WEST LOOKS FOR JANUARY RETURN

Delonte West hopes for January return
Putting his mind at wrist

By Mark Murphy

As a rookie, Delonte West broke his right thumb and missed all of November.
He got into the habit of actually talking to the thumb, hoping that positive vibes would influence the healing process.
So he’s not patient by nature.


But asked about that quality now, and how it applies to his recovery from surgery to repair a fractured right wrist, the Celtics [team stats] guard shakes his head.

“No, it’s not hard to be patient,” he said this week. “The team’s doing well. Of course, I want to be out there helping, but I’ve been patient this long, so just wait it out.

“One thing is that time doesn’t stop for nobody — it keeps ticking.”

But West’s words belie his hopes.

The cast will be removed from his wrist Dec. 30, and West has set an ambitious target for a return.

He hopes to be back on the floor between mid- and late-January.

Considering the original projection had him making a comeback shortly before the playoffs, January marks quite a shift.

It’s not hard to be patient, but...

“It’s possible I might not be patient right now,” West said. “Only time will tell. If I get these X-rays and the MRI and see how the bone growth has gone, and how everything had bonded together, or whatever it is that happens, then we’ll see.”

What contributes to the urgency is the current state of the roster.

Though the Celtics carry a 13-game winning streak into tomorrow night’s game against Philadelphia, they will be without guards Rajon Rondo [stats] and West. Shaquille O’Neal is questionable and Jermaine O’Neal, who has missed 17 games because of a sore left knee, actually may be available.

But these recurrent holes in the lineup are difficult for an injured player to passively watch.

“You would like to get guys back as much as possible to get the starters some relief,” West said. “Unfortunately the starters are the ones playing most of the minutes. If we can get Paul (Pierce), Ray (Allen), (Kevin Garnett) and Rondo some time just to give their legs rest — even six minutes a game more — they’ll definitely benefit going into the stretch run.

“Winning right now is nice, but we want to be winning heading into June,” he said. “I get this off the 30th (of December), so I can think about January. A bone takes 4-6 weeks to heal, and I’ve already put three weeks in. I’ll get tests on the 30th, and then I can do some rehabilitation.”

But only so much is under his control, like the small box-shaped bone stimulator that West has wired to his arm. He uses it more than most people use their iPods.

“Ten hours a day the minimum,” West said. “I sleep with it on, wake up, charge it up and put it back on.”


Some injured athletes disappear into the trainer’s room as if it was a black hole. Not West.

His inactive status aside, there’s still plenty he can draw from each practice.

“It’s here,” he said of how he keeps his head in the game. “Basketball is what I do. I’m consumed with it. Every day is basketball, one day or another. I’m there at every practice, I’m doing my bone stimulation, I’m watching all the games. When I’m on the bench I’m listening to the coaches, listening when they talk amongst each other, trying to see what Doc is looking at and looking for. I’m still in the game.”

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Although I wouldn't want to see him rush it and risk another injury, it would be great to have Delonte back ahead of schedule.

Agreed...my theory is that these guys are having so much fun out on the court that no one wants to miss it, but the staff seem to be pretty level headed and if anything they are a tad conservative...because, for one thing, it seems like they can be, and keep on winning. Here's to everyone coming back when they are ready...