Robinson Out With Bad Back Spurs Center Expected To Miss First Month Of Season
David Robinson will be out of the San Antonio Spurs’ lineup up for up to a month because of a strained lower back, general manager Gregg Popovich said Tuesday.
The All-Star center will spend the next week undergoing rehabilitation at the Kerlan-Jobe Clinic in Los Angeles.
“Surgery is not indicated as necessary, but we expect it will be between two to four weeks before David can rejoin the team,” Popovich said.
The NBA season opens Nov. 1. If Robinson is sidelined for four weeks of regular-season play, he would miss the Spurs’ first 10 games.
Robinson underwent hernia surgery in August, but had complained of back pain while playing in the Olympics in Atlanta. He has experienced attacks of lower-back pain before during his career and wore lower-back supports during some games last season.
Spurs trainer John Andersen said Robinson’s lower-back problem is indirectly related to the hernia operation.
“He has a mechanical lower back strain,” Andersen said. “It is affected by the strength of the trunk muscles, and those were the ones that became weakened as a result of his decreased activity after his hernia surgery.”
Popovich said the team won’t try to rush Robinson back onto the court.
“The most critical call we’ll have to make is when to bring him back,” Popovich said. “We will want him completely healthy.”
Spurs coach Bob Hill is already tinkering with offensive and defensive strategies to deal with Robinson’s absence. Backup center Will Perdue will take on the starting role.
“This is not like losing Dennis Rodman, where we had to make up for 15 to 17 rebounds. We have to make up for 26 points, 12 to 13 rebounds and three to four blocked shots,” Hill said. “I told the guys today they could sit down, mope and feel sorry for themselves or they could take advantage of the situation.”
Guard Avery Johnson agreed: “The rest of us leaders are going to have to step up in both leadership and production. I hear that it is not going to be soon before David returns. He is a quick healer, but it’s not going to be a one- or two-day thing.”