though that decision has backfired -- the team now claims that he needs another surgery before his leg will completely heal -- and his 2007-08 season may be completely derailed, don't expect to hear any bitterness from his teammates. From the Toronto Star: 
Lately I've heard some rumblings from a few different people that the NBA needs to start recording the hockey assist -- that is, crediting a player for making the pass that sets up the pass that results in a score. Sounds a bit confusing, doesn't it? When you describe it, I suppose it does, but it's a simple thing and something they've done in hockey forever. Plus, Raptors coach 
For most NBA teams, 
Call this the summer of ridiculous insurance policies for NBA players wishing to represent their home country in international competition. 
I'm guessing 
All the tests aren't complete, but so far it appears that 
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