Big Al… Little Heart?
By John Karalis
RedsArmy.com Columnist
On his best nights, Al Jefferson spins, ducks and slides his way to the hoop with a deftness that can only come from perfectly placed strands of DNA. It’s an effortless dance of drop-steps, pivots and baby hooks that seems so natural, you’d think he up-faked and spun his way out of the womb.
But in recent weeks, Al has hopped
gingerly on his tender right ankle and he trudged his way up and down the
floor. He has been a step late on
defense, a beat slow on offense, and just slow in between. The difference has been so notable, that both
Al and
I was there when Al went down. I honestly thought he was done for the season… or maybe even worse. Judging by his reaction, I thought I was going to learn new things about the human body after the game when team doctors explained just what was torn and where. I had no idea that what I’d actually be learning about was the human mind.
Playing in pain is a rite of passage in basketball. Anyone who has played has faced the decision at some point: Do I come back and deal with the pain, or do I sit some more and hope it gets a little stronger? That decision is made a little tougher when you’re are (a) the anointed “future” of a major franchise, (b) your team is locked in a late season battle for the last playoff spot, and (c) someone else is playing your position… and playing it pretty well. Al Jefferson, a guy who was getting ready for his senior prom a couple of years ago, suddenly had to make a very big-boy decision. He decided to play.
Before the injury, few people expressed any doubts about Al. We were willing to let him develop into whatever it was that he became. After the injury, people have started asking questions. The worst: Is the ankle really that bad, or is it his heart that we have to worry about?
Is there a worse question to be asked of a basketball player?
Suddenly, Al Jefferson has gone from a potential Jermaine O’Neal to a potential Eddy Curry in the eyes of some fans. Some wonder if every little boo-boo will require Kedrick Brown-like stays in the trainer’s room. Even the most even-keeled C’s fans are starting to look at Al with that squinty-eyed, tilted-head expression that asks the internal question “Is that really what this guy is about?”
I have no doubt that most of us in
Red’s Army of C’s fans are willing to wait to have that question answered while
Al is still in a C’s uniform. But the
issue here is that many of us suddenly don’t want to wait. Suddenly, there is a bit of fear that has
crept into the discussion. It’s enough
for some of us to think it’s time to ship Al out of