6-8 Weeks: Perspectives on Sports Medicine

Golden State Warriors Season Preview and......Blood Clots

Episode Summary

Older roster, big-name injuries, long season. 🏀 We break down Steph's runner's knee, Jimmy's ACL, Moses Moody's patellar tendon and KP's health from a sports medicine perspective. Also, bonus breakdown of the Jalen Hurts blood clot diagnosis in Philadelphia.

Episode Notes

Title: The Warriors' Injury Report: Steph's Knee, Jimmy's ACL and the Science of Coming Back
Description:
The Golden State Warriors open the season with an older roster and several key players coming off major injuries. Dr. Nirav Pandya, Dr. Brian Feeley and Dr. Drew Lansdown take a sports medicine look at the season ahead.
In this episode:
• Can a 38-year-old Stephen Curry manage "runner's knee" over a full season, and is it better to play fewer games or fewer minutes?
• Jimmy Butler's return from ACL reconstruction: graft healing, age, and why soft-tissue injuries often follow a comeback
• Moses Moody's patellar tendon repair, and why tendon repairs are recovering faster while ACL timelines get longer
• Kristaps Porziņģis and POTS: what athletes deal with
• Bonus: Jalen Hurts' blood clots. What a DVT is, why athletes can't play on blood thinners, and what actually lowers travel risk
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This podcast is for educational purposes and is not medical advice. The hosts are not involved in the care of the athletes discussed.
Segment notes
The episode's main point: for this Warriors team, roster depth is a sports medicine decision, because every missing player adds load to the stars who remain.

1. Stephen Curry: managing "runner's knee" at 38
   • The issue: Anterior knee pain limits cutting and jumping, so performance drops.
   • Brian: Curry's conditioning isn't the question. Keeping pace with 23-year-olds is. Expect rest on back-to-backs and long trips. A realistic target is 50 to 60 games, and almost no one plays all 82 anymore.
   • Drew: Fewer games at full minutes, with true rest days, probably beats a minutes cap. A cap is hard to enforce in a close game, and full days off are easier for the team to plan around.
   • Nirav: Roster construction matters. If Butler and Moody are out and Curry has to carry the scoring every night, that burden worsens the knee whatever his minutes are. A trade or a splash signing is also a longevity strategy.
2. Jimmy Butler: returning from ACL reconstruction in his late 30s
   • Context: Butler tore his right ACL in January 2026, and reporting projects a return around February 2027, about a year after the injury.
   • Brian: There's no good evidence that younger patients' grafts heal faster, and Drew is studying how to assess graft readiness. Waiting until roughly January or February adds time for cutting, pivoting and neuromuscular control. He doesn't expect age to change Butler's performance or re-injury risk at 11 to 12 months.
   • Drew: Experience helps. A veteran knows how to pace himself toward the postseason instead of rushing to prove himself.
   • Key risk: Soft-tissue injuries after the return. Nick Bosa's patellar tendinitis and calf strain after his ACL return were likely a body not yet ready for full intensity. The goal is a healthy player at the end of the season, not the start.
3. Moses Moody: why tendon repairs recover faster now
   • Context: Moody tore his left patellar tendon in March 2026 and is targeting a midseason return.
   • Drew: Suture-anchor repairs, plus high-strength suture acting as an internal brace, give stronger fixation. That doesn't make the tendon heal faster, but it allows earlier motion and strengthening, so there is less quad loss and running and jumping start sooner.
   • Brian: The ACL sits inside the joint, a poor environment for healing, so it needs about nine months regardless. Tendons outside the joint (patellar, quadriceps, distal biceps) have better blood supply and heal faster. The limiting factor is rebuilding muscle strength.
   • The trend: Tendon timelines (Achilles, patellar) are getting shorter while ACL timelines are getting longer.
4. Kristaps Porziņģis: POTS and the "invisible" illness
   • Context: Porziņģis is out indefinitely with an unspecified health issue. He has previously shared a diagnosis of POTS (postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome).
   • Brian: POTS is a disorder of the autonomic nervous system. Heart rate spikes and dizziness and fatigue set in with position changes or exertion, so it can feel like you've already played 48 minutes before tip-off. Imagine the room spinning every time you turn to catch a pass.
   • Also discussed: It's like having the flu constantly. You can't train, and symptoms can come and go in two-week cycles, which makes planning hard for the team.
   • Why no diagnosis is announced: Autonomic, autoimmune and neurologic conditions overlap, and they are often described by symptoms rather than by a single label.
5. Bonus: Jalen Hurts and blood clots
   • Context: A small superficial clot was found in Hurts' leg in London. It later became a DVT with clots in both lungs, and he is expected to miss the rest of the season.
   • Drew: A clot can block flow in a vein and cause pain and swelling. If it breaks off, it can travel to the lungs, or in rare cases to the brain. Surgery, trauma, travel and genetics all raise risk.
   • Brian: Small superficial clots are common, for example after hip and knee replacements. The danger is a clot that travels or propagates. Treatment is usually about three months of blood thinners, and no contact sport is allowed during that time because a head injury on anticoagulation can cause a fatal brain bleed. Drew also cited Victor Wembanyama's 2025 clot.
   • Nirav: It's a risk-benefit decision. How common are superficial clots in football players, and were there underlying risk factors?
   • Travel advice (not "don't sleep"): Get up and move during long flights. For post-op patients who fly, the hosts recommend aspirin from five days before to five days after travel, plus hydration and movement.