Lakers Curse Continues: Nick Young Out 2+ Months
After two seasons of injuries and turmoil, the Los Angeles Lakers entered training camp for the upcoming 2014-15 season with a renewed optimism and cautious hope. Unfortunately, just as the pre-season is getting underway, the Lakers have already suffered their first bad break. Last Thursday, during an intra-squad scrimmage, Nick Young tried to reach in for the ball while defending Kobe Bryant, but tore the radial collateral ligament in his right thumb when he jammed it against Bryant’s elbow.
Sep 29, 2014; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward Nick Young (0) during media day at the team practice facility in El Segundo. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
An MRI performed on Friday revealed the extent of the damage, but Young was back at practice on Saturday per Head Coach Byron Scott’s wishes because “when you hurt your hand, your feet are still okay and your legs are okay. He can still do all the stuff we can do conditioning wise. It doesn’t have anything to do with a basketball in his hand.”
“when you hurt your hand, your feet are still okay and your legs are okay. He can still do all the stuff we can do conditioning wise. It doesn’t have anything to do with a basketball in his hand.”
On Monday, Young had his thumb surgically repaired by renowned hand surgeon Dr. Steven Shin of the Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Clinic, and the team estimates Young to be out of action approximately two months. Dr. Shin has performed similar surgeries on such top professional athletes as Chris Paul, Hanley Ramirez, and Josh Hamilton.
In 2012, Dr. Shin repaired the torn ligament in Chris Paul’s right thumb on August 21st. On October 8th, Paul was cleared for full contact, and he ended up playing in the Los Angeles Clippers’ October 14th pre-season game. Paul ended up being medically cleared in seven weeks, and was playing in a game eight weeks after surgery. If Young were fortunate enough to follow a similar time-table, he would end up missing between 14-17 regular season games, approximately.
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Although I very rarely include personal anecdotes in my articles, I feel like I should share that I broke a bone in my right thumb and tore both ligaments, while playing basketball last July. Dr. Shin performed the surgery to remove the bone fragment and repair the radial collateral ligament. The surgery was a complete success, and I was cleared in about two months. I was able to play basketball, golf, baseball, and return to my weekly bowling league after being cleared. Even though I wore a brace on my thumb for quite some time after returning, I didn’t notice any loss of function or impediment with my jump shooting.
After Chris Paul returned to action in 2012, he ended up shooting 48% from the field and 35% from beyond the arc prior to the All Star break. So there’s no reason to believe that Young won’t similarly be able to return to full functionality on offense once he returns to action.
Of course, Young was the Lakers’ sixth man last season, and was expected to help carry much of the offensive load this season in a similar role, even with Kobe Bryant back from injury. Last season, Young averaged 17.9 points and 2.1 three-pointers in 28.3 minutes, per game. In his absence, Bryant may end up playing some minutes at small forward, with Jordan Clarkson, Jeremy Lin, and possibly Wayne Ellington being asked to play more minutes at shooting guard.