Finley's injury has Mavs concerned, could miss opener

[MavsFanFinley]

Finley's injury has Mavs concerned
Veteran swingman could miss opener because of hamstring

By EDDIE SEFKO / The Dallas Morning News

Michael Finley has missed two preseason games to rest his left hamstring, and his injury should be the most worrisome of the Mavericks' many ailments.

Finley no longer is the iron man who once went six seasons without missing a game. He's 32 and has missed about a month of action each of the last three years. While Marquis Daniels' ankle was a more severe injury when it happened, he is nine years younger than Finley, and his recuperative powers would figure to be better.

Finley said he could not be certain about playing tonight against San Antonio or in the preseason finale Thursday against Sacramento, both at American Airlines Center. And if he misses one or both, he will start the regular season needing to knock off a lot of rust.

"Right now, it's still been sore after I work out, and that's what we're trying to get rid of," Finley said. "I don't know when I'll play. I'm literally day to day.

"The only date that really matters is Nov. 2 [the season opener]."

That's the target, but Finley also is not opposed to delaying his start of the regular season if that is the prudent thing to do. Coach Don Nelson isn't necessarily against it, either.

"You have to be real careful with hamstrings," Nelson said. "It's better to err on the side of caution."

Finley and Daniels are the projected starters at small forward and shooting guard. But Josh Howard has started in Daniels' place during the preseason, and Jerry Stackhouse could be called on, assuming his groin problems heal before Tuesday's opener. Devin Harris and Dirk Nowitzki also have been fighting aches and illnesses.

"It's just been a mess," Nelson said of his team's run of bad injury luck. "This has been very unusual. The only players who aren't hurt are the ones who are supposed to be hurt."

One of those would be Alan Henderson, whose back problems of a year ago have been dormant in training camp.

Briefly:

The Mavericks announced Monday that four-time all-star Rolando Blackman, director of player development, will join the television broadcast crew as an analyst this season. He will team with play-by-play man Matt Pinto and color analyst Bob Ortegel.

The Mavericks are offering a three-pack discount on tickets to the first three home games of the regular season. Terrace seats (regularly $39) can be bought for $25 when purchased in a set for the opening three games. ... The Mavericks are 2-4 in the preseason, but look no further than tonight's visitors for proof that October means nothing. The Spurs, whom many tab as preseason favorites for the league title, are 1-3.

[EricaLubarsky]

F@ck

edit: for language

[fin4life]

AHHHHHHHHHHH

This is the worst news that I have known in a while. No Finley or Marquis? It lokos like Lopez/Sasser have a decent shot at making the team. Also, Harris will get a lot of minutes early in the year while Terry plays the 2-gaurd.

[EricaLubarsky]

what does it mean for the opener if Finley and Daniels are out? If we need to keep Hood/Lopez then we are in a major tight spot roster-wise. The regular season begins the 12 and 3 restrictions, right?

[V]

Originally posted by: EricaLubarsky
what does it mean for the opener if Finley and Daniels are out? If we need to keep Hood/Lopez then we are in a major tight spot roster-wise. The regular season begins the 12 and 3 restrictions, right?

Big ball.

[EricaLubarsky]

Nellie has an arch-nemesis and its name is..

Originally posted by: V
Big ball.

[MavsFanFinley]

First off, isn't Finley 31? I guess it doesn't matter much at this stage but should be pointed out.

Also, this sounds like a worst-case scenerio article. Almost like they had nothing else to report so let's talk about Finley's hamstring. Note that Finley said he'd sit out if it was still a concern. I'd rather him sit these last 2 games and give him the rest he needs. It would have given him nearly 2 weeks rest by the season opener.

[EricaLubarsky]

Originally posted by: MavsFanFinley
First off, isn't Finley 31? I guess it doesn't matter much at this stage but should be pointed out.

