Suns Amare out at least 4 months

http://www.azcentral.com/sports/suns.../1011suns.html




Amare out four months
Suns star has microfracture procedure on left knee
Paul Coro
The Arizona Republic
Oct. 11, 2005

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The Suns received devastating news this morning regarding their All-Star big man.

Suns star Amaré Stoudemire’s arthroscopic surgery evolved into a microfracture procedure on his left knee this morning, according to his manager.

Team physician and orthopedic surgeon Thomas Carter found Stoudemire’s cartilage damage to be more severe than anticipated. Stoudermire’s manager, Rodney Rice, said the power forward is expected be out for four months because of the surgery.

“It was better to do the microfracture now instead of chancing that the lesion would grow, which might affect Amaré down the road,” said Rice, who was in the room during this morning’s scope. “It was best to do the procedure now.”

Suns fans remember how microfracture surgery greatly changed the game of Penny Hardaway but Rice said Stoudemire should not be as adversely affected because he is having the operation at a younger age and at a time when the lesion is smaller. During a microfracture, holes are drilled into the bone. The cells then come up with the blood through the holes and form into cartilage.

“He’s got a lot of things in his favor to come back in a strong way,” Rice said.

Damn - that sucks for him. Microfracture surgery is very hard to ever recover from. Good luck to Amare.

Well, that's bad news for the Suns. I think as long as Nash is healthy they'll stay afloat but their going to need Marion or someone to really step up if they want stay in the hunt for a division title.

Wow, that's a devastating injury.

How long has this been an issue? Did they wait until the start of the season to actually do this surgery, or is it just now apparent?

Damn that sucks for Suns, they will be hurting for a while like last
year when Nash was out. Too bad for them, but its part of the game.
I hope he comes back soon cause I dont want any excuses.

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How long has this been an issue? Did they wait until the start of the season to actually do this surgery, or is it just now apparent?

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It's been bothering him all summer. They were just doing an exploratory procedure to check the extent of the damage but ended up doing microfracture surgery. This surgery kills a lot of careers. Hopefully that doesn't happen to Amare.

Most doctors recommend players sit out one year after this type of surgery if they want to recover properly.

it sucks. a good fight needs 2 fighters. i hope amare will come back fast.

it sucks for amare
amare has the skills to be the mvp in the nba in 2 years

Here in Arizona, a good thing never last too long, take the Dbacks for example,

Man, that really stinks. Here's hoping the surgery goes well and he recovers quickly.

What's the Suns front court situation? Who will even start? Am I correct that your only centers are Pat Burke and Brian Grant ???

Damn, he was turning into the most entertaining player in the league.

Heres hoping for a quick recovery.

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Originally Posted by Kori Ellis

It's been bothering him all summer. They were just doing an exploratory procedure to check the extent of the damage but ended up doing microfracture surgery. This surgery kills a lot of careers. Hopefully that doesn't happen to Amare.

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Kori, can you name some guys who couldn't bounce back from this surgery? I'm just curious.

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Originally Posted by spurs_fan_in_exile

Kori, can you name some guys who couldn't bounce back from this surgery? I'm just curious.

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Penny Hardaway
Allan Houston
Jamal Mashburn

I had jan 7 penciled in to see suns and spurs play in az as a big game
guess not now

Amare's pretty young to be having this many problems - he was out for almost a while season 2 years ago - and had surgery to correct his vision - I'd say the prognosis is not good, overall. Some people are born with stonger dispositions than others. Some people are not. Grant Hill could have been great, too.

Sucks for the Suns, esp since they just locked him in to a big contract. Without Amare Suns are an easy 1st round exit of the playoffs, even with Nash.

Good luck, Amere!

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Originally Posted by Kori Ellis

Penny Hardaway
Allan Houston
Jamal Mashburn

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Allan Houston, that's who I was trying to think of. Thanks Kori.

Very bad news. I feel bad for the Suns and their fans. Amare is a dynamite player and I hope he comes back 100% healthy.

