Bell Out For Rest of The Series?

[hsandhu]

From Bickley
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/sports/articles/0526bickley0526.html
:

"Forget the masked optimism and the spin-controlled forecasts. According to multiple sources, Raja Bell has a "mild to moderate tear" in his calf muscle and could be done for the Western Conference finals.

A tear does not go away overnight. A tear gets worse with activity. A tear is the worst news possible, and as the Suns practiced Thursday, Bell lay face down on the basketball court. He winced in pain as the team trainer treated the injured area."

Of course, if you read the rest of the article you see what a pessimistic ******** bickley is. Basically thinking this news that he may be out, probably ends the suns chances of winning the series.

 

[Nasser22]

I say, they cut open his leg, sew up the tear, give him some pain killers and throw the guy in there we need him. lol

 

[hsandhu]

Does anyone know if there is a difference between a strain and a tear, or are they interchangeable? If they are interchangeable, bickley is hung up on the word tear for no reason.

 

[SunsTzu]

Bell on the half-time show tonight said it was "worse than a strain but not quite a tear" which I thought was confusing.

 

[Gaddabout]

I say, they cut open his leg, sew up the tear, give him some pain killers and throw the guy in there we need him. lol

He could borrow Schilling's bloody sock.

 

[mjb21aztd]

Oh man talk about bad luck in the playoffs last year Joe Johnson now Raja Bell hopefully Barbosa can play like some solid minutes and not make bad to's and hit fts. Also lets hope Eddie House can come in and add not great but decent numbers. So is Barbosa guarding Terry now?

 

[Kolo]

Dump this thread, or at least change the title. Bickley didn't say Bell's out for the series, he said he could be, which we all know.

 

[Mike Olbinski]

From Bickley
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/sports/articles/0526bickley0526.html
:


Of course, if you read the rest of the article you see what a pessimistic ******** bickley is. Basically thinking this news that he may be out, probably ends the suns chances of winning the series.

I like Bickley, and I don't see where the pessism in this article is...

He is a Suns fan, he talks about how much he loves the team every morning on Xtra910...give him a break.

 

[dreamcastrocks]

I actually believe that he will be out at least the series, possibly the rest of the season.

Just a gut feeling.

 

[TucsonDevil]

To call Dan Bickley a Suns' fan is a bit of a stretch - but he does respect the team. His article was very positive about the resilient nature of the team. The more adversity they face, the stronger they become. I tend to believe that as well.

After all is said and done today - The Suns have to find a way to steal this game tonight. Josh Howard has a bone bruise, and may not play - if he does, he will be less than 100%. When he gets healthier, it will get tougher. Can Eddie regain a shooting stroke that we saw at times this year? Gosh, I sure hope so. More than likely, it will be Marion getting stronger and Nash scoring more. Considering we won Game 1 without much production offensively from Raja and Leandro - I feel optomistic about the series still.

 

[frdbtr]

I didn't think that article was negative. I thought it was extremely positive. It is a loss if bell is unable to play but the entire article was geared towards the suns ability to overcome adversity and still win.

 

[AZZenny]

I'm no Bickley fan, but this article seemed pretty upbeat. I liked this comment a lot:

the Suns are visionary and lethal because of a simple combination: They are a great shooting team with a great deal of intelligence. They know how to get open. They know how to space the floor. They know how to beat stupid teams that possess more talent.

 

[Cheesebeef]

I think we need to face facts - he's gone for the series. For some reason the Suns staff and doctors have ALWAYS been overly optimistic in our guys returning for health - see Amare this year, KT's initial prognosis which had him coming back at the very end of the season, even JJ last year - everyone was pretty sure he'd be back by the end of the Dallas series and he didn't make it back until Game 3 of SA - he's done and we've got to move on without him.

 

[DeAnna]

I actually believe that he will be out at least the series, possibly the rest of the season.

Just a gut feeling.

Yeah, I have to agree. It's a darn shame.

 

[elindholm]

I'm not trying to be gloomy, but if he's out for the rest of the series, it is the rest of the season.

I'm still hoping for a Game 5 return.

 

[TucsonDevil]

Amen brother... Also, if we muster enough effort to get past the Mavs on 65% shooting, including 18 3-pts per game... we need Bell to shut down Richard Hamilton.

 

[hsandhu]

I think we need to face facts - he's gone for the series. For some reason the Suns staff and doctors have ALWAYS been overly optimistic in our guys returning for health - see Amare this year, KT's initial prognosis which had him coming back at the very end of the season, even JJ last year - everyone was pretty sure he'd be back by the end of the Dallas series and he didn't make it back until Game 3 of SA - he's done and we've got to move on without him.

I remember you saying in an other thread this was at least a week injury, which puts his return at game 5. Is that still possible, or do you think he's done for the series?

 

[Nash]

Hamilton? Oh why him?
The ECF is 1-1. Let it run to 6 or 7 games and tire both teams out.
Have faith. The Heat can pull it off.

 

[F-Dog]

Bell is gone for this series IMO, unless it's game 6 or 7 and the team is desperate. He's almost certain to re-injure himself when he tries to come back, so if he plays in this series, you can probably count him out for the next one.


Speaking of which: maybe I'm crazy, but I'm starting to feel pretty good about the Suns' chances against Dallas, even without Raja. Nash looked very good in game 1 (the Cuban Effect is still running full steam, apparently); I'm reminded of the Suns running away from the Mavs in OT of game 6 last year, when they were down to Nash, Marion, and that's about it.

I think Diaw will produce consistently in this series, since the Mavs have decided to use the San Antonio system to defend the Suns. Barbosa will be a factor as the series wears on, Kurt Thomas will help neutralize Dampier, and Tim Thomas will have at least one game where he scores enough points to not be a net liability. The Suns just need House and JR to not completely suck, or maybe just for Avery Johnson to keep paying attention to them and allowing the Suns' stars to run wild.


And, of course, the longer Josh Howard sits out, the better it is for the Suns. Even though Marquis Daniels is going to torture the Suns with his scoring, he won't have Howard's all-around impact.

 

[Evil Ash]

I remember you saying in an other thread this was at least a week injury, which puts his return at game 5. Is that still possible, or do you think he's done for the series?

It depends on the severity.

If it was fairly minor, its a 5 day to week recovery period so he'd be ready for game 5. If it were a moderate injury, recovery time could be up to a couple of weeks. If it were serious, there's no chance of him playing in the playoffs at all.

 

[hsandhu]

Well this is somewhat encouraging, from the dallas morning news blog earlier today:

"Phoenix guard Raja Bell had already tossed his crutches this morning and was talking about when he might return in the series from his strained/pulled left calf muscle.

Realistically, a return for Game 4 or Game 5 seems about right, although Bell wasn't talking timetables.

"I haven’t ruled out anything for myself," he said. "Your mind is a powerful tool if you keep it where it needs to be."

Physically maybe he should be out a week/rest of the series, but he seems to want to fight through any pain and play. I remember him saying yesterday they only need 7 more wins, this is what you play all season for. And he stated if he messes it up further, he'll rehab during the offseason.

Hopefully though if he comes back he won't be at great risk for doing further damage.

 

[elindholm]

I didn't like his takedown of Bryant, but Bell might be my favorite player on the team right now.

 

[F-Dog]

Raja is tough as hell, no question about that.

 

[mavsfan1000]

Great player to have. He shoots amazing from the outside and plays tenacious defense. To me he is their best defender.

 

[Folster]

I heard Raja will be back Tuesday.