Also, this sounds like a worst-case scenerio article. Almost like they had nothing else to report so let's talk about Finley's hamstring. Note that Finley said he'd sit out if it was still a concern. I'd rather him sit these last 2 games and give him the rest he needs. It would have given him nearly 2 weeks rest by the season opener.

Finley no longer is the iron man who once went six seasons without missing a game. He's 32 and has missed about a month of action each of the last three years. While Marquis Daniels' ankle was a more severe injury when it happened, he is nine years younger than Finley, and his recuperative powers would figure to be better.

so Daniels has a severe ankle sprain that puts him out for 2-3 months and Finley has a hammy problem that keeps him out of games for 10 days and Finley's the one in trouble? The idea of the invincible journeyman is in trouble, but not Finley.

[fin4life]

but we cant forget the Finley never plays well coming off of an injury. He is a guy who needs to get into rythem. He started the season off terribly last year, I think he averaged less than 15 points per game the first month last year. This is very concerning to me.

[VivaNajera]

[i]Right now, it's still been sore after I work out, and that's what we're trying to get rid of," Finley said. "I don't know when I'll play. I'm literally day to day..

if he is injured then why the hell is he working out, id rather have him sit out practice than the games

[grndmstr_c]

Hopefully the injuries will clear up soon. It's definitely a bummer. Still, we should be able to make it through games without worrying about signing spares like Sasser or Lopez. We can still go small by giving JT minutes at SG if need be and as V mentioned could go the other route and play Dirk a little extra time at the 3 as well.

[MavsFanFinley]

We have enough offensive power in Dirk, Terry, Howard, Stackhouse, Harris, and at times Dampier and Booth to let Finley get back into rhythm at his own pace once he returns. Assuming he misses any significant time.

I don't want to make light of the injury but given his age it's no surprise he'll face injuries from here on out. I think it's fortunate we have the players (Howard, Daniels, Stackhouse, even Harris) that can step up in his absence for once.

As EL pointed out, Fin's not who I'm really worried about at this point. I'm still curious about Daniels ankle and the fact that Howard has had more trouble with his hammy than Fin has.

[Phil Helmuth]

I'll wager Finley starts less than 56 games this season and gets less than 30 minutes a game. He is no spring chicken. All this means is we will get to see a little more DH, and 2 pg setups. So is Stacj ready to go? Because I sure as hell am ready to see him play. I also think the injuries mean J-Howard will get to show why he deserves starters minutes at the SF. Go Mavs!!!

[dirk2003]

If we start:

Terry
Stack
Howard
Dirk
Damp

We will be fine for a while.

My GUESS is that Daniels wont be back before January.

[EricaLubarsky]

My GUESS is that Daniels wont be back before January.

unless you know something medically that we don't, that isnt an educated guess. All media reports coming from the Mavs organization point to Daniels starting practice in the next 15 days or so which would mean early-to-mid-november play for Daniels

Then again, the Mavericks could be pulling a Joe Simpson and playing damage control

[grndmstr_c]

My GUESS is that Daniels wont be back before January.

There's guessing and then there's trying to crack open a pinata blindfolded with a wet noodle after you've been spun around 50 times and have aimlessly wandered into the wrong room.

[dirk2003]

Spraining an ankle is worse than breaking it...

[MavsFanFinley]

I'm going to wait and see if the FWST has anything on this in the morning. Something about this article really bothers me. The headline reads that the Mavs are concerned yet no quotes support that other than Nelson agreeing with Finley's comment about sitting out the opener (or more) if he deems it necessary.

It's almost like Sefko asked Finley if he was going to play against SA and Fin says he isn't sure. And that he's not sure if he'll be available for the final preseason game because he's literally day to day. And if it's the right thing to do, he'll sit longer. Then Sefko runs over to Nelson and asks him about it? Nelson agrees and basically says it's better to be safe than sorry.

[EricaLubarsky]

and other than that you have ZERO evidence for your guess. The rest of us have read the media reports and some of us have talked with the resident doctors here.

