Quote:
Originally Posted by aurelino9
How does he reserve his energy? He's always going after loose balls, diving in the stands, defending bigger players in the post and rebounding. Does he have as much wear and tear as, say, Wade who crashes to the basket a lot? No but neither do any of the other players below Kidd in that list, with the exception of Bryant and Shaq, who have played more playoff minutes. The fact that he's effective doesn't mean that there's no mileage on the body. And remember, here's someone who had microfracture surgery done on his knee a few years ago.
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Since he's really never had a decent backup, coaches have had to rely on him for 40 a night. The guy manages his tank, he will sprint if needed, but he knows crunch time is the 4th, so maybe a loose ball in the 1st quarter, he won't sprint and dive after it, but in the 4th he will. I remember reading somewhere that after games his rookie year, he showered sitting on a stool, he was that exhausted. As time passed, he managed his minutes a lot better, knowing full well how many minutes he will get.