D. Wade is shutting it down for the year, duh?  He should have never came back.  If ever there was a time when a coach needed to step in and protect a player, that was it.  Riley missed his chance to save the franchise weeks ago.  We can only hope that the tough kid didn't do any further damage to his wheels.

Seems like Phil Jackson used to give MJ and Scottie mini-brakes during the game.  He would sit them out just long enough to get a blow.

Don't expect real competitors to sit out a game if they can play thru the pain.  That's where a good coach is needed to step in and save the player from himself.

When Greg Oden comes back, he better be coming off the bench.  IT takes 2 years to get over the type of injury he had and bringing him back as a starter the next year could end his career prematurely.  That kid played about 30 games a year in college ... and he didn't even do it for 4 years!  The pros play more than 90 a year if they make the playoffs.

The Lakers and Andrew Bynum face the same problem.  First of all he was playing over his head spurred by the comments of Kobe.  He may never play at that level again.  Bringing him back too soon could end his career.

Some of these NBA coaches are actually smart and we need them to step up and be smart where the players are not.  To jump leagues to make a point ... that's what happened to Terrell Davis of the Denver Broncos.  Shannahan is a great x and o coach, but he is a terrible people person.