Photo by Fernando Medina/NBAE via Getty Images
Back in my ill-advised pursuit of the Indie rock dream days, I was forced to make a huge decision when it came time to buy a new bass guitar. I mean, obviously I was getting a Fender, and I was pretty sure it would be a P-Bass, but do I spend the extra dough to get an American model? Or can I get by with a Mexican-made rocket?
In the end, I went Mexican. But that was based on the fact that I was a pizza delivery man and paid way too much for rent. The smart move would have been to buy American. Why? Because these aren’t cars and if you’re a musician, you know that the extra cash upfront for an American-made Fender means that it actually will appreciate in value in the time that you own it (especially if you become famous).
Acquiring assets that appreciate over time is not something to take lightly. The Orlando Magic and general manager Rob Hennigan get that, and they have a piece in Glen Davis that is probably more valuable now than when he was first acquired in late 2011 by the Otis Smith regime.
Just look at his Player Efficiency Rating in correlation with his usage rate over the past six seasons. Davis has progressed from an 11.3 PER in his rookie season (usage rate of 17.4 percent) to a career-best 15.0 PER in the first half of this season (usage rate of 25.5 percent). There is really no arguing the fact that as his usage has gone up, his production has increased. Even if his efficiency and shot selection has admittedly suffered mightily along the way.
Apr 03
Five creative ways to recover from a concussion
Commentary
by Spencer Lund
at 11:32 amPhoto by Noah Graham/NBAE via Getty Images
Nikola Vucevic is back and a double-double machine again. He recorded his 39th double-double on the year when he dropped 12 points and grabbed 13 rebounds against the Houston Rockets on Monday. His solid showing was a long way from the fragile state he was in earlier last week when he was trying to recover from a concussion suffered at the elbow of the insufferable Tyler Hansborough.
In the initial stages of his convalescence, Vucevic experienced the symptoms that usually occur after suffering a concussion: sensitivity to light, dizziness, and headaches. According to John Denton of OrlandoMagic.com, Vucevic “was instructed to not watch television, read or even text on his phone during his recovery.”
An inability to watch TV, read, or text helpfully coincided with his mom and dad, Ljiljana and Borislav (we don’t know how to pronounce their names, either), visiting from Montenegro. While they were in town, he asked his mom for some of her home cooking, ostensibly because he didn’t have anything else he could do. He couldn’t watch tape, browse the Internet, or tweet (not that he’s a social media maven) so he might as well bulk up by consuming whatever delicious dishes his mom served him.
Here’s what Vucevic had to say about his lack of entertainment options during his recovery:
My parents were in town, so I got a chance to spend time with them. But I’d rather be out on the court with my teammates. It was very frustrating. I was very bored because I couldn’t really do anything. They told me I couldn’t watch TV, couldn’t read and couldn’t text. It’s not like I couldn’t do those things, but if I did it might have slowed the recovery of the brain so I just did the right things. And it was frustrating to see (Magic) guys playing hard and I wanted to be out there to help them win. It was unfortunate, but I’m back now.
The whole ordeal got us thinking: what on earth could Nikola have done in the down time between meals?
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Tags: Dirk Nowitzki, Houston Rockets, Indiana Pacers, Nikola Vucevic, Philadelphia 76ers, Tyler Hansbrough
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