Almost every time he appears in a city for the first time this season, LeBron James gets asked a similar set of questions by reporters who have yet to talk to him this season.
Most of the inquiries are about how well the team is doing, how its offense has improved, how Mo Williams is fitting in. There usually are questions about the opponent, maybe one or two about league issues or trends. More than likely someone will ask about his possible free agency in 2010. Then someone asks about the 2008 Summer Olympics, about winning the gold medal, being a leader on the team and how any of that has carried over to this season.
James patiently and politely explains what an honor it was, how much he enjoyed it, how it helped him grow as a player. Then he heads off to the court to get ready for the game.
That might be the most important thing to come out of his Olympic experience for the Cavaliers - no injuries or lasting fatigue. Oh, there was concern early when James sprained an ankle in one of the first Olympic practices. He missed an exhibition game against Canada, but he quickly returned to full strength for the rest of the summer and, so far, the season.
With a couple of notable exceptions, that has been the case since NBA players began taking part in the Olympics in 1992. Of the 49 players who have occupied the 60 roster spots on the past five U.S. Olympic teams, only 11 have played fewer than 70 games in the next NBA regular season.
After playing on the 1996 Olympic team, David Robinson was limited to six games in 1996-97 because of a lower back strain and then a broken bone in his left foot.
After playing on the 2000 Olympic team, Alonzo Mourning played just 13 games in 2000-01 before being diagnosed with a kidney disorder that eventually required a transplant.
After playing on the 2004 Olympic team, Richard Jefferson played 33 games in 2004-05 before rupturing a ligament in his left wrist.
After playing on the Dream Team in 1992, Chris Mullin played only 46 games in 1992-93 before tearing a ligament in his right thumb.
Those are the most dramatic cases as the remaining players lost games to a variety of the typical nagging Basketball injuries, like sprained ankles, knees and feet, sometimes combined with aging. Of the seven remaining players, each played at least 49 games the next season.
It's a similar story in the international ranks. After playing with the Canadian Olympic team in 2000, Steve Nash played 70 games the following season. After playing with Germany last summer, Dirk Nowitzki has played in 30 of 31 games, through Dec. 31, missing one game because of a suspension.
On the other hand, there's San Antonio's Manu Ginobili, who injured his left ankle during the 2008 playoffs, was cleared to the play in the Olympics for defending gold-medalist Argentina and then reinjured the ankle during a semifinal loss to the U.S. team. He needed surgery after the Olympics and had played in 19 games through Dec. 31.
The Utah Jazz were the only team to have two players on the Olympic team - Carlos Boozer and Deron Williams. Both have suffered injuries this season. Boozer has a sore left knee that will require surgery, and Williams rolled his ankle. They've been limited to 12 and 20 games, respectively, as of Wednesday.
But Jazz trainer Gary Briggs doesn't think the Olympics had anything to do with the injuries.
"They were just injuries that occurred," said Briggs, the longtime Cavs trainer.
The Jazz, like the Cavs, monitored the minutes of the returning Olympians through training camp and the preseason and into the regular season.
Cavs trainer Max Benton said it has been easy to get James to cooperate.
"I think he's really bought into this, bought into our athletic performance staff," Benton said. "Everyone understands their body. People understand their limitations. I think he really realizes what's at stake. We're just trying to be smart about some things. There's some science behind it. There's a lot of common sense behind it. It's a collective thought process."
Briggs said most of the Olympians approach their training in a similar fashion.
"Usually if a guy is good enough to play in the Olympics, he's probably one of those guys who's going to keep himself in 80 percent shape in the off-season," the Jazz trainer said. "Today, it's so specialized. We've got nutritionists. We've got strength and conditioning guys. Half the players have personal trainers. So they're going to be working in the off-season anyway."
To reach this Plain Dealer reporter: mschmitt@plaind.com, 216-999-4668
