Clips' Shaun Livingston dislocates knee cap

My god. Didn't he dislocate his other kneecap earlier in his career?

Anyways, I don't think I'm buying the "you can't be skinny and play in the nba" idea. This just in: T-Mac and AI are pretty good.

 

What, no patella tear?

Kid's quickness is gonna be gone. Didn't they have a shot at trading for Iverson if they gave him up?

 

Not with today's technology.
Just look at Amare.

 

Patella gone as well......

Team doc says it's most devastating knee injury he has ever seen.

MCL, PCL, ACL, meniscus, patella.

 

The Chicago Tribune ran a big closeup photo of Livingston's kneecap. It's going to give me nightmares.

Paging DocTalk, paging DocTalk: I'm curious if there is anything about Livingston's body type that makes him more susceptible to injury, and if it was likely Livingston had already stretched everything to almost the breaking point, with the landing being the culmination of extreme wear and tear. And, whether some players need college ball not so much to improve their game, but to build their bodies up for the wear and tear of the NBA. Going from dominating in high school to an 82-game season among the pros has got to be a daunting physical task.

 

The talent level aside -- is there any difference between high school and college ball (in terms of length of schedule)?

In Kentucky, both start around the same time. Prepsters are just starting tournament play. Most prep teams have played between 25 and 30 games, with the state tourney coming up, the winner and runner-up will both likely play about 40 games or more, which will be a similar amount to those NCAA teams who play on the first Monday in April.

And then after preps, you have AAU ball. God only knows how many games will be played in those tourneys. So, really, top prep players probably play more structured games than top college players.

 

I was thinking in terms of maturation of your body. If you're a 17-year-old fresh off a growth spurt, your body might not be strong enough yet to play night after night against real men, not other 17-year-olds. Obviously, not every kid who has jumped from high school has had these injury problems, but there might have been something about Livingston's body type (similar to Jonathan Bender, another preps-to-pros phenom KO'd by injury) that college might have helped.

On the other hand, bringing up AAU ball, it's also possible there are players, even those who go to college, whose bodies just get burned out at an early age, and that that is Livingston's problem. I know there has been a lot written about high schoolers who after years of concentrating on just one sports get KO'd by repetitive stress injuries you normally didn't see in a 15-year-old in the past.

 

Injuries like carpal tunnel?

 

Before I saw the clip seconds ago, I listened to the 710 AM radio call replay on my local ESPN affiliate. You can hear Livingston screaming in the background. It was horrific. And now seeing it.... I turned away. My stomach is rolling.

 

probably the most gruesome thing i've ever seen. i couldn't imagine lookin at something like that and having it be my own knee.