[FineCubanCigar]

Well, i believe Josh Howard may be logging those minutes he needed to get... this is nothing, and can have a positive impact by getting Howard involved early. Hurts the perimeter shooting but helps the D, rebounding, and athleticism for a few gmes worse case scenario and all.

[EricaLubarsky]

Originally posted by: FineCubanCigar
Well, i believe Josh Howard may be logging those minutes he needed to get... this is nothing, and can have a positive impact by getting Howard involved early. Hurts the perimeter shooting but helps the D, rebounding, and athleticism for a few gmes worse case scenario and all.

worst case scenario is that we depend on Howard and his hamstring tightens up, leaving us without him at the 2/3 for three-fourths of the game.

[FineCubanCigar]

Well i suppose that could happen. While we are being pessimistic and all, what if Dirk gets hurt? then nothing matters and we should throw the towel in. Go Mavs. The 2/3 is the LAST position we need to "worry" about injuries.

[EricaLubarsky]

what if Dirk gets hurt?

ANY team that loses their number one guy is in trouble.

The 2/3 is the LAST position we need to "worry" about injuries

and yet they are the positions we need to worry about because they are the positions where we have numerous actual injuries. There is a lot more reason to worry about the 2/3 when we have injuries there than it is to worry about the 4 spot and Dirk when he is healthy.

[The Miles]

Just more minutes for Josh Howard and Devin Harris.

Terry, Stack, Josh, Dirk, Damp, Devin, Booth, Benga

That is your 8 man rotation for now, I like it.

[MavsFanFinley]

The FWST has nothing on the Mavs being concerned about Finley's injury.

[Murphy3]

Originally posted by: The Miles
Just more minutes for Josh Howard and Devin Harris.

Terry, Stack, Josh, Dirk, Damp, Devin, Booth, Benga

That is your 8 man rotation for now, I like it.

The Mavs would desperately miss Fin's ability to hit the open jumper.

[sike]

what sucks was that Fin was hitting all his open shots in the preseason...he was looking so ready for a good year. Maybe Stack and Howard will make great argumetns for them to start with great play. I am guessing Howard will play so well that Nellie will have to give him near stater's minutes.

Spraining an ankle is worse than breaking it...

only a severe ankle sprain is worse than a clean break...

[FineCubanCigar]

that was my thought exactly Murph

[dirk2003]

Yeah, isnt 3rd degree as severe as it gets?

[EricaLubarsky]

Originally posted by: dirk2003
Yeah, isnt 3rd degree as severe as it gets?

Daniels did not tear his Anterior or Posterior talofibular or his calcaneofibular ligament bad enough to require surgery. Surgery always presents more risks so it could have been worse. As it is, Daniels' body has been healing the damaged ligaments for about 2-3 months already and it is always better if you can let your body heal itself instead of having a doctor stitch it up.

I believe I read in one of the press releases that Daniels had only injured his poterior ligament, which, according to arthroscopy.com

the most severe injury being in the front (anterior) and the least severe being in the back (posterior).

so, although officially Grade III Sprain is the most severe, Daniels got lucky. He was able to avoid surgery and the risks involved with that, and he damaged the least significant ligament.

nismat.org describes the Grade III sprain with the following

Usually requires some form of immobilization lasting several weeks
Complete loss of function (functional disability) and necessity for crutches
Usually managed conservatively with rehabilitation exercises, but a small percentage may require surgery
Recovery can be as long as 4 months

so Daniels has been out for 2-3 months already and the upper-normal level of rehabilitation is 4 months. He should be ready by the end of November unless something is very wrong and he requires a surgery. Your prediction of January is therefor ridiculous.

[EricaLubarsky]

Originally posted by: dirk2003
My GUESS is that Daniels wont be back before January.

from Dirk's mouth

Marquis actually worked out today.

[dirk2003]

BADASS!! I was hoping my guess would be wrong! [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]