Toronto Raptors
The last vestiges of the 2019 NBA Title team are gone following last year’s trades of OG Anunoby and Pascal Siakam. The suddenly reformed Raptors struggled down the stretch, finishing 4-21 in their final 25 games and finished the year with their worst record since the 2011-12 season.
The Raptors medical team remained an integral part of the team, dropping their injury totals from the previous season. While they finished in the middle of the pack league-wide, there is reason to believe Alex McKechnie and the rest of the Toronto medical team remain a vital asset. Of their 174 total games lost to injury or illness, 40 games (23 percent) can be attributed to Christian Koloko’s blood clot issue, a serious but difficult to prevent illness.
Additionally, the Raptors were hit hard by hand and wrist injuries with Jakob Poetl suffering a dislocated pinkie and Scottie Barnes missing time with a fractured 3rd metacarpal. As a result, Toronto finished with the highest percentage of games lost to hand and wrist injuries. Hand and wrist injuries often prove costly but are nearly impossible for a medical staff to predict or prevent. If McKenchie and is team can continue to have success mitigating injury risk elsewhere and minimizing lower extremity injuries, it is reasonable to believe they can help accelerate the rebuild in Toronto.
[…] in the NBA, successfully building on the momentum generated during last year’s playoff run. The success of the team’s medical staff is a major reason for the team’s ascension up the Eastern Conference standings. Now the value of […]
[…] While the Pacers and Thunder have shown signs of improvement, the same can’t be said for the Lakers. The team has already lost three players to season-ending injuries, insuring a high injury total for the third straight season. Veteran point guard Steve Nash was ruled out for the year before the season even started and promising rookie Julius Randle fractured his leg in his professional debut. Xavier Henry joined the list when he ruptured his Achilles in practice. All three injuries were difficult to prevent but it’s worth wondering where the team would be if they had retained Alex McKechnie. McKechnie spent eight seasons as the team’s athletic performance coordinator and was lauded for his work with preventative care and movement integration. The Lakers opted not to renew his contract in the summer of 2011 and the team has since been decimated by injury. McKechnie has subsequently taken over as the Director of Sports Science for the Raptors and helped turn their medical staff into one of the most successful in the league. […]
[…] for this season, but the Raptors only missed 68 games due to injury in total last season, the lowest total in the league. This season, by this obscure metric that combines games missed and […]
[…] salary dollars, continuing a trend of good health for the organization. Entering the season the Raptors had ranked as a top-five overall medical staff and sustained that success despite the team opting to draft OG Anunoby, a talented rookie who […]