Tony Parker's MRI reveals hamstring 'stretch'

[MannyIsGod]

Which of those three sentences did you take issue with?

None - its just obvious you're really really worried. If it affects the Heat half as much as you're worried than mission accomplished. I think its pure BS on Tony's part.

[bigfan]

No sense worrying; it happened and we deal with it. Hopefully he can play and play well. If not, time for Neal, Manu, Mills and De Colo to cover. We wont know til gametime.

[SpurPadre]

Look, I have personal experience with this one. I can tell you how it works:


The muscle is like a cord made from a bundle of rubber bands. If you stretch the cord far enough, some of the individual bands may snap. The bundle remains intact, but not as strong as it was before - which makes it easier for more of the bands to break if it is stretched again. In a muscle, when some of the fibers get torn, blood leaks out and pools under the skin. Sometimes small tears occur inside the bundle, and there isn't much, if any, bruising. But in general, no bruising is good news.

They are saying that Tony doesn't have any tearing. In real life, when you have even a slight strain, there are "micro-tears" in individual fibers. Think of it as an old rubber band that has been stretched a bunch of times. It starts to look sort of like it is rotting. If you stretch it, you can see little cracks and holes, and it may be a little thinner in some areas. You know instinctively that rubber band isn't as strong as it used to be. That's what micro-tears are like in individual muscle fibers. And those muscle fibers are more likely to tear than the ones around them.

When you get a small strain, your strength may not be affected very much - i.e. you could still lift about as much as you normally do. But the muscle still feels weak. It feels like you are lacking strength, but if you go ahead and force yourself, you can make it lift the weight. But that feeling is your body's way of telling you not to. Inject some Marcaine and/or Toradol into the area, and you might be able to do anything you would normally do, since you won't feel the discomfort. (I've had Toradol injections, but not Marcaine. I've heard it pretty much kills all sensation.) Don't take the injection, and it is hard to get your body to do what you want it to do. It's not just a matter of overcoming pain - it's more a matter of having to focus to overcome that built-in hesitation. There's no time for hesitation in sports.

Continuing to play with a small tear, or even a slight "strain" (micro-tears), risks a more serious muscle tear. But it's not anywhere near a sure thing. I've personally seen guys play with small muscle tears, and not do any additional damage. It's a risk, but if I was 4 or less games from the end of the season, with a chance at a Championship, I'd take the shot and the risk. And I'm sure Tony will do his best to be on the floor. With the Spurs history, I wonder if they might hold him out for at least one game. Personally, I don't see the point, since it's not enough time for it to fully heal anyway.





I don't doubt a word of that, and it sounds like a of an effort. The difference between distance running and basketball is the start and stop. You can put it on cruise control, and the pain/discomfort are a constant. Getting that injured muscle to make a quick burst is a different thing. Even if there isn't much pain, your body naturally avoids doing something that will make it worse. Like I said above, there's no room for hesitation in what Tony does.

Thanks for the insight, GSH. Good points all around.

[phxspurfan]

WebMD prognosis for a grade 1 leg strain is 1-2 weeks. It describes the strain as slight tearing or strecthing that shouldn't affect the strength of the underlying muscle, but may be painful. So Parker will probably get treatment and play through pain, but man, if we win the finals with him hurt, he will be truly the man.

[TampaDude]

So the traffic caused him to get to the arena late, didnt stretch well enough, and he gets hurt. Damn HS graduation, of course it would be my alma mater. F' you Lee HS!

NFW the Spurs are gonna let that bull stop them from getting #5. If they need to have a police escort to ensure their players arrive in time, then by all means do it!

[slick'81]

I just don't like how tony looked like someone shoot his dog on the bench last night.I still dnt c how he sits tomorrow

[hater]

ppl are missing the point.

it's not wether his leg is fine or not. It is in his head that he already hurt and will psychologically play hurt. Ppl forget basketball is 90% mental. Can he overcome that, sure, but as of right now, he will start the game playing hurt, if he starts at all.

