At the trade deadline in February, Jose Calderon was traded from the Toronto Raptors to the Detroit Pistons. Tonight, he visited his former digs, the Air Canada Centre, to presumably prove to old team why they shouldn’t have traded him. After a riveting tribute to his accomplishments moved him and halftime arrived, he…walked to the Raptors’ locker room?
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Unluckily for us, his amnesia was short-lived. Calderon scored 19 points along with nine dimes to topple his former mates and, in a fit of irony, officially eliminate them from playoff contention.
A sad day in the NBA, as Ricky Rubio‘s sensational rookie season comes to an end thanks to a freak knee injury suffered at the tail end of Friday night’s loss to the Lakers. Rubio has been even better than advertised in his rookie season, and his dazzling passing and infectious enthusiasm will be sorely missed.
This has been a tough season for all the players due to the compressed schedule, and we’ve seen many good players go down with injuries as a result. And as sad as I was when Hawks’ C Al Horford went down, for example, I don’t think any player’s misfortune has been as widely met with dismay as Rubio’s has. Just take a look at the outpouring of support on Twitter from some of the NBA’s zeitgeist when the news broke today:
LeBron James (@KingJames) — S/O to Ricky Rubio! Have a speedy and successful recovery
Kevin Durant (@KDTrey5) — Praying the Ricky Rubio has a speedy recovery!
Dwyane Wade(@DwyaneWade) — Ricky Rubio’s injury isn’t 1 that any basketball fan wanted 2 C. He’s had an amazing rookie season & has brought life back 2 a franchise. Chris Paul (@CP3) — Prayers out to @RickyRubio9 and hoping for a speedy recovery!
Kevin Love (@kevinlove) — Love my teammate and friend @rickyrubio9. Here’s to a quick recovery. We will miss you.
The recovery time for Rubio’s injury usually takes 6-9 months, which means he will likely miss this summer’s Olympics as well — a big blow to the Spanish national team’s chances. His Spanish mates chimed in as well:
Pau Gasol (@paugasol) – All my support to my friend and mate @rickyrubio9 after knowing the hard news about the results on his knee injury. Rudy Fernandez (@rudy5fernandez) — All my support to my friend and mate @rickyrubio9 Jose Calderon (@josemcalderon8) — All my support to my big friend and teammate @rickyrubio9. Hard news about his knee. He’ll be back stronger
Several other NBA players offered their prayers and condolences:
Stephen Curry (@StephenCurry30) — Prayers to Ricky Rubio. Keep your head up and hoping for a speedy recovery. #Classof09
DeMar DeRozan (@DeMar_DeRozan) – A speedy recovery to Rubio! Mario Chalmers (@mchalmers15) — prayers goin out to @RickyRubio9. No NBA player wants to go thru that. keep ya head up and get that knee stronger Baron Davis — (@Baron_Davis) Rubio smh. Damn ! Praying for you! Wishing you a speedy recovery. You will be stronger than ever!!!! DeAndre Jordan (@deandrejordan) — praying that @rickyrubio9 has a speedy and complete recovery… Greivis Vasquez (@greivisvasquez) – Que triste la lesion de Ricky Rubio, le deseo una pronta recuperacion. Anthony Tolliver (@ATolliver44) — Praying for @rickyrubio9 ! Extraordinary healing is coming your way! Keep your head up
There aren’t many players in the league with the kind of court vision and offensive creativity that Rubio possesses. Here’s to a complete and total recovery, and hopefully a full season in 2012-13.
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Catch up on every single game-winning buzzer beater during the season and see how it rates on the Horry Scale.
