"What -- ME not play? No Sir!"
"We don't need Rip Hamilton -- let him rest."
"Why risk further injury?"
"It's only the Bucks, for goodness sakes!"
Such are the comments I've heard in the 36 or so hours after the Pistons' 92-74 victory in Game 1 of their first round series against the Milwaukee Bucks. Some of them have even been uttered by my boss at MCS Magazine, Muneesh Jain -- and even the usually reliable Terry Foster, one of our writers (I think he also writes for the Detroit News, too -- but who reads that, anyway?), nodded and agreed. We were at the world premiere of Gary Glaser's documentary, Stranded at the Corner, a pretty cool look at the fight to save Tiger Stadium. But even in the lobby of the Gem Theatre, on a night filled with baseball lovers, the talk turned to the Pistons. It IS playoff time, after all.
Apparently a lot of folks think the Pistons can beat the Bucks with one hand tied behind their backs. Oh, how quickly they forget Game 2 against Milwaukee in 2004, which was a Bucks victory, on the heels of a 26-point blowout loss in Game 1.
The debate, of course, is about Richard Hamilton and the most famous (at press time) sprained ankle in Detroit -- his. Rip injured it in Game 1, played on it, and seemed to tweak it again.
But here's the dealio: if a player says he can go (which Hamilton does), and the trainer/strength and conditioning guy (who only happens to be the best in the business) says the player can go, and the coach says the player can go, and his teammates say the player can go -- then guess what?
He goes!!
I can see the pseudo-wisdom of those who prefer to err on the side of caution and let Hamilton sit on the bench in street clothes, a Game 2 witness. I understand their fear that he may reinjure the ankle and be lost for a lengthy time.
But when you start resting players -- starters, especially -- because you feel they're "not needed", then you begin to play with fire a little bit. This is the NBA. There are no cowards or stiffs on the floor in the playoffs. Even though the gap between #1 and #8 is much wider than that of the NHL (ain't that right, Wing Nuts?), an underdog can still steal a game on the road, and all of a sudden you wish you'd have gone into that game at full strength. Why give the Bucks any life?
The point is mostly moot, anyhow. Hamilton is almost a sure bet to start Game 2 -- even if it had been played tonight, and not tomorrow. But it amuses me how some around here would like to sit people down, as if the Pistons hold a "Get Out of the Eastern Conference FREE" card that they drew from Community Chest or Chance.
Yes, the Pistons are heavy favorites to reach the NBA Finals. I -- in case you care -- feel they'll win it all, frankly. But that's only if you stay the course, and not fall into the seduction of feeling like you have the luxury of resting key players if they so much as wake up with a hang nail.
Rip Hamilton's ankle injury is not, thankfully, as bad as it first appeared. Most ankle injuries look worse than they are, anyway. It's not putting him in the "OUT" category of the injury list. It's not even placing him in the "doubtful" ledger. I don't even think it's "questionable."
It's a GO!
2 comments:
I had the same reaction, sit Rip, as you know. But I think my post was a knee jerk reaction. If Rip says he can play, he should play. But it was a sobering reminder that the starting 5 aren't indestructable and the bench will always be a concern in the back of our minds.
But is is only the Bucks... ;-)
Yeah, yeah -- I know: How DARE the Bucks even show up for these games, anyway? :-)
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