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Originally Posted by Supergirl

Amare's pretty young to be having this many problems - he was out for almost a while season 2 years ago - and had surgery to correct his vision - I'd say the prognosis is not good, overall. Some people are born with stonger dispositions than others. Some people are not. Grant Hill could have been great, too.

Sucks for the Suns, esp since they just locked him in to a big contract. Without Amare Suns are an easy 1st round exit of the playoffs, even with Nash.

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Grant was already great.

That sucks. He is a good young player, I hope he makes it back 100%

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Originally Posted by Kori Ellis

Penny Hardaway
Allan Houston
Jamal Mashburn

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Webber and Kidd just had it recently, too -- it'll be interesting to see if they join your list.

Hoping for a full recovery.

On a side note anybody remember how protected that pick Spurs got for Barbosa was and if that was a pick the Knicks packaged to Chicago for Curry?

Horrible news. Just horrible.

Whats makes it even worse for the Suns is the fact that Nash isn't getting any younger. Their window of opportunity may be closed. Bummer for them

Didn't Zack Randolph have this surgery last year? He came back alright fromit.

:(

That's a big ouch. One thing in Amare's favor is his youth. He ought to heal faster and better than an older player.

oh man. that sux!
Sux for Amare. Sux for the Suns.... even sux for the Spurs.


i hope he recovers well - hopefully he won;t push himself to come back too soon. could ruin his whole career

4 months is mid-Feb, plus whatever lost physical conditioning.
Suns could struggle making the playoffs.

Jason Kidd came back pretty well from micro-fracture surgery, but Chris Webber didn't.

Awfully bad break for such a young player.

that's too bad. i feel sorry for the guy. but he's young so he's got that going for him so maybe he can heal better and faster.

so now how does this change the dynamic of the west? assuming amare comes back (or even if he does) in february, i'd venture to guess the suns can still make the playoffs but probably as a 7 or 8 seed now. it'll be dogfight with utah, golden state and even the lakers now i'm sure. the kings are suddenly looking at the division title and a possible 2 or 3 seed. wow.

The only good thing about this is that it was done on cartilage, not ligaments. The latter is the injury that takes a year plus on average to recover from.

It's potentially devastating.

Now, we can Know if Steve Nash is the league MVP

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Originally Posted by TheTruth

Whats makes it even worse for the Suns is the fact that Nash isn't getting any younger. Their window of opportunity may be closed. Bummer for them

Didn't Zack Randolph have this surgery last year? He came back alright fromit.

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Zach had the surgery during last season. He is looking pretty good in training camp right now. I think 4 months is a very optimistic view of recovery time for this thing. On the bright side, it seems this procedure is becoming more and more common.

Absolutely terrible news. Amare is one of the guys you cheer for even if he isn't on YOUR team. Hopefully this doesn't create long term damage to a career that I have been looking forward to following.

See you in 4 months, Amare.

BTW, anyone remember why he was out the season before? I can't remember what injury he had then...was it his knee?

One very important thing of note.

This isn't the same type of microfracture surgery as what Penny, McDyess, Webber, Kidd or Randolph had. They all had ligament damage, which is far more serious.

Amare has cartilage damage.

Thus the 4 month recovery time.

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Originally Posted by 1Parker1

See you in 4 months, Amare.

BTW, anyone remember why he was out the season before? I can't remember what injury he had then...was it his knee?

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Severaly sprained ankle.

He missed around 20 games, came back, tweaked it again, missed another dozen or so.

thomas starting at center, marion as a 4, JJones, bell and nash

grant, diaw at the 4, jackson, barbosa, on the bench?

out of those 5 players, only penny's game was based on hops.

lets hope amare doesnt turn out like penny (my favorite player before duncan came into leauge)

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Originally Posted by inagra

out of those 5 players, only penny's game was based on hops.

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Mmmm, McDyess, too.

Did McDyess have microfracture surgery? I thought it was patellar fracture and/or rupture of the patellar tendon.

