Could Dwyane Wade sit out the remainder of the season? Michael Wallace of ESPN has the story: “Dwyane Wade won’t rule out missing the rest of the regular season to recover from a right knee injury, but the Miami Heat star said Sunday he hopes to return before the playoffs. Wade has missed six of the Heat’s past eight games and is still dealing with soreness and swelling in the knee, which he has aggravated twice since initially injuring it a month ago. “The most important thing is to be healthy,” Wade said Sunday, addressing the media for the first time since he last played March 29. “So when I feel it, then I’ll get back on the court. Obviously, I want to play. But I have to make sure that I’m right. You have to get healthy.”
Metta World Peace is way, way ahead of his schedule from surgery, from Mark Medina of Daily News: “Lakers forward Metta World Peace walked down a Staples Center hallway in full stride and was bearing a wide smile. He insisted he can return when the Lakers host the New Orleans Hornets on Tuesday at Staples Center despite having surgery to treat a lateral meniscus tear on his left knee a little more than a week ago. “I’ve been ready to play,” World Peace told this newspaper following the Lakers’ 109-95 loss Sunday to the Clippers at Staples Center. “I could’ve played today.”… How did he progress so quickly? “I’m good,” said World Peace, who’s missed the last six games. “I’m not a (wimp).” It also helps World Peace reported no swelling in his knee. “I was walking a day after (surgery). I only used the crutches because I was lazy,” World Peace said. “I was ready to go.”
Tony Parker’s status will be day-to-day for the remainder of the season, from Jeff McDonald of Express-News: “Parker sat out Saturday’s victory over Atlanta with a sore neck, an injury dating to a March 29 game against the Los Angeles Clippers when DeAndre Jordan caught him with an inadvertent elbow. The Spurs’ leading scorer and assist man also is nursing soreness in his left ankle (sprained March 1), his left shin, both knees and the middle finger on his right hand, which he sprained against Denver on March 27. Ginobili, meanwhile, has missed five consecutive games with a right hamstring strain likely to keep him out the remainder of the regular season. None of Parker’s myriad injuries are considered serious, and Popovich plans to address his availability over the final five games of the regular season on a day-by-day basis.”
Danilo Gallinari wants to punch someone in the face for what happened to him, from Beyond the Buzzer: “Danilo Gallinari sat down with CBS4 in Denver to talk about his recent knee injury which resulted in a torn ACL and long upcoming recovery for the Denver Nuggets forward. Gallo says he can’t tolerate watching the replay, but recalls his ankle being stuck to the floor and his knee “just went somewhere else” on the play that ended his 2012-2013 season on April 4. After preliminary tests, Gallinari says he knew it was a serious injury because his left knee was “just dancing.” In good spirits, the Nuggets forward says he was more angry than upset and “still wants to punch somebody in the face”, and added “I don’t know who – but I want to punch somebody and make somebody suffer.” Gallinari hopes to be ready for next season and is right now targeting November in his mind to make a return which would give him 7 months of rehab – but then acknowledged it could take longer as he has never had experience with a serious injury.”
Jeff Van Gundy praised Mike D’Antoni for not lashing out about all the criticism he gets, from Eric Pincus of Los Angeles Times: “Van Gundy credits Coach Mike D’Antoni for guiding the Lakers through a challenging year. “He’s never looked to lash out and say, ‘Are you guys nuts? I was thrown into this situation and you’re going to blame me?”’ said Van Gundy. “He’s resisted that temptation because it is nuts when you think about it.” Instead, the Lakers have a chance to make the playoffs despite the injuries, coaching changes and chemistry issues. “They go about their business,” said Van Gundy. “They haven’t lashed out as they were earlier in the year, pointing fingers of blame. I think they’ve really conducted themselves very well and I think that, in a large part, has to do with then even-keel demeanor of Mike D’Antoni. “The easiest thing to do when a team struggles or a team doesn’t have the number of wins that their fans expect them to is to start pointing the fingers of blame at coaches,” he continued. “That’s easier to stomach than just to say, ‘We’re in a little bit more of a down period. We don’t have a real good team this year.’ I think that’s where the Lakers are.”
James Park is the senior blogger on Sheridan Hoops. You can find him on twitter.