SupremeCommander wrote:

BasketballJones wrote:

Rookie wrote:

BasketballJones wrote:

jimimou wrote:

BasketballJones wrote:I sense the makings of a real feel-good movie plot here. An athlete is injured and forced into early retirement. No one believes he will ever play again. One old man still believes. This old man was like a father figure to the protagonist and convinces him to give it one more try. Anyway, to make a long story short, the athlete returns to much skepticism from the blobmen. But he wins them over in his first game He's all over the court: making baskets, dunking & blocking shots. He goes on to lead his team on a 63 game win streak, after which they sweep through the playoffs and the finals with ease. Our hero and the old man are vindicated, proving that you don't really need cartilage in your knees to play basketball.

THE END

but what happens to the blobmen in your story? cant just leave the plot unsettled like that can you?

He won the blobmen over in the first game with his awe-inspiring performance. That's pretty easy to do. (See "Gallo: The Movie")

But who gets to play the blobman in the movie?

Ernest Borgnine

I was thinking Ethan Suplee

Dom Deluise will be crushed

Knixkik wrote:How was his man to man defense back in the day? Is it possible that he could replace Jeffries as the versatile wing off the bench who is almost as good defensively and much better offensively? I'm a big fan of these lengthy, high IQ, shooting and ball handling types and i would love to have a whole team of them. That is why i always wanted to see Jeffries succeed and i was intrigued by him despite his awful offense. But players like Jeffries, Bender, and of course Gallo are definitely handy to have being in the 6-10 to 7-0 range with many different skills.

Yeah i'm a fan of bigs that can cover a lot of other positions. I hate big plodding guys that can't do anything other than be big. Length and speed kills. The rotation MDA has been using gives us a lot of size and length for the entire game. Since our guys play the passing lanes so well, it makes it tough on teams. I want the team to always have those elements and it seems like DW and MDA are also looking for the same thing in any future players we add.

GodSaveTheKnicks wrote:

BasketballJones wrote:I sense the makings of a real feel-good movie plot here. An athlete is injured and forced into early retirement. No one believes he will ever play again. One old man still believes. This old man was like a father figure to the protagonist and convinces him to give it one more try. Anyway, to make a long story short, the athlete returns to much skepticism from the blobmen. But he wins them over in his first game He's all over the court: making baskets, dunking & blocking shots. He goes on to lead his team on a 63 game win streak, after which they sweep through the playoffs and the finals with ease. Our hero and the old man are vindicated, proving that you don't really need cartilage in your knees to play basketball.

THE END

Isn't DaJuan Blair proving you don't even need ACLs in either knee to play in the NBA?

Tons of ball players who have had their ACL replaced do OK. Pro basketball, football, volleyball no worries.

It's when the cartilage in the knee deteriorates that problems start to occur.

At the young age of 25, Indiana Pacers forward Jonathan Bender has decided to retire from NBA due to chronic knee problems. Bender has suffered knee problems since before entering the NBA out of high school in 1999 (he selected 5th overall in the 1999 NBA Draft). It is thought that his knee problems stem a growth spurt while he was a teenager, as it moved his knee out of alignment and also caused slippage of the hamstring. The problem gradually worsened over his 7-year NBA career, during which time he played in only 271 regular season and playoff games.

In Jan. 2006 Bender said this: He will undergo surgery in March and likely decide on his future afterward. "There's a lot of wear and tear," Bender said. "There's a big difference between the MRIs from last season and this season. I have no cartilage in my left knee, and the right knee is headed in that direction. It's like they've been shaved down."

Nov. 2004: He says the problems derive from a growth spurt he had in high school.

``It's just a lot of things that happened in the past when I was younger that is creeping back up on me,'' Bender said. ``I had a growing spurt from 6-2 to 6-8 in a summer. That left some deep scar tissue. My mechanics are all twisted up.''

Last season, Bender missed the first 39 games after having knee surgery, then missed seven more with ``postoperative soreness.'' He also missed time with a shoulder sprain and played in just 21 games.

When he was on the floor, however, Bender showed flashes of the considerable ability and explosiveness that made him a lottery pick out of high school in 1999.

He scored 37 points in two playoff games against Boston, a performance so encouraging the Pacers didn't hesitate to trade sixth man Al Harrington to Atlanta to free up more playing time for Bender.

But the scar tissue in his leg has prevented him from taking the next step. Bender said he won't need surgery, just time to let it heal.

``When I get out there and start running, it may feel good for a day and then the next day it just breaks down on me,'' he said, shaking his head. ``I went a whole summer feeling really good. I come in and compete for a minute, then get out there in a game and it feels terrible.''

http://www.nypost.com/p/blogs/knicksblog/bender_impresses_in_practice_could_ZlLw4lMNH3z0Lzhv60kAVO

David Lee was impressed with the shape the newest Knick, Jonathan Bender, is in after not playing an NBA game in four years.

“He’s doing great,” Lee said after practice today. “I told him today that he’s in a lot better shape than I would be if I took a couple years off ... I’d be 400 pounds.

“He looks like he’s in great shape, looks like he’s moving well out there, and he’s just got to find his rhythm.”

Bender did look pretty good on the court this afternoon in his second practice with the Knicks, moving well around the court and hitting some jumpers. Shooting has always been Bender’s strength, and the 7-footer has the size and athleticism to potentially do well in Mike D’Antoni’s offensive system, in which the coach said Bender would be a wing.

“He can guard a lot of people,” D’Antoni said. “He’s one of those guys that fits well with what we’re trying to do ... hits three’s, runs the floor, and has a lot of talent, so we’re excited about the possibilities.”

As D’Antoni watched the 7-footer hit several jump shots during an individual drill at the end of practice, he wouldn’t rule out the possibility that Bender could dress for tomorrow’s game.

“I don’t know ... we’ll see,” D’Antoni said. “He could (dress), because I wouldn’t mind, not knowing how the game is going to go, to get him time as soon as I can, in maybe a non-stressful time.”

As for the big man himself, he felt pretty good after working out on back-to-back days as a pro for the first time in years.

“I feel good,” Bender said. “Before the first practice I worked out at the YMCA over in White Plains that night, and then I came in here and practiced yesterday. (That) was pretty good speed, coach keeps us moving, and then got a good workout in last night, and then came in today and feel good.”

My gut feeling is that this signing wasn’t just a favor to Bender, and the Knicks will keep him beyond the deadline for all season-long contracts to be official early next month. Walsh and D’Antoni have been very vocal about their excitement about signing Bender, when all they could have had to say is, “We’ll see what happens.”

If he can stay on the court, Bender has the ability to play on the Knicks — particularly because of his ability to shoot the ball, which he showed off in the drills today. And, as Walsh told reporters, Bender clearly has more upside than the vast majority of players who are out there looking for jobs at this point. In the end, the move is a no-risk, high-reward one that could be a neat story if he ends up becoming part of the rotation, or just as a spot-duty fill-in.

fishmike wrote:there is no downside to giving 7 foot wing players a ten day contract

Hahn said he got a non-guaranteed deal- veterans minimum- for the rest of the year.

Hopefully this story has a nice ending to it.

How ironic will it be if Bender gets minutes after all his years of inactivity while Curry continues to sit?