Julius Randle Discussion: Beast, Ox, Monster, Lotus Flower

I'm going to put my best guess out there......

I don't think the foot injury was the main or direct cause, but indirectly yes I think it played a role, but not because it didn't heal correctly. The early reports are that it is a stress fracture related injury. The 1st thing that pops into my head when I hear that is overuse. He's probably been playing basketball year round for a long time now, which isn't a bad thing, but he's only 19 playing high level basketball year round at a time period where his bones are still developing and presently should be done or at the end stages. Everyone gets mini "fractures" in bones, but they are so minuscule the body heals them up without issue.

This is where the foot comes into play, my guess is that the high level workload + the foot injury is why this occurred. The foot injury probably forced him to alter his gait slightly, which shifted the impact points when he plants, runs, etc. Instead of the normal wear and tear, he was putting increased stress on an area that isn't normally used to dealing with it. With repeated action at that site, all it took was the right angle to get what we saw last night. A devastating injury for him, but one that is highly unlikely to happen again, considering the bone will heal stronger than before.

I picture it as chopping a tree down. If you keep hitting the same angle, you will get nowhere. You hit the spot at multiple angles (Altered gait), you get larger chips to come out and get to the middle faster.

One of the few bright spots on the year, down in the 1st game, makes me sick to my stomach. But he will be back, stronger than before. It's a perfect time for him to study the game and work endlessly on his jumper when he gets the ok for it.

 

Great post Doc.

Woj recently put up an article which sources GM's from other teams and why they passed on Randle due to the foot injury and their concerns that it would lead to further problems down the road if it wasn't corrected.

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/julius...cruel-blow-to-crumbling-lakers-154552606.html

 

So, my questions are now though, will his foot problem be corrected now? If not, will this further his chances of injury over the course of his career? What precautions can they take from making sure this doesn't happen again? He had a foot injury his senior year in high school, had a foot injury, prior to the draft, and now broke his leg. I pray this isn't a chronic/recurring condition.

 

While he's out now, why not look into correcting his foot as well?

 

How long is he out?

 

what a punch to the gut. even though the estimate is 4-6 months, i think they just sit him for the year. basically a la blake griffin (except i think his was a fractured patella).

someone needs to undo the curse put upon us. can we sacrifice steve nash on some sort of altar?

 

^To make matters worse, we have the hardest 10 game stretch in the NBA over the course of the next 2 weeks. It's not going to get any easier and could get much uglier. We might end up 1-9 or 2-8 to come out of the gates...as far as Randle's health, though, I posed the question earlier as to whether his foot condition is brittle or not judging by the last 3 years. What I do know is that in high school he did come back earlier than expected and lead his team to their 3rd national championship. He also played every game at Kentucky while leading them to the national championship. Woj also stated that his foot is a 'correctable' issue...it's not a Andrew Bynum type situation from my understanding. Personally, I don't think his health will be a problem in the long term. Presently, though, it sucks, and I understand the sentiment. I love the Lakers, and we all do, and the last 3 years have been downright depressing.

 

Please ,dear God, don't let it be Bynum 2.0.

 

Eric Pincus @EricPincus · 31m 31 minutes ago
If Randle is out for year, Young misses 17 games - Nash done - already nearing 182 lost games (57% of last yr's 319) http://www.latimes.com/sports/lakers/lakersnow/la-sp-ln-lakers-injuries-alarming-pace-20141029-story.html…

 

Better yet, you don't want to become a Brook Lopez injury who has chronic foot issues...

 

Mike Bresnahan @Mike_Bresnahan · 57s 57 seconds ago
Julius Randle underwent surgery this morning and is expected to make a full recovery from his broken leg. He won't return this season.

 

This is a bummer, not a great way to start the year. Turrible, turrible, turrible

 

like i thought...out for the year. it is probably best in the end instead of rushing him back though.

*sigh*. well...let's hope he turns it around like blake griffin.