Brazilian big man Nene missed a chunk of time after being traded to Washington last year because of plantar fasciitis — the foot injury that makes it painful to run. Which, it turns out, is a key part of playing basketball.
The only cure for it is rest. Nene is playing in the Olympics for his native country, which is not rest (Brazil won their opener on Sunday). So this little note from the Washington Post can’t thrill Wizards fans:Nene walked with a slight limp after the game. The plantar fasciitis that bothered him at times last season has flared up, he said.
“When the ball goes up, I forget about that, though,” Nene said.
Not for an 82 game regular season you don’t.
After the Olympics end in a couple weeks Nene will have six weeks off until the start of camp, and the Wizards certainly can lighten his load for the month of training before games start.
But Nene has been battling this since March and it is still an issue. And you have to wonder if it will linger into next season.