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October 05, 2009
Chandler on mend with new orthotics
New Charlotte Bobcats center Tyson Chandler might not be out so long after all.
Chandler is recovering from off-season ankle and toe surgery and was limited to minimal activity during last week's training camp. Monday he practiced for the first time in custom-made orthotic supports, and felt so good he was allowed to participate in some 5-on-5 drills and scrimmage briefly.
Based on that, coach Larry Brown said it's possible Chandler won't be held out of all four of the Bobcats' exhibitions over the next eight days. The team was working under the assumption Chandler couldn't be ready to play before a two-game preseason tournament, hosted by the Los Angeles Lakers in two weeks.
"He probably got a little excited today,'' Chandler said of Brown. "He saw me get up and down (the court) and get a little contact. That's same as I felt.''
So did the orthotics make a difference?
"They help a lot. Now I'll be able to actually strengthen my ankle'' by playing on it, Chandler said. "Before the orthotics, just getting up and down (the court) I'd get sore quickly. So now I can make the progress.''
The Bobcats open the preseason Tuesday night in Cleveland, then play in Greensboro (Thursday versus the New Orleans Hornets), North Charleston (Saturday versus the Cavaliers) and Atlanta (Monday). Neither Chandler nor Emeka Okafor, who were exchanged for each other in a mid-summer trade, figures to play in Greensboro. Okafor is out with a sprained toe.
Posted by Observer Sports on October 5, 2009 at 01:42 PM | Permalink
Comments
Exciting to hear, but please don't rush back too early. I am as excited as anyone to see what Chandler adds to this team, but not at the expense of possibly aggravating an injury. If Chandler doesn't play a single preseason game on the err of caution, I'm cool with that. I want him for the season, when games matter.
Posted by: EricH | Oct 5, 2009 3:47:08 PM
Will put EricH
Posted by: Larry | Oct 5, 2009 4:01:15 PM
Eric:
I wouldn't be concerned about either Chandler or Brown taking a rash approach to this. Just a general sense of relief in practice that he's coming along nicely from the injury.
Posted by: Rick Bonnell | Oct 5, 2009 4:01:24 PM
Thanks Rick. I was hoping that's what the deal was. Just got kind of nervous because I had been reading about Chandler trying to sneak into scrimmages. You hear all too often about players who love the game (in all sports) and talk their respective teams into allowing them to come back earlier than they should causing further injuries. Very excited to have a player like him on our team. Someone who really enjoys the game and takes an active approach with the team (read about his vocal presence throughout training camp). I was always a fan of Mek, but I think that Chandler's style, if healthy, will benefit this team more than Mek ever could. This team definitely needs more vocal players rather than passive. This may be the most excited I have ever been entering a Bobcats season. For the first time, I feel we may be a sleeper team that is not currently getting acknowledgment we may deserve rather than previous seasons of expecting to get into the playoffs but somehow knowing in the back of our minds that it's not really that attainable of a goal. I know that we still have to prove ourselves, but I feel that we have the pieces in place to do so. Regardless of our lack of depth at PF, I think that we may finally have enough depth that our back-ups won't crumble so easily and blow every lead that our starters provide. We may have had one of the best 1st quarter teams in the league last year. Too bad we had to play 3 more.
Posted by: EricH | Oct 5, 2009 4:52:11 PM
Its ironic Okafor is going to sit out with a toe sprain when he wasnt injured at all last year with the Bobcats(I don't think) which was a big reason why N.O. signed him & didn't want to keep Chandler. Im very excited to see the pick & roll game with him.
Posted by: D.W.G. | Oct 5, 2009 4:53:23 PM
Tyson...Take your time my man...Don't rush back before everything is tight....We need you for the long haul...So strengthen that thing up and we will see you when we see you...Glad to have you big fella.
Posted by: MoveMe | Oct 5, 2009 6:24:12 PM
Does anybody know what color jerseys the bobcats are going to were on their first preseason game at Cleveland ?
Posted by: Br2850 | Oct 5, 2009 7:41:55 PM
These "orthotics" scare me. Hope we don't hear too much about them during the regular season.
Posted by: Ari | Oct 5, 2009 11:33:36 PM
Hey Guys, I missed everyone! I'm sure everyone on this board will have a stellar reason why we should sign Ray to a long-term deal, except the fact that he's not a good starting point guard. It was fun to read the comments after Sorenson's love-fest
Ready for another mediocre season...
From Hollinger at ESPN:
He's 25 and maintained this pattern long enough to make the evaluation process really easy -- he's a good third guard who has been forced to start for four years because of the Bobcats' lack of quality backcourt options.
Felton is both a poor 3-point shooter (28.5 percent last year) and a bad finisher (45.8 percent in the immediate basket area; only three players with more than 200 attempts fared worse).
Posted by: BobsRealist | Oct 6, 2009 1:48:36 PM
Good thing we have depth at the 5 with Nazr and Diop. Rick, you've reported good things about Nazr so far, what about Diop?
Posted by: apauldds | Oct 6, 2009 2:13:52 PM
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