PBA commissioner Willie Marcial isn’t rushing the restart of the season, conscious that a hasty resumption could lead to a rash of injuries because of a limited training period for players. Since PBA teams got the go-signal to go back to the gym for workouts in restricted batches of four players each last week, Marcial said nothing untoward has happened. But he realizes the workouts are only for limbering purposes on an individual basis with scrimmages and team drills still prohibited by the IATF.
Clearly, players won’t get in game-shape with the current workouts. They’re just getting their bodies warmed up for physical activity. Some are more advanced than others in terms of conditioning, especially those with access to training equipment at home. But everyone is in the same level of not being game-ready.
When the IATF clears the players to train in batches of 10 under MGCQ, they’ll be closer to getting in game-shape but reaching the grade remains far off. If the season begins with most players lacking in preparation, not only will the quality of competition diminish but the danger of injuries becomes a high-risk concern. That’s why Marcial is closely monitoring how each team is coming along during the restart of workouts. PBA staffers are assigned to check out practices as every team is required to submit workout schedules noting the players in each training batch. Once a high degree of confidence is attained that players are geared to go back to battle, the PBA will schedule the season restart with IATF approval and health/safety protocols in place. If things proceed smoothly, the restart could be sometime in October.
Marcial said he knows what’s going on in the NBA bubble at Lake Buena Vista, near Orlando. He has studied the health/safety measures with the intention of applying what may work if the PBA sets up a similar bubble. An alarming trend is the rash of injuries plaguing NBA teams, probably because of lack of training time for players before the season restart. It’s something that Marcial is keeping track of.
Take the Los Angeles Lakers, for instance. Point guard Rajon Rondo fractured his right thumb in mid-July preparing to enter the bubble, underwent surgery, did therapy and during the first round of playoffs, thought he could be reactivated only to be sidelined once more with back spasms. Rondo hasn’t played a single game in the playoffs. Luckily for the Lakers, LeBron James can play Rondo’s position and backup Alex Caruso hasn’t done badly in his place. Another bubble casualty is Dallas’ Kristaps Porzingis who went down with a torn meniscus in his right knee and missed the last three games of the Mavs’ playoff series against the LA Clippers. Orlando’s Aaron Gordon played only four seeding games in the bubble and sat out the entire first round of the playoffs with a strained left hamstring. He could’ve made a difference with the Magic against Milwaukee as the Bucks disposed of Orlando in five. Boston’s Gordon Hayward sprained his right ankle in Game 1 of the Philadelphia series, left the arena in crutches and hasn’t been back on the court. Portland’s Damien Lillard hurt his right knee in Game 4 of the Lakers series and didn’t suit up when LA clinched it in Game 5. The NBA’s injury list shows players who typically log major minutes, indicating a higher probability of going down if they didn’t get enough training time to prepare for the restart.