Brotherston @ HoopsWorld.com: Fields is not a bust afterall

[Th0m79]

No question he's been extremely disappointing up until now. I think he was relieved to hear that it was something physiological that he could blame his shooting woes on, so that he could tell the media "You see, I don't suck, it's the nerve in my arm". So, he's safe for now, but all he's really done is delay the debate a little on whether BryCo made a big mistake signing him for the money that he did.

[Puffer]

Obviously thus far he's has been terrible, but the injury seems like a legitimate reason for the suckage. I'm going to hold off labeling him a complete bust until we see him at full strength.

I thought in the pre-season and the early games he was playing good positional basketball. He was making cuts, drawing his man away form the ball (opening up the inside for other team members) and getting himself open. He made some pretty passes, the kind that showed good court vision. If the operation fixes things so that he can hold a basketball again, I expect him to be an asset.

[alexaussie]

Obviously thus far he's has been terrible, but the injury seems like a legitimate reason for the suckage. I'm going to hold off labeling him a complete bust until we see him at full strength.

[ceez]

Last I checked basketball players need and use their hands.

So yeah, I'd say the surgery he just had on it is a legit reason for the suckage.

[planetmars]

The only expectation I had from Fields is that he turns out to be better than Kapono. And from the first few games he played in he surprisingly played worse (which is a miracle). Since there is an actual issue that needs to be corrected the only thing I can do is continue to wait and see and assume the games he played in were just write offs.

[KHD]

I'm not a medical doctor, but I know how to google. lol.

Seems like a legitimate operation. Hopefully Landry will return post All-Star game. Until then, we'll have to suck it up and give the guy some slack.

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Well I'd certainly hope so.

[RapthoseLeafs]

We have to cut some slack to Fields

I'm not a medical doctor, but I know how to google. lol.

http://orthoinfo.aaos.org/topic.cfm?topic=a00069

Weakening of the grip and difficulty with finger coordination

Ulnar nerve anterior transposition. More commonly, the nerve is moved from its place behind the medial epicondyle to a new place in front of it. This is called an anterior transposition of the ulnar nerve. The nerve can be moved to lie under the skin and fat but on top of the muscle (subcutaneous transposition), within the muscle (intermuscular transposition) or under the muscle (submuscular transposition).

Surgical Outcome

The results of surgery are generally good. Each method of surgery has a similar success rate for routine cases of nerve compression. If the nerve is very badly compressed or if there is muscle wasting, the nerve may not be able to return to normal and some symptoms may remain even after the surgery. Nerves recover slowly, and it may take a long time to know how well the nerve will do after surgery.

Seems like a legitimate operation. Hopefully Landry will return post All-Star game. Until then, we'll have to suck it up and give the guy some slack.

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[theycallmeZZ]

Agreed.

And lucky for me, he's still perfectly Mediocre in NBA 2k13.

In 2k13 I always start Lowry, Ross, Fields, Kleiza, and Bargnani...

They can all shoot 3s

If only it was like that in real life because I feel guilty whenever I hit a 3 with Fields

[ReubenJRD]

Agreed.

And lucky for me, he's still perfectly Mediocre in NBA 2k13.

I think what's underrated of Fields, is his ability to feed an open man. He always has his head up whenever he makes some sort of move.

[Joey]

Other than his shot, I always liked Landry. Good rebounder, good defender, great off-ball player. He'll be key when he comes back.

Agreed.

And lucky for me, he's still perfectly Mediocre in NBA 2k13.

[ReubenJRD]

Other than his shot, I always liked Landry. Good rebounder, good defender, great off-ball player. He'll be key when he comes back.

[coastal]

Fields is a bust so far. No question.

Will he still be after the surgery? I have no idea how this will impact him.

Did he have this all last season to? If not then I'm not convinced much changes (except I don't see it as conceivable that he could stay as absolutely terrible as he has been). Ofcourse if he was injured last season I question if this was disclosed or not, or if this organization did its due diligence. Then again, he probably could have been blind and in a wheel chair and it wouldn't have stopped BC from pursuing Nash.

This is typically more of a chronic, slowly-developing, condition. It's not an "injury" per se, like a muscular or ligamentous strain. It would not have shown up on any imaging he had prior to being signed, and probably not on the physical exam either as nobody would have been looking for it. The raps staff are not at fault for not knowing about it.

Hopefully Fields does well after his operation - if he had significant compression, it could have had a profound impact on his hands as most of the small muscles in the hand are innervated by the ulnar nerve. If he had a mild compression on the nerve-conduction studies, we'll have to see as lots of people with no symptoms have slowing of the ulnar nerve at the elbow. I guess we'll see.

[Mediumcore]

I feel like Landry Fields, through no fault of his own, became a bust the day he signed the offer sheet with Toronto because he doesn't have the talent to EVER live up to his pay. I'm sure he's a nice guy and all but healthy or not that contract will loom large over his entire tenure as a Toronto Raptor.

+1

[ebrian]

I feel like Landry Fields, through no fault of his own, became a bust the day he signed the offer sheet with Toronto because he doesn't have the talent to EVER live up to his pay. I'm sure he's a nice guy and all but healthy or not that contract will loom large over his entire tenure as a Toronto Raptor.

[charlz]

Most of the article is a transcribe of his interview yesterday which was posted in another thread.

Is this injury an excuse?

Yes with the putrid start and his salary v production there was a tsunami of snickering, criticism, and down right second guessing coming the way of BC DC ES this is a brilliant way of buying time.