[SpursFan4-Life]

I just don't like how tony looked like someone shoot his dog on the bench last night.I still dnt c how he sits tomorrow

He knows something we don't, he looked torn up

[phxspurfan]

I would sit him most of game 4 if he comes out looking sub-100%.

[DJR210]

You better have to be in a hospital if you don't play a NBA final game.

Unless you're D Rose

[Mr.Bottomtooth]

Seems like an injury that would make a coach sit a player as a simple precaution to being healthy for the playoffs, not too serious. The Spurs clearly held their own last night without him, and though I'm advocating him taking it easy, it's not crazy to think the Spurs can survive without cutting Tony's minutes a bit short.

[spurraider21]

the fact that he came back into the game and wasn't grimacing in pain while on the floor tells me he'll play. it's not like this series has been all about Tony's explosiveness anyway. miami is trapping the pick n roll as they have all season long, and its up to parker to get rid of the ball and have the rest of the team score 4 on 3, which we did in game 3

[Spurs9]

The sad part is, this injury can be blamed on traffic for not giving him enough time to potentially stretch before the game

[timvp]

None - its just obvious you're really really worried.

Obviously, anything that could derail a championship would have me worried.

I think its pure BS on Tony's part.

So he sat out practice today as part of a ruse?

[Dex]

I think he is actually hurt. Thus, no reason to practice and put any unnecessary strain on it.

I also think (read: hope) that he plays tomorrow night. The Spurs know as well as anyone that their best chance for success is to avoid going back to Miami. I think they are just floating out the "questionable for game 4" story, because it makes Miami gameplan for it. And the more time they spend game planning for it, is time that could be spent game planning for Tony being in. At the very least, it makes them shift their focus and split their efforts at bit, so there is absolutely no reason to be forthcoming and say "Tony definitely will/will not play".

[TampaDude]

The sad part is, this injury can be blamed on traffic for not giving him enough time to potentially stretch before the game

If that's true, how can the Spurs not know about the graduation and extra traffic and plan ahead for that? This is something that can derail a le run. Fortunately, Tony was not seriously hurt.

[EVAY]

The biggest issue seems to me to be TP's ability to jump without pain. So much of what he does involves jumping to make a pass, or jumping to send up a floater, or whatever. Plus, if he is hurt, his ability to get out of the traps the Heat's defense plays on him will be impaired.

I think this is bad news. He can definitely make it worse by playing on it, but I expect that he will play. My concern is that he will try to NOT make it worse while playing, which is likely to significantly impair the level of his play.

[Darius McCrary]

All we can do is hope for the best.

Parker will have to be a soldier and help his team squeeze two more wins out of this series.

[Horry For 3!]

I had a strain before after playing basketball, iced it that night the next day I was fine.

[T Park]

Obviously, anything that could derail a championship would have me worried.

So he sat out practice today as part of a ruse?

Did he need to practice?

[KaiRMD1]

We'll see what happens now. As long as the other guys on the court can do the damn thing, should be fun. Who knows, Neal & Green may still be feeling it and torch the Heat yet again. Or Lebron can go into god mode. The Heat already know to beat us, they have to make the shots the Spurs have been daring them to make.

[TheGreatYacht]

ppl are missing the point.

it's not wether his leg is fine or not. It is in his head that he already hurt and will psychologically play hurt. Ppl forget basketball is 90% mental. Can he overcome that, sure, but as of right now, he will start the game playing hurt, if he starts at all.

Bingo. Derrick Rose is the perfect example.

[siraulo23]

all tp said and pop said during their practice interviews are we'll see quotes and pop was a little edgy, thats reasons for concers imo

[timvp]

Did he need to practice?

Apparently Pop thought everyone else did.

[milkyway21]

let us just pray it is not swelling. let it rest. and he will be alright.

that is why there's always a pre-game practice, stretching, and all that. But he got there too late for that because he was stuck in traffic.
Could be one of the reasons.