He's young, and I don't know too much about this surgery, but from what I have heard, in the position he plays, it won't affect him as much as it would a guard.
Although, it does seem to me like he plays like a guard, doesn't it? Either way, I would think that his explosiveness is what will suffer the most, it's a shame too, the sky was, or is the limit for him. Best of luck Amare. I really expected great things from you, and I hope this will be just a bump in the road.

What is kinda shocking to me, is that the article makes it seem like the surgery was explorative, and when they found the problem, they went to town and fixed it without consulting Amare first, does this happen alot?? Especially on such a drastic surgery?

Edited to add: Also, Amare has always been a professional, and polite, and probably the only non spur I would root for, in a non spurs game of course.

This fucking blows. The most exciting team in the league will not be the same without Amare.

The general consensous was that he could still play, but it wasn't recommended.

He'd been practicig on this for the last couple months.

He had an MRI earlier in the summer, then an X-ray and another MRI just recently. All showed nothing. That's why they needed this procedure.

It's devastating injury for Amare and this year, but it's nothing like the names and games above. This was a procedure for the future, so nothing wrong would come of this minor tear, then to alleviate the soreness he's suffered.

It's not an injury that should affect him or his game for more than his length of time missed.

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Originally Posted by mavsfan1000

This fucking blows. The most exciting team in the league will not be the same without Amare.

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excuse me! The most exciting?


this only means they will not have a chance for home court advantage.

Basically right now the Spurs have to focus on themselves 1st,the Rockets,Nuggetts,and the Mavs maybe.

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Originally Posted by Kori Ellis

Damn - that sucks for him. Microfracture surgery is very hard to ever recover from. Good luck to Amare.

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I agree. Too bad, he seems like a good guy from what I have seen. And obviously he is an amazing athlete and a great basketball player.

Here's a good overview of articular cartilage knee defects.

An excerpt;

Microfracture chondroplasty is a arthroscopic procedure in which the surgeon creates multiple tiny puncture holes in the denuded areas (exposed bone) using a sharp surgical pick. The punctures in the bone allow blood from the bone-marrow to escape and pool within the cartilage defect. Eventually the pooled blood will solidify into a type of cartilage which can cover the denuded defect. In approximately 80% of cases there is an acceptable degree of filling of the defect and symptom relief. The major downside to microfracture chondroplasty is the necessity for crutches and strict use of a motion machine (CPM) for 4-6 weeks. There is also a question of long-term durability beyond 5 years after the surgery. Nonetheless the arthroscopic debridement and the microfracture chondroplasty serve as the first-line surgical procedures before embarking onto much more complex options.

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Originally Posted by minusplus

excuse me! The most exciting?


this only means they will not have a chance for home court advantage.

Basically right now the Spurs have to focus on themselves 1st,the Rockets,Nuggetts,and the Mavs maybe.

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I would say that because of their playing style. Always running down the floor but I don't care too much for the players. They just are fun to watch.

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Originally Posted by themanurules

I agree. Too bad, he seems like a good guy from what I have seen. And obviously he is an amazing athlete and a great basketball player.

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In fact, if the Spurs were not going to win it all, I would probably root for the Suns because they seem like a class act which is more than I can see for some others (e.g. Sonic fans getting excited when they saw Tim Duncan injured!)

suns a class act????
not since the new owners took over

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Originally Posted by JMarkJohns

One very important thing of note.

This isn't the same type of microfracture surgery as what Penny, McDyess, Webber, Kidd or Randolph had. They all had ligament damage, which is far more serious.

Amare has cartilage damage.

Thus the 4 month recovery time.

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Not true. They all had cartilage damage. That is what microfracture surgery is for. The key to the severity is whether or not the cartilage damage is in a weight bearing area of the knee. Kidd's and Randolph's were not. I don't know about Amare.

could suns get a lottery pick out of this

Suns are so desperate than they have tried to sign Jerome Moiso but he failed his physical.
Good Luck for Amare.

