suns injury report

suns injury report

The Impact of Injuries on the Phoenix Suns

1. Introduction

In present modern teams must have a solid foundation to support its growth, the Phoenix Suns’ foundation is weak due to the torrent of injuries suffered in the past two seasons. This paper will discuss the club’s recent injury predicament, as well as key player management and injury trends for the period of these injuries from 2004-2015. This paper will then briefly discuss the effect of these injuries to specific players career and the effect to the overall NBA performance. Finally the paper will suggest potential change to better manage player injuries. The Phoenix Suns are an NBA club that belonged to the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. From 2004-2006 this club showed great potential almost making the NBA finals in 2005 defeated by perennial NBA finalists The San Antonio Spurs. It was from this point that the Suns club was struck with a multitude of key player injuries commencing a decline in overall club success. This paper will primarily focus on player injuries. The duration of this injury plagued period was from 2007-08 to present and the effects are sure to surprise many. As demonstrated by figure one, the Suns have progressively worsened in win percentage this culminating in the recent 2012-13 season where the club posted a 25% win rate, the lowest in franchise history. This is a staggering drop in success for a franchise that six seasons prior had a win rate as high as 70%. Due to a variable dependence on player talent, increased losing has led to doubts in the Phoenix fan base.

2. Analysis of the Suns’ Injury Report

Time missed due to injury is a reliable and accurate measure of injury severity. To assess this, there needs to be a thorough knowledge of the Suns lineup for each game and the reasons why players were in or out of the lineup. This information was obtained through an internal injury tracking database and was used to break down the injury impact by using games lost and player utilization. Though many injuries were reported on Suns.com, the team played the majority of games with very little knowledge from the fans as to which players were injured and why, due to variable media exposure of injuries and rehabilitation, making the injury impact difficult to assess by the general public and fans.

The study conducted by Aaron Nelson, Head Athletic Trainer of the Phoenix Suns, sheds some light upon the injury situation of the Suns during the 2010-11 season by evaluating the number and types of injuries, the frequency of games missed due to injury, player utilization, and the subsequent impact on wins and losses. Nelson has been with the Suns since the 2005-06 NBA season and has previously been awarded the Michael H. Goldberg Athletic Trainer of the Year award in 2010 by the NBA.

Injuries can massively affect a team’s success, and all clubs have a responsibility to their fans and the public to report all injuries accurately to avoid any speculation or doubt about the severity of the injury on a certain player. This is a requirement implemented by all sporting leagues. The NBA has their rules on injuries outlined in Article XVII, Section 12 of the 2005 NBA Collective Bargaining Agreement. This states that teams are required to report accurate injury information concerning the nature, severity, and degree of the injury in question. This rule is designed to promote truthful and complete information on player injuries that would impact a player’s performance and availability in a game.

3. Consequences and Challenges Faced by the Team

When the Phoenix Suns players were sustaining long-term muscle and knee injuries, the team felt like they were regressing. They were not able to play with certain players as often as they wanted and they did not win at as high of a rate as the years before. With players getting injured, it gave the younger players such as Amare Stoudemire a chance to excel and become a better player. However, even though the Suns were progressing, it was head to head that the team would excel more if they had all players healthy. This was the case with Q Richardson who spent 6 weeks rehabilitating his knee and did not feel he was his normal self till the next season. This was also a challenge for the athletes to season themselves knowing that injuries disrupted their preparation whether it came from the off-season or during the playoffs. The Suns were prime candidates for late season or playoff injuries and muscle strains. This was a result of the progression to the next level, but these injuries hindered the success of the team. It was tough for players to get back to injury status as well, taking their time in fear of reinjuring, as said by STAT, “It took a while for some of us to get back to the same status we were at before, and it really affected the rest of the team.” The Suns missed out on numerous chances of making a run for a championship in the mid-2000s, and this was a result of injuries. Injuries were also a big factor for the Suns as to how their reputation was perceived by other teams and the fans. The Suns were known for a fast-paced style of play and ability to score, but not so much for their defensive play. That all changed when D’Antoni took over with his offensive approach and implementing his 7-second offense. With a lot of weapons on offense and a scarce few on defense, the Suns looked to outscore teams and maintain a healthy status doing so. However, with run and gun came more risk for injury and the athletic plays made by players caused more problems than good. Back in 2005, the Suns were hit with a season-ending injury to Amare Stoudemire after he got surgery to an irritating knee over the previous season. This prevented Amare from returning to the playing status he had in his previous years and it was a big blow to the team. The following year in the 2006 season, STAT was sidelined to another knee surgery and this caused him to miss the first 75 games of the season. This was a devastating injury which prevented Stoudemire from showing the possibility of his best season yet up to that point.

4. Strategies to Minimize the Impact of Injuries

Recovery oriented climates have been found to reduce the impact of injuries. These often involve being part of a team with a clear identity, having good coaching and effective leadership, and a supportive atmosphere. Such a climate is often defended when it is consistently related to competitive success. Clearly, less successful teams may struggle to create a recovery oriented climate. For example, at college sport level, less successful teams may struggle due to lack of funding and resources, and pressure for athletes to return to training and competition prematurely due to the importance of their participation for their team’s chances of winning. However, a competitive climate can still be recovery oriented if athletes are supported in their injury rehabilitation, and emphasis is on performance enhancement and personal development relative to their own potential, rather than being entirely results oriented. High stress and anxiety resulting from a need to win/retain employment has been shown to increase injury occurrence and undermine the rehabilitation process. Therefore, development of sporting organizational cultures with reduced stress on winning at all costs, and improved work and social conditions for athletes is a strategy to minimize the impact of injuries. This often occurs with enlightened leadership taking a broader perspective on sport, caring for the welfare of athletes and promoting positive attitudes and ethical behavior. Once again, this is more easily achieved by successful teams with job security, and the need for success can conflict with this approach. However, it is not exclusive and leaders in sport do have a choice in the type of climate they create.

5. Conclusion

The Phoenix Suns’ success is ultimately constructed by the working relationships that each player has with one another. The brighter side of the 2005-2006 season was the amount of time that each player had to spend with others. Despite so many injuries occurring, preventing players from actually playing in games, it gave them the chance to sit on the bench, travel on road trips, and even go through small rehabilitative processes together. This is where team bonding and player relationships are built. The Suns had to deal with a numerous amount of adversity, and it started in the playoffs of the 2004-2005 season when Joe Johnson broke his face in a game against the Dallas Mavericks. This ultimately had a large impact on the Suns losing in the Western Conference Finals to the San Antonio Spurs. But it was an injury that was not suffered during the 2005-2006 campaign, so it is not in the scope of this research. During the 2005-2006 season, the Suns had to deal with 3 major injuries that plagued them for a majority or in Marion’s case, the entire season. The first injury occurred in the early parts of the season to the perennial All-Star Amare Stoudemire. He suffered a high ankle sprain that caused him to miss the first 66 games of the Suns’ season. This was a crucial blow to a Suns team that was coming off a successful 2004-2005 season. The loss of Amare was a loss of post presence and scoring, something the Suns had difficulties replacing from a player standpoint. This injury was significant because it was an injury that occurred from the season prior. High ankle sprains are tricky and at times can cause discomfort for months even after the rehabilitation process has been completed. Coming off a season where he averaged 26 points per game and being energetic and vital to the team’s success, the Suns were without one of the NBA’s bright young stars for the entire 2005-2006 season.