How Bad is Baron's Finger?

by Steve Perrin on Oct 20, 2008 9:24 AM PDT in News

How bad is the injury to Baron Davis' left ring finger? That's what the Clippers and Baron hope to find out from a hand specialist today. J.A. Adande of ESPN.com and Marc Spears of the Boston Globe are both reporting that Baron could require surgery, which would have him out 4-6 weeks, according to an NBA source. It's worth noting that the LA beat reporters did not mention the possibility of surgery, although Marcus Camby did seem ominous when he told Ramona Shelburne that he thought he'd be back before Baron.

Here's what we know - an X-ray on Friday revealed that the finger wasn't broken. However, an MRI done the same day was 'inconclusive'. And obviously it was sore enough that Baron and the Clippers decided he would not play in either game this weekend. The MRI would be looking for damage to softer tissues like ligaments and tendons in the finger. I'm guessing that they'll decide to do another MRI today to try to see something more 'conclusive'. At the very least, he's got a strained ligament. But if it's a ruptured tendon, then it won't heal by itself - he'll have to have the surgery.

This is bad news, but we knew that he was seeing a specialist today, so we knew that there was some concern. It's likely that the Clippers are just being very cautious with their prized acquisition and that he'll be OK. But it's time to adjust our anxiety level from "Gee, I hope that Baron gets used to playing with his new teammates in the pre-season" to "Gee, I hope he's ready by opening night." Bear in mind that the Clippers opening schedule is completely brutal. If Baron Davis misses the first few weeks of the season, it will be a disaster, no matter how excited you are about Mike Taylor.

By the way, it looks like Camby will miss the entire pre-season, as his sore heel continues to bother him. So both of the Clippers' major off-season additions are hurting, and are likely to play a total of one pre-season game between them. And there is of course no guarantee that they'll be ready for the opener. Add in the fact that they each have a history of injury troubles, and it's all very foreboding.

For now, keep an eye on the Pest's blog and The Fabulous Forum to get the results of Baron's trip to the doctor and keep your fingers crossed.

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Clipper Time

I just got through posting this on my Clipper Time post. I agree with you on the foreboding part.

It is crucial that we win a good amount of the first six games in order to pick up steam. Our team consists of a lot of strong characters and when things start going south, troublemaking tendencies begin.

The feel-good Kool-Aide is necessary because people are happy when winning.

Already our team has been hampered with injuries and the season hasn’t begun yet. Yikes

by Newton Pham on Oct 20, 2008 9:37 AM PDT reply actions

I agree

It’s true of most team’s, but it would seem especially true of this group of guys mostly playing together for the first time. Momentum will be a huge factor – if things are going well, everyone will be happy and it will be a positive feedback loop. And if they start losing, it could get ugly.

In this world, you must be oh so smart or oh so pleasant. Well, for years I was smart. I recommend pleasant. - Elwood P. Dowd

by Steve Perrin on Oct 20, 2008 10:06 AM PDT up reply actions

It Aint Easy

I’m definitely concerned about the first few games of the season. Even if we finish below .500 after the rough start, it’s important for us to show that we’re competitive. Without Baron in there, that will be a tall order, maybe we’ll just be outclassed. Though it certainly helps that Deron Williams will be out for our first two meetings, so at least that’s Something…

Hopefully he can just man up somehow and get out there to start the season. If he needs surgery so be it, but we have opening night in about a week.

by ghost_ride on Oct 20, 2008 11:02 AM PDT reply actions

Frustrated

As I posted Fri afternoon, I was really worried about this as soon as the news came out. And today it sounds even worse than I thought.

Camby’s comments certainly are ominous…though it’s strange that Thornton is so positive. Either he’s in denial or he’s totally out of the loop.

I hope we don’t catch crap from Laker fans about Kobe playing with his finger.

by madglove on Oct 20, 2008 11:02 AM PDT reply actions

posted this on "Better News" fanpost as well

It’s all good in Clipperland, BD just pulled a Kobe and won’t need surgery after all….now all at once Clipperfan….breathe in, breathe out

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
BARON DAVIS INJURY UPDATE

Los Angeles Clippers point guard Baron Davis underwent an examination today by Dr. Roy Meals, a hand specialist with the UCLA Medical Group. The examination revealed that Davis had sustained a partial tear of the ulnar collateral ligament in his left ring finger. The injury does not require surgery and is expected to heal on its own. Davis will wear a splint and is expected to resume all basketball activities in one week.

Davis was originally diagnosed with a sprained left ring finger after falling on his hand during practice at the Los Angeles Clippers Training Center on Friday, October 17th. X-rays taken after the injury occurred were negative and a subsequent MRI revealed results that were inconclusive, leading to today’s follow up examination.

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by GeeEssDub on Oct 20, 2008 4:15 PM PDT reply actions