On The Mend

[Tammo29@xxxxxxx]

You won't find this in the Globe or the Herald.
Apparently the health of the Celtics starting center isn't news.
I found this on the Celtics.com


On The Mend
By: Dan Nagler 

 Battie has spent much of his offseason with Celtics Trainer Ed Lacerte.    

The Celtics have a fighter. It takes adversity for a person's true colors to 
show, and a torn meniscus in the right knee served as Tony Battie's personal 
challenge. After battling through an injury-riddled season and now recovering 
from surgery, Battie's strong will for the game of basketball has never before 
shown so bright. 

"When I first started out it was a question mark in my mind every time I 
stepped out on the court with it," said Battie about his injured knee which caused 
problems throughout most of last season, "Once I got out there and my 
adrenaline started flowing the game just kind of took over I thought less about it." 

The problems began toward the conclusion of the 2001-02 season. Battie felt 
some soreness in his knee and was looked at by the training staff. The 
diagnosis was a minor shred of a meniscus, but surgery was not a reasonable option at 
that time because his injury was considered normal wear and tear for an 
athlete. Doctors, trainers, and Battie himself decided that time off and rehab 
during the summer of 2002 would be sufficient measures to heel the knee. 

The injury appeared to have improved over the summer. Then came training 
camp, a rigorous month of two a day practices and intense drills. Battie began to 
feel pain again and it intensified and became a legitimate concern in late 
December. At this point there began to be speculation on the possibility of 
mid-season surgery. 

"Surgery was something that I wanted to avoid totally because I didn't want 
to take the chance of missing the duration of the season. I'd rather play 
through the pain and stick it out to the end of the season like I did," said 
Battie. "They weren't going to look at my knee. They weren't going to get inside 
until the season was over." 

On December 31st Battie missed the first of eleven games that spanned the 
remainder of the season as a result of the bad knee. 

"It got to the point where it was a mental strain," he said, "I had to focus 
somehow, whether it be watching extra tape or standing around in the gym just 
spot shooting. I was saving all the running around and the soreness and the 
pain for the games. I was going to gut it out through the games." 

It is now one month since the surgery to repair the torn meniscus and Battie 
jogged on a treadmill for the first time. 

"The situation wasn't as bad as I expected," he said about the surgery, "I 
feel pretty good. The flexibility is there and the strengthening is coming 
pretty good. I like the prognosis right now and the rehab is going pretty well" 

Battie is currently in the midst of a tedious 10-week rehab program. On a 
normal day he can be seen riding a stationary bike, doing leg extensions to 
strengthen the quads in the lower knee, doing quad tightening exercises, working 
the leg press, balancing on one leg with weights in one hand to make the knee 
react, and receiving massages and shock therapy treatments. This list only 
covers a few of the activities that fill the four hours of treatment he receives on 
Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Tuesdays and Thursdays are not quite as 
long. 

"Four hours of work on the same knee, the same leg, is a lot. It's tiring 
after 45 minutes," noted Battie, who takes the weekends off from rehab, but still 
massages and ices the knee on his own, "I've got another six weeks that I'm 
going to dedicate solely to rehab. Everything is kind of pushed back because of 
the knee." 

While Battie is working hard at the Sports Authority Training Center at 
Healthpoint everyday, the rest of the NBA is on summer vacation. His supposed 
vacation is hardly that and his plans to take golf lessons this offseason have been 
postponed indefinitely, though you would never know it by talking to him. 
Battie clearly prioritizes basketball and the Celtics above all else. His 
dedication rings strong as he does not wine about his situation. He is focused and 
determined. 

"Hopefully mid to late July I can start handling the basketball. I hope to be 
full throttle by August, which gives me two months to get myself in top shape 
before training camp starts," noted Battie, "Hopefully it will heel up 100 
percent and get me through 82 games and more plus the playoffs next year." 

The prospect of a healthy Battie means a lot for the Celtics. Battie set 
career highs in points and rebounds this past season while playing injured. The 
possibilities for success are endless if he is injury free next season. 

"I think I played pretty well on a bad knee," said Battie, "Hopefully this 
year playing on a better knee I can be more helpful to the team. I want to boost 
up my scoring, boost up my rebounding, and just boost up every aspect of my 
game." 

Things are starting to look up for Battie with next season just around the 
corner. 

"I'm excited about getting back to 100 percent. Everyone know, the fans know, 
anyone who watches the Celtics know that I try to be one of those energetic 
players. I like playing above the rim and sometimes when your knee is sore 
you're not able to do that," said Battie, "Sometimes you may be used to dunking 
all the time and you thrust to go dunk it and the legs say no, so you have to 
lay it up. Hopefully I can get that type of energy and that type of spring back 
in my legs and it will carry over throughout the season and I can bring it 
back to the FleetCenter." 



    document.write("<A HREF="http://www.nba.com/";>E-mail this page to a friend</A>");<A HREF="http://www.nba.com/components/EmailAStoryToAFriend.html?articleURL=http://www.nba.com/celtics/roster/062003_OnTheMend.html&title=On%20The%20Mend";>E-mail this page to a 
friend</A>