| | CHARLESTON, S.C. -- Is Alonzo Mourning's mysterious kidney disorder linked to
anti-inflammatory drugs?
|  | | The Heat will be without Mourning for awhile, but nobody knows how long. |
At this early stage, where the Miami Heat are still trying to determine
what's wrong with their franchise talent, it would be unwise to jump to
conclusions. Just as it's equally premature to think the Heat's
championship hopes have been dashed. Why?
Until tests reveal exactly what Mourning has and what he faces, no
one knows how much time he'll have to miss.
As long as the Lakers, Blazers and Spurs have something to say
about it, Miami was probably not winning the title anyway, even with a healthy Alonzo
Mourning. Even winning the sad-sack East is no lock for Pat Riley's
Heat. And this doesn't change things.
What is known is that Mourning, like Sean Elliott and a lot of other NBA
players, has a history of taking anti-inflammatory medication to combat
the wear and tear on his knees. One player who knows Mourning very well
said the Heat's star frequently took the medication when he was a member
of the Charlotte Hornets.
For most players, the drugs do their job, allowing the players to remain
on the court, endure the constant pounding, and maybe even prolong their
careers. Taking the medicine is legal and the way business is done in
the NBA, where there is always constant pressure to play and produce.
For Elliott, we might have seen a worst-case scenario, something not
even the most rabid Knick fan would even wish on Mourning.
Elliott believes his kidney deteriorated to the point where he needed a
transplant because he had taken anti-inflammatory medication for his own
sore knees. He admitted that he regularly took the pills earlier in his
career, without really thinking about the consequences.
"I don't know for certain that it was the medicine, but it's something I
suspect," Elliott said late last January, before making his historic
comeback for the Spurs. "You figure you're helping yourself by taking
the medication. You really don't think about possible side effects or
what might happen down the road."
| |  | |
| Elliott |
Elliott said he would think twice now about taking the medication. And
it's easy to see why. Forget basketball. He's very fortunate to be
alive, having found a donor in his brother, Noel, when he was just days
from having to go on dialysis.
Again, at this early time, no one really knows what caused Mourning's
disorder or what it means in the long term. Until the exact nature of
the problem is diagnosed, why even speculate about how the Heat will use
his salary-cap money to find a replacement? It's entirely too early for
that.
At this stage, friends and rivals alike are just hoping for the best.
"We all hope they find the problem and deal with it," said Knicks coach
Jeff Van Gundy. "It's scary. Unbelievable."
|
“ |
We all hope they find the problem and deal with it. It's scary. Unbelievable. ” |
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— Jeff Van Gundy |
Then Van Gundy's mind drifted back to last year's All-Star Game in San
Francisco. Leaving the media interview session for practice, he suddenly
found himself trapped inside a lethal bear hug. A few seconds later, his
attacker loosened the grip so that Van Gundy could wiggle free.
It was a smiling Alonzo Mourning.
Then for the first time, Van Gundy and Mourning discussed what happened
in Madison Square Garden in the 1998 playoffs. First round. Game 4. The
final seconds.
It started out with Mourning and ex-Charlotte teammate Larry Johnson
swinging wildly at one another. It ended with the now-infamous shot of
Van Gundy diving at Mourning's legs to break up the fight.
Almost two years later, in the San Francisco ballroom, Van Gundy felt
the need to apologize.
"Don't worry about it," Mourning said.
Then Mourning did something that surprised Van Gundy.
"In a convoluted way, he told me that he actually admired what I had
done," Van Gundy said. "He said, 'that's something coach Riley would
do, go to the aid of one of his players.' "
Riley had also been the central figure in a few celebrated Knicks'
brawls, trying to act as peacemaker.
"I told Mourning, 'Riley looked a lot better coming out of the Jo Jo
English brawl (in Chicago in the '94 playoffs) than I looked coming of
this one,' " Van Gundy said. "He liked that, too."
Van Gundy chuckled, but then shook his head and said, almost to himself,
"what's going on here?"
The tragic headlines for the NBA started with Bobby Phills, father of
two young children, drag-racing to his death after a Charlotte
shootaround. At the start of the conference finals, Malik Sealy, a
father and devoted husband himself, was killed when another driver went
the wrong way up a freeway ramp one early morning in Minneapolis.
Several weeks ago, Paul Pierce escaped serious injury as he was stabbed
11 times outside a Boston nightclub.
"It seems like one thing after another, involving guys in the NBA," Van
Gundy said.
Now, it's Mourning.
"When I was with the Bulls and we had those games with the Heat,"
Knicks center Luc Longley said, "he'd be out there, waving his arms and
playing borderline out of control, he plays so hard. We knew we could
always get to him by beating his team. But he always battled for 48
minutes."
Few play harder, whether it's a playoff game or a laid-back All-Star
practice.
"No one really parallels him," Longley said. "He's not going to beat
you with finesse. It's just physical, aggressive play."
So like everyone else, Longley couldn't believe the news out of Miami.
He had just competed against Mourning in the Olympics in Sydney.
"He certainly looks like a healthy specimen from the outside," Longley
said. "That just goes to show you, there's a lot more to it than
appearances."
Indeed, there might be much more.
Mitch Lawrence, who covers the NBA for the New York Daily News, writes a regular NBA column for ESPN.com.
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