In response to our breakdown regarding why Derrick Rose suffered his horrid series of injuries, many have asked why Russell Westbrook has not felt many of the same effects. He is just as athletic as Rose, if not more, and is one of the more "out of control" players in the league. So how has he limited his injuries?

Ultimately, we do not know their habits, and some of it even comes to bad luck on Rose's part, and good fortune on Westbrook's. Yet, in examining their performances each night, what it seems to boil down to is the landing techniques of each.

Sinking In
As we mentioned in the breakdown, Rose consistently landed with a straight leg, not flexing his knee to allow the hip musculature to absorb the force. Because Rose was such an athletic player, coming down hard on a straight leg happened much too frequently, and ultimately, it added up. 

Westbrook, on the other hand, although not perfect, lands correctly considerably more often than Rose. Most times, he will sink back into his hips, facilitating a much "softer" landing, as shown below: 

Another major part of these soft landings is landing on the midfoot. Multiple studies have detailed how landing on the heel sends a substantial amount of force up the kinetic chain, placing more stress on the knee joint in particular. Check out how Westbrook lands on the ball of his foot below:

Improvisation
Of course, not every landing will be perfect. In fact, a large number of landings for athletes the level of Rose and Westbrook will be in awkward positions. So, most players who have developed techniques to escape these awkward positions (that could potentially cause injury or place unneeded stress on the body), have remained much more healthy.

Watch as Westbrook, in the first two clips, falls purposely. In these situations, he feels that he is in a vulnerable position, and rather than attempting to balance himself, he simply falls. On the third and final clip, he rapidly shuffles his feet, allocating the force into multiple steps rather than one hard landing. Rose, on the other hand, did not develop these techniques, and consequently placed unneeded stress on his joints during many landings.

Horizontal, Not Vertical
Another potential cause of Rose's injuries was his tendency to attempt an athletic, high-flying finish much too often, rather than using timing, his body, or a horizontal bound to finish. While finishing over taller defenders is definitely a part of Westbrook's game, Russ uses forward jumps to stretch past the defenders much more than Rose. This means a lower-impact landing, as well as a more controllable landing position, since his body position is not distorted with contact, 40 inches in the air. Pay attention to how easy his landings are:

At the end of the day, it's impossible to truly say what has kept anyone healthy, and what has injured other players. Yet, with so many jumps (and more importantly, landings) night in and night out for such athletic players, having proper landing technique is a huge step up on players that do not, health-wise. And, as we know, health equals being on the court, and being on the court is the ultimate determinant of how a career unravels.

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April 28th, 2012
As Derrick Rose collapses, clenching his left leg, the city of Chicago is quickly left in despair. Whether they realize it or not, on average, NBA Finals losers have suffered 2.5 more injuries to central players than their victorious opponents. Only the Bulls of 1996 (Tony Kukoc) and the 2012 Heat (Chris Bosh) have won with key players injured. And they had Michael Jordan and LeBron James, respectively. Health literally wins championships in the NBA.

At this point, Rose is just one of many who have experienced season-ending injuries during this abbreviated, but condensed, lockout season: Stephen Curry, Iman Shumpert, Baron Davis, Dwight Howard, Ricky Rubio, Chauncey Billups--the list goes on. 

​And with this number growing rapidly, fans and NBA personnel alike are becoming increasingly annoyed: "it's their job," "they're soft." And, to some extent, this is true. NBA players are professionals, so it is their responsibility to compete and entertain the fans night in and night out. But, recovery is part of the job as well; it is vital to assisting these players in playing each night in the long run. A couple nights off in one season in no way amounts to a career-obstructing injury later in a career.

​As LeBron James stated, "at the end of the day, the prize is the players. We have to continue to promote the game, and if guys are injured because there are so many games, we can't promote it at a high level." If players are consistently risking their bodies, and chipping away towards an injury with an unbelievably high workload, will that truly be best for anyone--the players, the league, the teams--in the long run? In a billion dollar business, staying on the court is essential. Take a quick look at players whose careers have been ruined or heavily thwarted by injuries: Rose, Tracy McGrady, Penny Hardaway--all of whom performed, when healthy, at a hall-of-fame level. Of course, there were tons of factors that contributed to these unfortunate situations, and lack of rest very well may not have been one of them. However, these are examples of players who completed their job phenomenally for the time being, yet whose longevity was ultimately not emphasized or maintained. Just imagine the difference in the landscape of the league had even one of these players' careers not been hindered by injuries. 

James, on the other hand, although heavily criticized for his relatively frequent in-season "rest" or "coasting," is also known for what appear to be magical late-season transformations each year. With possibly the highest workload in major athletic history (6,953 more minutes than anyone else by his age 31 season), there is absolutely no way James could remain so healthy without sufficient--and intelligent--rest and recovery. And, said to have spent over $1.5 million on his physical health and performance each year, it is important to realize that these players are not sitting on their couch watching TV. They are actively recovering--not to mention sitting out games in which injury chance spikes up--in order to ensure their best long-term health.

And we should never lose sight of the profession's highest mountaintop: the NBA Finals. In December of 2015, fans criticized and taunted LeBron when sitting out a regular season game vs. his former team, the Miami Heat. But were they doing the same when his averages increased by 4.4 points, 1.5 assists, and 3.9 more rebounds in the Finals, leading his team in each category and towards a championship ring? No way. And this, like all other LeBron James magical postseason "improvements," was undoubtedly a byproduct of proper rest and recovery.