Injuries in Basketball vs. Other Sports.

[VCFAN]

Does it seem to anyone that basketball players are bigger "wimps" than other sports? Don't get me wrong because I love basketball with a passion but it just seems to me that when a player gets injured in basketball they tend to miss a lot more time than any other sport. For example when shaq hurt his toe one or two seasons ago he missed a large portion of the year, or when kobe cut his finger this year he missed a large portion of the year. T-Mac sitting out the rest of the season is another example. In hockey players I know for sure would not miss more than a week for such injuries. Players get in fights night in and night out in hockey and get body chucked against the boards on a regular basis and they seem to play without complaining. Same goes with football.

Whats your opinion?

[EGarrett]

Football players only play something like 30 games per season...and usually only once a week. Furthermore...each individual player plays half the game (offense or defense)...and there's a rest period after every single play (huddles.) And did I mention they wear armor?

Baseball players spend most of their careers sitting in dugouts or standing in the field doing nothing. Very rarely do they have to run or do much of anything...that's why they can play 200 games per year.

Hockey players are the closest...but they also wear very heavy padding.

Basketball players play 3-4 times per week...82 games per year...with no protective padding. They also are running and moving through the entire game...on offense and defense. If you can't cut, sprint and jump at near peak efficiency you're not going to be able to play...which is why basketball players get sidelined by so many injuries.

Hardly wussies at all in my book.

[Amphatoast]

t-mac has no reason to play this year, lets get real. They going for the worst record to get the best odds for the #1pick.
but i agree with Egarrnett


football is on sunday, like around 20 games a year and they also have a lot of padding.
baseball u strike out u sit down.
hockey well i dunno but you do have a lot of pads.
basketball no pads, no sit down unless u call timeout, constant running up and down.

[magius]

just because you dont wear pads doesnt mean the risk of injury is less -- in fact, it should mean its more because theirs a reason they're wearing pads. unless you're guarding shaq, basketball is a soft sport compared to the likes of american football, hockey, and real football. hockey players play injured the whole season and only with serious injuries do they sit out -- they wear basically the same amount of padding a sa football player except their uniforms arent as 'tight-fitting' around the butt area, thus creating the illusion of more padding. of course the goalie does wear more padding, but then again, he's getting hit with a rubber puck at 100 mph.

[VCFAN]

Hockey plays the same amount of games a year as basketball. How often do u see guys like Tie Domi get the shit pounded out of him or he pounds the shit out of someone else and then they get up and play right away(usually after a penalty). He does this sort of stuff almost every game and doesn't miss many. If T-Mac or any other NBA player took that then they would would sit out the whole season and then start crying like a baby. Going back to when kobe cut his finger earlier this season. How long does it take for something like that to heal. A couple days maybe. He doesn't have to sit out as long as he did.

Although centers like shaq and ben wallae deserve respect because those are physical positions.

[wangster]

Going back to when kobe cut his finger earlier this season. How long does it take for something like that to heal. A couple days maybe. He doesn't have to sit out as long as he did.

well, that finger injury did result in 10 stitches, don't think that would heal in a couple of days, and correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe it was inflicted on his shooting hand. It was virtually useless for him to play if he couldn't shoot. (remember he tried playing through a dislocated shoulder and almost made a left-handed 20-footer).

On the topic, I agree wholeheartedly with EGarrett. Different sports produce different situations when it comes to injuries, and in order for a player to function fully on the basketball court, even minor injuries when talking about sports like hockey make that impossible. And I certainly don't think playing in the NBA makes that athlete a wuss compared to athletes in other sports.

[Andrew]

I also agree with EG. Because of the nature of the game of basketball, it may be wiser to wait a little longer before returning to action after sustaining an injury. Consider how easy it is to roll an ankle upon landing on someone's foot after a shot attempt. With all the leaping that is a part of the game, it isn't wise to rush back after a badly sprained ankle.

There's also a fine line between being tough and being stupid. In my observation basketball players seem to enjoy longer careers than professional athletes in other ball sports. In my opinion, there's no advantage to shaving 5 years of your career for the sake of looking tough and playing through serious injury.

[Matt]

in bball players also have to do a lot of sharp turns and athletic requirements are high....these have affects on knees, ankles and basically joints in general

basically, bball is the most uptempo game

[Colin]

Also basketball requires a lot more precision than other spots, except for a quarterback, wide receiver and maybe a forward in the NHL no sport needs as much precision. Linemen only have to push, if they're finger's a sore they might not be as good, but they can still do a great job, basketball however your finger is messed up you can't shoot, pass, dribble, rebound, block. Basically you can set screens and play defence, but no steals. A qb was to throw, a wideout has to catch.
Plus with football you can play through more stuff since you have longer to recuoperate (sp?, whatever means heal) since you play for 21 weeks of the year plus playoffs (first 4 is only preseason so you don't play the whole time.) Playoffs are at the longest 5 weeks (if there's a rest week between teh conference and super bowl) then there's the pro bowl which has rules to prevent injury. And hockey is much more of a sport that you can be much more injured and still be relattively effective. Since some people are just there to hit and fight. And again, basketball players are constantly going and running up and down on hardwood (as opposed to being on grass or skating) putting lots of stress on your joints.

[#12]

Darts is more dangerous, what if you accidently hit someone while you are shooting?

[Colin]

Speaking of darts, anybody see the (it was either Jackass, or from Steve-O's 'Don't Try This At Home') part in one of those wher Steve-O puts a piece of cork directly over his crack and has people throw darts at the exposed cheeks. He then tries to cauterize (sp?) the wounds with a jet lighter. bigger

[.]

Darts is more dangerous, what if you accidently hit someone while you are shooting?

I actually know someone who got hit in his eye by his little brother

[Null17]

Darts is more dangerous, what if you accidently hit someone while you are shooting?

I actually know someone who got hit in his eye by his little brother

ouch! what happened to the dart? is it ok?

seriously though, is the eye ok? or did he go blind?