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Originally Posted by ducks

could suns get a lottery pick out of this

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That's a tad drastic. If Nash goes down then this seems rather likely, but as long as they have Nash and get Amare back for at least the last month of the season the Suns should be able to at least manage the eight spot.

We have Rasho Nesterovic for a trade between both

That's a thought, trade Rasho for Amare, heck, even throw in Ford

Very unfortunate injury for Amare. If the Suns are smart they'll sit him the whole season, but knowing D'Antoni he'll run him 48min the second he's ok'd by the dr's. :-/

With the Suns all but a 45-50 win team now the Spurs should have a fairly easy road to the finals. Houston and Denver will compete, but they're are about it this year. Good luck Spurs fans.

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Originally Posted by JMarkJohns

One very important thing of note.

This isn't the same type of microfracture surgery as what Penny, McDyess, Webber, Kidd or Randolph had. They all had ligament damage, which is far more serious.

Amare has cartilage damage.

Thus the 4 month recovery time.

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I hope so, although I hope they err on the side of caution in bringing him back. Amare's a hall of fame player in the making, and no season is worth jeopardizing that.

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Originally Posted by JMarks

One very important thing of note.

This isn't the same type of microfracture surgery as what Penny, McDyess, Webber, Kidd or Randolph had. They all had ligament damage, which is far more serious.

Amare has cartilage damage.

Thus the 4 month recovery time.

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Actually, TLong is right. It's the same surgery and they all had cartilage damage like Amare does - it's just a matter of how bad the damage was .. plus it takes a lot of luck. If after the surgery enough blood gets into the area so that it can heal properly and quickly.

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Originally Posted by BillsCarnage

With the Suns all but a 45-50 win team now the Spurs should have a fairly easy road to the finals.

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You really think the Suns can win 45 without Amare? With all the other changes, and with the element of surprise gone, I think they'll struggle to win 42.

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Originally Posted by ShoogarBear

You really think the Suns can win 45 without Amare? With all the other changes, and with the element of surprise gone, I think they'll struggle to win 42.

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I agree. They will struggle to make the playoffs without Amare.

Man this fucking blows, poor kid. How do you think he injured his knee? Was it from all the wear and tear of that sky high jumping he does?

With Amare possibly out for the season I think they have a shot at the lottery. That's why I'm interested in how well protected that pick still is that went to the Spurs, then Knicks and maybe then Bulls?

I had a serious question early in this thread... who is their backup center? Brian Grant?

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Originally Posted by Cant_Be_Faded

Man this fucking blows, poor kid. How do you think he injured his knee? Was it from all the wear and tear of that sky high jumping he does?

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He did injure it during the Dallas series and did play charity games over the summer. So it could have been a progression of things.

Brian Grant is backup C/PF. Don't forget Burke :lol

Seriously though, I think Jones or JJax will get the SF slot with Marion going to PF. They still have that $3.6mil trade exception and several first rounders. They should ride it out for @ 30 games and see if anyone steps up at PF, sans Marion. If not make a trade for a PF.

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Originally Posted by picnroll

With Amare possibly out for the season I think they have a shot at the lottery. That's why I'm interested in how well protected that pick still is that went to the Spurs, then Knicks and maybe then Bulls?

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Suns own all their first round pick. The pick given to SA for Barbosa and traded to knicks was used to draft Lee this year(30th pick).
Knicks owns 2006 SA first round pick (top 10 protected).

It's especially a shame for the Suns if he doesn't recover fully considering that they just signed him to that huge deal....

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Originally Posted by Bruno

Suns own all their first round pick. The pick given to SA for Barbosa and traded to knicks was used to draft Lee this year(30th pick).
Knicks owns 2006 SA first round pick (top 10 protected).

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Oh yeah. :oops

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Originally Posted by BillsCarnage

He did injure it during the Dallas series and did play charity games over the summer. So it could have been a progression of things.

