TORONTO - Its been almost a full year since Raptors forward Landry Fields underwent surgery to correct a debilitating and somewhat enigmatic injury to his
right elbow; an injury that nearly turned him against the game that he loves.
Cheap NFL Jerseys China Authentic . For Fields, the road to recovery has been a long and arduous journey, one that
continues to this day as the 25-year-old prepares for his fourth NBA season and
second with the Raptors. This summer was a time of reflection, a time of change
in his life, both personally and professionally. Returning to play in 46 games
following ulnar nerve surgery early last season, Fields battled through the
aftermath of his injury, a hitch in his shot and the resulting toll it took on
his confidence. He had targeted the offseason as a time of reconciliation, a
time to reconstruct the shooting mechanics that had been betraying him. It
turned out to be more trying than he could have anticipated. "There was a point
where I was so frustrated, my dark days basketball-wise," Fields told TSN.ca in
an exclusive conversation Tuesday evening. "Even in the summer there was a lot
of ups and downs," he admitted. "Its just a continual process really. In my mind
I thought I [would have] surgery and boom, Id be back to normal, but clearly
[that] isnt the case." First and foremost, as Fields pointed out, the nerve
still needed to heal and strengthen. Trying to avoid that temptation to put the
cart ahead of the horse was his biggest challenge, as he juggled on-court work
with the natural healing process that had to occur first. In an attempt to work
around the injury and play through it last year, Fields developed some bad
habits including what he called a "weird motion" in his shot. He recalled the
"down periods" this summer, when he would be in the gym working tirelessly to
hone in on his mechanics as he would lose the strength in his shooting elbow.
The injury has forced Fields to reinvent his shot and his game while calling a
few unexpected audibles along the way. He even tried to do something that is
mostly unheard of at the NBA level, change shooting hands mid-career. "At that
point I was like, its early in the summertime what if I just start working with
my left [hand for] a couple months and see how far I can go," he said of the
short-lived experiment. "It didnt really work as I excepted it. Im right handed,
so I got off of that and stayed faithful to the process and what the doctors
were saying." Fields was a 39 per cent three-point shooter as a rookie with the
Knicks back in 2010-11, a year in which he attempted 219 triples. Last year he
made just two of 14 attempts from long range. "In my mind I just wasnt playing
with a full deck of cards," Fields said of his first season in Toronto. "I
want[ed] to shoot it but I understood that my strength and my sensation and the
sensory skills in my right hand arent nearly what they need to be so I cant
really feel when Im going up for a shot." "Its almost like Im shooting a ghost
ball or something," he joked. "So when thats going on, yeah youre confidence
kind of dwindles. Youre like, I cant shoot right now, not because I dont want to
but I literally cant. Its physical." Still not 100 per cent, Fields says he can
"finally see a light at the end of the tunnel" and is ready to get back to work.
Most importantly, he insists the confidence issues that plagued him last year
are forever in the past. "You can tell his confidence is at a much higher
level," teammate Aaron Gray said of Fields after the first couple days of camp.
"He had to deal with so much last year that I hope no player has to do. Just
finding your rhythm and your balance between life and basketball, its huge."
Finding serenity in his private life, with a marriage and the birth of his first
child, has allowed him to find that balance and put basketball in perspective.
Although Steve Novak and Austin Daye will compete with Fields for minutes behind
Rudy Gay and DeMar DeRozan at the wing positions, the presence of accomplished
shooters could take the pressure off the Stanford grad. "I told him, dont even
worry about his shot," said Raptors coach Dwane Casey. "Hes been working his
butt off on his shot, his shot has improved but Im not even concerned about that
because he brings so many other things to the table." "I think the weight of the
world is off his shoulder," he continued. "Hopefully him knowing that we dont
need his shooting to give us a chance to win, that takes some [pressure off]."
Instead, Fields will be asked to contribute in other areas of the game, areas he
has excelled at in the past, making for what should be a natural transition into
his new role. At 6-7 Fields is a skilled defender that Casey has used in man
coverage on the likes of LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony. He can handle the
ball, move without it and rebound as well as anyone at his position. This will
be an important season for Fields as he continues to work his way back from an
injury that, at least temporarily, changed the way he approached his job. "Im
just trying to go out there and really try to have fun again," he said with a
smile on his face. "I think last year with the injury it took away that fun
aspect for me of basketball and you never want to go to work and not have fun."
"I would still work hard but [when] you dont see the kind of results that youre
putting the time in to get, it really starts to play with you. So this year Im
not [going] to worry about any of that, just [going to] try to go out there and
play for my teammates, play for the city and really have fun with it all."
Cheap Jerseys Authentic .ca. Hi Kerry, Appreciate all your insight into what goes on in games. Im just looking for an
explanation - in Wednesdays Flyers-Capitals game, why didnt Wayne Simmonds
receive a third-man in during the line brawl last night? He clearly grabbed
Erskine, who was engaged with Lecavalier, allowing Vinnie a free cheap-shot
right to the mush!Thanks,Chris --- Hey Kerry, Seeing the Flyers-Caps line brawl
last night, whats the most interesting story from your officiating days when it
came to breaking them up? Paul McLane Chris: You are correct in your assessment
that Wayne Simmonds deserved a game misconduct when he grabbed John Erskine
around the neck allowing Vincent Lecavalier a free shot as the players fell to
the ice.
Cheap NFL Jerseys . Fielder received an injection on Saturday morning, and will be away from the team for that nights
game and Sundays contest against the Toronto Blue Jays. Rangers general manager
Jon Daniels said he hopes Fielder will be ready to play Tuesday night at home
against Seattle.Despite being a native of Rochester, New York, Jon Jones has
made Toronto a second home of sort as he prepares for he third championship
fight of his career at the Air Canada Centre versus Alexander Gustafsson
Saturday night. The llight-heavyweight champ joined TSN 1050 on Wednesday to
discuss what will be his sixth title defence versus six-foot-five Swedish
striker Alexander Gustafsson.
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