Tuesday, November 23 (9:48 a.m.)
David Lee To Resume Workouts This Week
David Lee's infected left elbow has caused him to miss the last six games and counting. (Rocky Widner/NBAE/Getty) |
It hasn’t quite been two weeks, but for David Lee it feels like months since he’s been on the court. Over the last 13 days, the Warriors forward has undergone two surgical procedures to clean out his left elbow that had become infected due to a bizarre twist of events.
Lee, however, has turned the corner in his recovery and he figures on being back in action when the Warriors host the Spurs  on November 30, or possibly toward the end of this week’s three-game road trip. Lee said as much during a media session prior to last night's Warriors-Nuggets game.
“My concern isn’t so much when I’m going to be ready to get on the court and play 40 minutes and get a double-double," Lee said. "I want to get back on the court and help the team. If that means the first two times out I’m playing 15 or 20 minutes and just able to do short stints, then that’s what’s important – getting back (on the court) and getting victories. At the same time, I have to check my competitiveness and realize it’s more important to get this thing completely solved than to rush back a day or two early.”
Listen to the entire interview below:
David Lee Interview - 11/22/10
Lee originally suffered a deep laceration on his left elbow in the third quarter of November 10’s game against the Knicks. While going up for a rebound, Lee’s arm collided with Wilson Chandler’s mouth. Although the play itself is fairly common in basketball, the result was quite unusual, as Lee wound up with one of Chandler’s teeth embedded in his elbow.
With the amount of bacteria in the human mouth, Chandler's tooth caused Lee’s elbow to become infected, requiring a pair of surgical procedures to cleanse the puncture wound. Lee will have his stitches removed today and have the IV line removed on Wednesday, at which point he will resume workouts. Lee won’t travel with the team to start the road trip, as he will stay in the Bay Area to get back into basketball shape.
"It was very, very scary," Lee said. "The way infections work, they couldn't find the right antibiotic. They were using strong stuff and nothing worked. They were telling me that it had to get better soon or they were going to have to cut it from the biceps to the forearm, filet it open and cut out the muscles ... It's tough when you don't know what to expect. I've learned that you're better off to get bit by a rabid dog than a human.
“I don’t know exactly how long it’s going to take because I don’t know how it’s going to react with that stuff taken out. Compared to where I was four days ago, I’m really making progress. That one week that I went through felt like a six-week process … It seems like months with all of the surgeries I went through.”
For the Warriors, Lee’s return can’t come soon enough. With him, the team started 6-2. In the six games that he’s missed, the Warriors have gone 1-5.
“The fact that it could be limited to a two-week situation is a real blessing and our medical staff did a great job,” Lee said.
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