Bledsoe’s Injury Leaves Most Improved Player Rankings Wide Open

As the great Jerry Seinfeld once said, knowing George Costanza was like taking a walk through the jungle.

He didn’t know what he was going to find next, and he was real scared.

I feel the same way about this NBA season. All of the injuries – Derrick Rose, Russell Westbrook, Chris Paul, Jrue Holiday, Brook Lopez, and now Most Improved Player favorite Eric Bledsoe – have basketball fans treading lightly, hoping not to get eaten by a tarantula or something with five eyes.

You know, figuratively.

The season has become a war of attrition, where you’re rooting for your favorite player’s joints to hold his knee in place just as fervently as you’re rooting for him to knock down that contested 20-footer.

Team doctors are becoming MVP candidates (I think Chris Sheridan has got Harlan Selesnick at No. 5). The phrase “if they stay healthy” has become a required qualifier at the end of sentences. And I’m nervously flipping through every game, praying I don’t dislocate my clicking finger. (That would be a big loss for all of us.)

It’s like M*A*S*H*: NBA Edition.

As far as these rankings are concerned, the biggest loss was the injury to Bledsoe, the Suns point guard who tore the meniscus in his knee.

Bledsoe’s injury is devastating for the Suns, who had gotten off to a stunning 19-11 start and had risen as high as fourth in the juggernaut Western Conference. Phoenix is 2-5 without him, and although Goran Dragic has played well in his absence, the Suns have dropped three straight by a combined nine points, all to teams with losing records.

But more importantly, it was devastating for me because Bledsoe was the clear-cut choice for Most Improved Player. His absence completely opens up the rankings, and quite frankly makes my job much harder. Now I actually have to work! 

Thanks a lot, stupid meniscus.

The Arizona Republic reported Monday that Bledsoe had a piece of that meniscus removed, which is good news in the sense that he could be back in four to six weeks but also bad news because it means that his long-term health could be affected.

Former Blazers guard Brandon Roy, who was forced to retire after chronic and debilitating knee problems, had part of his meniscus removed when he was young. Dwyane Wade had the same surgery in 2002 and has had plenty of knee issues in recent years.

Hopefully, the same won’t happen to Bledsoe, who was playing at an All-Star level and looked like he was emerging as one of the league’s premier point guards.

As far as the rankings are concerned, there are still plenty of deserving candidates. But like the race for the Republican presidential nomination after Chris Christie shut down the George Washington Bridge, things have gotten interesting.

I guess we should just get on to the ra–ohhhh! My clicking finger!!!!! Man down!!! Man down!!!

It stings, but I’ve got to play through it.

On……… to…the………………ran…………kings.