Brian Grant is backup C/PF. Don't forget Burke :lol

Seriously though, I think Jones or JJax will get the SF slot with Marion going to PF. They still have that $3.6mil trade exception and several first rounders. They should ride it out for @ 30 games and see if anyone steps up at PF, sans Marion. If not make a trade for a PF.

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Your best backup PF is your backup PG (Diaw is 6'9 and play SF and PF this summer).
Wilcox could be a solution, the TE + one first rounder is maybe enough but will Clips deal with a division rival ?

Such a fucking shame, if I were Amare I would take an entire season off, especially given this injury's track record for screwing up careers.

What a shame. I had hoped that Amare's hops and physical ability would last until his game could catch up and he could get by without it. It took McDyess a couple of years for that to happen. I hope he comes through with flying colors.

Didn't Amare just sign a max contract? That's gonna hurt if he doesn't come back.

McDyess came back very strong from the surgery, and then broke his patella, weakened by the hole they drilled and not given time to completely heal.

How the hell did they just give this guy a 73 mil extension, with his knee bothering him like this. They did not make sure he was fine before they inked that deal, i mean he has been complaining about his knee for weeks now. I would expect him to get back to where he was but my god if he doesn't they still owe him all of that money.

Suns will not make the playoffs without Amare.

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Originally Posted by dbreiden83080

How the hell did they just give this guy a 73 mil extension, with his knee bothering him like this. They did not make sure he was fine before they inked that deal, i mean he has been complaining about his knee for weeks now. I would expect him to get back to where he was but my god if he doesn't they still owe him all of that money.

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Most of it would be covered by insurance, so it's a decent enough risk.

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Originally Posted by dbreiden83080

How the hell did they just give this guy a 73 mil extension, with his knee bothering him like this. They did not make sure he was fine before they inked that deal, i mean he has been complaining about his knee for weeks now. I would expect him to get back to where he was but my god if he doesn't they still owe him all of that money.

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They knew the knee was bothering him. They knew about it 2mo ago. From the article:
The defect was noted on an MRI scan several weeks prior to surgery and at that time Stoudemire was treated symptomatically. As symptoms elevated, the decision was made to operate and treat more aggressively, rather than have a potentially lingering issue all season and perhaps beyond.

They had to sign him. If they didn't and he recovered to pre-injury they he may wonder why the suns didn't take care of him. It could have been the JoJo fiasco all over again. Amare's knee is fine structurally, he's young and has the determination to return. The Suns did the right thing.

Many of the players named who have had this were older and/or had previous knee surgeries. Stephen Davis (Carolina Panthers) had the surgery and he seems to be doing fine.

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Originally Posted by Kori Ellis

What's the Suns front court situation? Who will even start? Am I correct that your only centers are Pat Burke and Brian Grant ???

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Yup. Pat Burke, Brian Grant, Kurt Thomas could play C if needed. That is all they have.

OUCH.

That sucks. I hope it doesnt affect his career long term.

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Originally Posted by dbreiden83080

How the hell did they just give this guy a 73 mil extension, with his knee bothering him like this. They did not make sure he was fine before they inked that deal, i mean he has been complaining about his knee for weeks now. I would expect him to get back to where he was but my god if he doesn't they still owe him all of that money.

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the knee was more reason for Amare to sign. Otherwise, he holds off and maybe signs with the Lakers.

I don't think Amare would want to sign with the lakers. He just used that to up his price.

The Fakers rumor had nothing to do with uping the price. As with any player and the CBA their current team can offer them the most while under contract with an extension or as a RFA.

Don't forget he's still under the rookie salary this year, the extension doesn't kick in until next season. That's why i think they should just sit him out the whole season and not take the risk of bringing him back.

that sucks for suns but good news for sopurs :blah

WHY IS IT GOOD NEWS FOR THE SPURS?
suns could get a lottery pick out of this
then the spurs could be in big trouble the followering year!

