Many have said that Ray's knee issue is still bothering him. Understanding his offensive production and defensive prowess have both suffered some in terms of their results, I'm not 100% convinced there's a causal relationship here. But something is driving performance, so let's assume it is the knee, and supposing that rest would improve the issue (inflammation?, soreness?), would you do it. That would be a stretch of 5 full days off after Iowa and him only missing 1 game, which is likely to be the 2nd easiest road game on the schedule next to Rutgers. Or given that Minnesota is what they are, is this an absolute must-win road game in the conference race such that you just can't afford to take any chances without one of your leaders in the lineup? If I'm the coach and the doctors were to tell me that 5 days rest would make noticeable improvement, I think I'd take the long view on the season and NCAA tourney and sit him for Minnesota. Thoughts?
If Ray's knee needs rest...
- Thread starter Statey
- Start date
Not sure why everyone thinks he's still hurt when the coaching staff has said nothing of the sort. With Stephens out & maybe Swanigan & VE not 100%, we can't afford to rest RD.
Yes. IF (big IF) he needs rest to heal something, then sit him now and for as long as he needs. Same goes for any other player. Need to be healthy and full strength come March.
To be clear, no argument from me here. But I've read more than a few comments here and on H&R about his knee not believed to be healthy. Whether there is a valid reason to conclude that other than he just isn't getting the same level of production on either end, I don't know. Just thought I'd try get a little conversation going somewhat related to the upcoming game and less about the past.
Take all comments on here with a giant grain of salt. The comments are all from internet coaching experts who mostly excel at nitpicking.
I think the speculation that he's injured only stems from fans trying to explain his lack of production. I've said he should receive fewer minutes, regardless of whether or not he's injured. The ball flows better with Mathias in the game.
Also take anything written on H&R with a huge grain of salt. Those "writers" are no more qualified than the average poster on here.
Also take anything written on H&R with a huge grain of salt. Those "writers" are no more qualified than the average poster on here.
If Davis' knee needs rest than we should rest him. I think without Davis we may have issues however. The key to the game tonight is containing Joey King in my opinion. Davis should be able to do that provided he plays. If he doesn't play, it could be a long night!
A few games back, he got a steal/free pass and went to dunk it and totally had to bail out and lay it up and almost missed it. His shot is off, usually a legs thing. He doesn't look as fast or as strong or explosive. I see him shy away from contact. It just doesn't look like Ray. I could be wrong, it just doesn't pass the eye test.
Here's the deal. If Ray's recent play is due to health issues, then that's on Painter. Against Iowa Sunday may have been the worst game I've seen Ray play in a Boiler uniform. Yet, he got 31 minutes. If a player is laboring that much because he's hurting, he shouldn't be playing at all or at least his minutes should be significantly reduced. And I don't think Painter is blind. It makes more sense to me that he is healthy, Matt still trusts him and is trying to play him through this slump. That aside, we're going to need him tonight and I hope he silences all the talk.
Not to add fuel to any speculation, but another scenario is he has one of those soft tissue injuries that doesn't really get better with (limited) rest. I'm not a medical expert but I've seen this with other players - it is basically a matter of playing through the pain. So, then your options are shutting it down for an extended period of time or playing through it at whatever capacity you can. IF (giant IF) this is the case it would make perfect sense why they would want to keep things hush hush. But I think there is probably <5% chance of this being the case.
I guess healthy becomes a more relative term with the news that Swanigan might be too hurt to play. Even if you wanted to rest Ray (assuming he is in fact dinged up), it seems like that would be any even harder call now. Could Painter really go into the game without KS, CS, and RD? I know it's Minnesota, but that's a lot of minutes to fill.
Agree with Statey. With Stephens MIA and Swanigan injured Ray needs to play...and contribute. Need this road game.
I'm thinking no on the injury theory after 34 minutes of effective PT last night and sealing the deal with that blocked shot at the end.
I'm sure him becoming a parent has probably taken up alot of his free time and has made him rearrange his priorities too.
