ORLANDO – Three surgeries in three years and a possible fourth upcoming. The master plan of a franchise is on never-ending hold.
Still, Orlando’s Grant Hill insists he is “excited about the good news” that doctors believe they have found the problem with his chronically torturous left ankle.
“Being angry makes you less of a person. I’m just concentrating on getting healthy. I’m excited about the good news,” said Hill, supporting himself on crutches before the Nets and Magic played last night. “You can’t rehash or point fingers.”
Doctors at Duke University have taken over Hill’s case and have determined his problem is structural.
“Let’s say your tire goes bad. You change the tire. It goes bad again. Change the tire. Goes bad. It continues. Well, the car is out of alignment, the tire is going to go bad. That’s basically the situation here. It’s a structural problem that we’ll address. That may be through a surgical process or orthopedics. We haven’t determined that yet,” said Hill. “I feel relieved there is a cause for all this that it’s not just fate or an accident. There’s a reason.
“I feel good. The challenge is to feel good on the court,” added Hill, who signed a seven-year, $93 million contract but has played only 18 games his first two seasons here and 29 this campaign. “I’m just resting and letting this thing get right until I’m ready to get back. When that will be I don’t know right now. I’m just following orders. In terms of a timetable, it could be back this season or out the rest of the season. That’s just reality.”
Get Hill healthy and with Tracy McGrady, Orlando is a legit power.
“Our job is to go out and play games, not cure Grant or worry about Grant,” said coach Doc Rivers.
“I’ve been through it for the past three years, so it really doesn’t bother me now,” McGrady said. “I can’t let it bother me, I have games I have to play.”