Cook Says Sabonis Still Hurting

The Trail Blazers' former team physician says he thinks that Arvydas 
Sabonis still has "a very, very serious foot problem."

"If you showed his X-rays to 100 orthopedics," said Dr. Robert Cook, 
"95 of them would say the guy probably can't walk comfortably to get 
his mail."

Cook, who last examined Sabonis in the spring of 1994 in Madrid, 
said the 7-foot-3 center is physically capable of handling monitored 
playing time in the NBA.

But Sabonis never did have recommended surgery for a navicular bone 
fracture in his right foot that occurred about five years ago.

"It's the main bone that attaches to the ankle bone," Cook said, 
"and it's the same bone Bill Walton fractured in 1978, an injury 
that led to his departure from the Blazers."

For years, Cook has kept close tabs on Sabonis, a 1986 Blazers draft 
choice from Lithuania.

How long will Sabonis hold up in the NBA?

"You'd have to have a crystal ball to guess that. It's a real 
crapshoot," said Cook, a Tualatin orthopedic surgeon and sports 
medicine expert. He wrote a regular column for the Blazers' "Rip 
City" magazine before general manager Bob Whitsitt decided not to 
retain him as team doctor last year.

"If all goes well, Sabonis could play several more years. It's like 
with Sam Bowie -- everybody thought he was through, and he kept 
playing.

"The fact that Sabonis has been playing extensively in Europe 
effectively demonstrates to me that the guy is very, very tough," 
Cook said. "I'd be very surprised if he didn't have pain in his foot, 
but his moves in the post are so good, any pain he is experiencing 
is imperceptible.

"He obviously kind of lopes up and down the court, but either he is 
not having a lot of symptoms with his foot or he has learned to 
compensate."

It was Cook who guided Sabonis' April-August 1988 rehabilitation in 
Portland after two ruptured right Achilles' tendons. Sabonis went on 
to dominate David Robinson in the 1988 Olympics.

Earlier this week, Sabonis visited Cook's orthotic headquarters and 
picked up some new support wear for his size 18 feet.

"But you can only do so much," Cook said. "There is still going to 
be `X' amount of ground force going through a foot."

In 1991, Cook met Sabonis in Los Angeles and had him examined at the 
highly regarded Kerlan-Jobe clinic.

"Something had happened to his foot," Cook recalled. "He had had 
some kind of spur removal that got infected and led to the problem 
with the navicular bone. I don't know how the infection had occurred. 
Maybe they injected his foot and it got infected.

"In any case, he had a fracture and some arthritic changes, very 
significant changes, and the foot specialist recommended surgery."

Cook said Sabonis might have made a wise choice against the surgery, 
though.

"In that area of the foot, particularly with a previous infection, 
there is significant risk," Cook said. "If he had had the surgery, 
he could have been without pain, or it could have ended his career.

"The odds would have been in his favor, but he's made several 
million dollars since then, so it's hard to argue with his decision."

Sabonis, who will be 31 on Dec. 19, still could have the surgery, of 
course, but that seems highly unlikely.

Instead, he probably will continue to play, taking precautions and 
therapy.

"You would probably want to give him some oral medication 
intermittently, some anti-inflammatories," Cook said, "and make sure 
he gets optimum foot support, physical therapy, and ice after 
playing.

"And you'd want to limit his playing time to conserve the thread 
that's left on that foot."

Sabonis also reportedly had some knee problems playing recently for 
Real Madrid.

Despite these uncertainties, Cook applauded the Blazers, mostly for 
the wisdom to draft Sabonis, but also for their patience in 
continuing to pursue him.

"I sure wish him well," Cook said. "He's a nice fellow with a good 
sense of humor.

"If you tried to play him 40 minutes for 82 games, you'd be in the 
red danger zone, but with limited playing time, he should make a 
very positive contribution to the team.

"If Arvydas Sabonis had no medical problems, he would be as good as 
the top five NBA centers ever. I don't think he had Walton's 
quickness, but he had a lot more offensive skills and was more 
intimidating as a shot-blocker. "Healthy, he would be pretty 
amazing."