Stifle Tower
Punch Bowl Re-Filler
I've had my lower back act up every once in a while. Sometimes it takes a couple months to get right again. It's probably what he going through. It will go away at some point. I guess we have to hope it doesn't happen too often. I found rest and physical therapy to work pretty good. Screw surgery. That's not what we want for him I don't think. Seems like that's what sent Dwight Howard' career down the drain. It didn't really work out for him. He hasn't been the same since.
I think it's something where they might need to go the San Antonio route and give him ample rest. Ya, he's young, but it's a new era. People think differently. Try preserving him before it becomes a real issue. I'd be doing it with all my players. The NBA schedule is just too hard on the body. It needs to be changed.
NBA has had 80 or more games (not counting strike-shortened seasons) since the 60's. It's just fine. The league is less physical than it ever has been. What needs to happen is teams have to pony up money to get better subs. If Utah is worried about Derrick, reduce his minutes to 30/per and have a decent backup at the 4 (and 5). They haven't tried to do that until this season. He's played way too many minutes at the 5.
The reason players are grousing about the schedules is that stars want to play 40 mins, and have nights off in between, Better stats = more money. More minutes = less time for backups who would then be paid considerably less.