Pops Mensah-Bonsu and GB Coach Finch talk injuries ahead of the Olympics
With the tip-off to the Summer Olympics not far off, Team GB fans can be forgiven for wincing every time they see Pops Mensah-Bonsu banging bodies inside or Luol Deng limping away following a drive to the bucket (something he did in the first Q on Sunday – he went on to play 28 minutes). After all, the Olympic injury list is mounting up quickly with Team USA’s Blake Griffin (ankle) becoming the latest victim only last week.
The LA Clipper will be joining the likes of the USA’s Dwight Howard (back), Dwyane Wade (knee), France’s Joakim Noah (back), Spain’s Ricky Rubio (knee) and Russia’s Sergei Bykov in watching the Olympics from his living room.
Team GB Head Coach, Chris Finch, reveals that he is relying on a combination of factors (one of them being luck) to keep his guys from joining that unwanted list and ending up on the treatment table:
“We have an absolutely top rate medical staff who prepare our players well,” said Finch. “I think we do a pretty good job of reading them (the players), their bodies, their moods. “I mean, injuries you can’t account for – it’s a part of the game. Knock on wood, we’ll stay healthy down the stretch here.”
GB star, Pops Mensah-Bonsu, wrapped up his domestic season with Besiktas by winning his third title of the year, a win that came in mid-June. That belated, albeit successful, end to his campaign means that he hasn’t been able to enjoy the recovery period he normally would at the conclusion of a campaign.
“Some of the earlier games I was still kind of fatigued from the long season that I had…” said the 6’9 London-born forward, before continuing “…but the coaches have done a good job of limiting my minutes and just, controlling the game a little bit. “Obviously, every time I step on the floor I’m going to play as hard as I can but I think that my body is getting better and I’m getting stronger and stronger as we go along. I’m starting to play a little more minutes and recover a little faster and get into that ‘mid-season mode’ that I wanted to come Olympic time.”
Team GB are heading to the tournament injury-free as of writing, with Luol Deng’s wrist not being an issue (he has maintained for some time that he wouldn’t play if there was a problem) and only the starting back-court suffering minor knocks.
“Mike (Lenzley) is a little banged up, Nate (Reinking)…” Coach said, before pointing out that he has players on his bench who he can call upon if his duo need rest. “We want to try and bring Andrew (Lawrence) along slowly, put him in positions to lead our team.”