Sucks for Phoenix fans...


after Amare's push-ups from the January 21st, 2005 game, I have no sympathy for him.

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Originally Posted by ducks

WHY IS IT GOOD NEWS FOR THE SPURS?
suns could get a lottery pick out of this

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The Suns won't be that bad, they will still win.

Of all the listed players who had this surgery, Kidd recovered the most completely. Then again, his game is played closer to the floor than just about anyone in the league.

Good luck, kid, and when you can work out, work on those post moves and rebounding block outs. You may not be able to jump out of the gym anymore. Hit the fundamentals in a major way.

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Originally Posted by ALVAREZ6

The Suns won't be that bad, they will still win.

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no more then 45 games
will that be enough to make the playoffs?

The suns will win 50. Nash and Marion along with the starting group will still score alot. Diaw is definitely is good pickup as it looks like they will need him to play a similar role to Amare as a slasher.

Horrible news. Amare and LeBron were poised to rule the league in the next five years.

:td

There is a video up at the Suns official web site. Colangelo, D'Antoni, Nash and Marion are all interviewed regarding Amare.

As much as i disliked Amare, you hate to see that happen to anyone. I read the article this morning, and you just feel bad... imagine how much worse he would of been though if he hadnt already got his max contract... Pheonix probably would of still signed him anyway, but scary thought for him.

Good luck, Amare (only so timmy can beat you down for years to come)

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Originally Posted by DieMrBond

http://members.iinet.net.au/~chippy/sig.jpg

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Nice sig!

they won't make the playoffs so goes the rivalry

is Amare's age a factor? he's still pretty young... he might recover better

First off i just want to say thank you to the Spurs fans for being nice about this whole thing. I sorta thought you would all be like "i told you so" but you guys weren't so thanks..This like sucks beyond words, I feel so bad for Amare i could care less about us possibly having a losing season i'm just worried about Amare and the career he could have had and should of had.

I do think Amare will be back after the all-star break and be at about 80% . Amare's will to win is have the battle in his recrovery.. On the brightside i look forward to seeing players such as James Jones and Boris steping up and developing. i saw the suns scrimagie thing is Tucson and james looks really good. Raja Bell is also very under-rated and has an amazing talent he just may be better than JJ. Kurt Thomas is the opposite of slow he looked great at the game. Steve and Marion looked like they did last year and Eddie house scored i think about 5 3's..ever Pat Burke looked okay.

I wish the best of luck to Amare and his recovering ..i hope he comes back soon.the Suns will still be a good team althought i do think we dropped down to about 5 or 6 in West.Were getting into the playoffs with Amare or without now..without Nash and umm can i hear the word lottery.. which wouldn't be so bad i guess..but i won't wish for the worst..

**The Spurs road to the Championship just got even more easy** now i almost expect them to win it and if they don't....

I still have hope for the Suns being the O5' 06" Champs..Go Suns!!!

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Originally Posted by NashtoAmare

I do think Amare will be back after the all-star break and be at about 80% .

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They'd be wise to sit him the whole season. The extension hasn't kicked in and he's still young enough to fully recover from this. No reason to rush him back to service once healthy.

Chalk it up as a cieste la ve

Unless the Suns are in the thick of it, I'd probably shut him down for the year, too. He's young, but rushing him back could cause a setback.

i wouldn't mind his missing the season but when Amare says 4 months he does 4 months. I guess we will see how he feels..I also didn't think of the fact that he contract dosen't kick in till nexy year..at least the suns are only losing about 3 million compared to the some 10 they might have lost if this happened next year.. i guess i wouldn't mind if he sat out the season but i still hope he comes back.

Man this really sucks. Matrix HAS to have a mvp-calibre season.

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Originally Posted by BillsCarnage

They'd be wise to sit him the whole season. The extension hasn't kicked in and he's still young enough to fully recover from this. No reason to rush him back to service once healthy.

Chalk it up as a cieste la ve

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:tu

It'd be a dumass move to hurry him. He is THE future of that franchise.