Injured players make for tougher games

Nothing has come easily for UCLA this season, and maybe
that’s why the Bruins were so reluctant to take the simple
route in explaining Saturday’s loss to Washington. Rather
than point to all the ice bags and crutches on the bench, they
dissected rebounds and field goal percentages.

The Bruins certainly weren’t seeking any pity for their
growing handicaps. Still, they could certainly use a helping hand,
so I’ll do my part to chip in and make the obvious excuse for
them.

Teams can only absorb so many injuries before their execution
also gets hurt. For UCLA, the absence of Cedric Bozeman, Josh
Shipp, Lorenzo Mata and now Alfred Aboya is a giant compound
fracture, one that doesn’t require an MRI to see the damaging
results.

In Westwood these days, sprained ankles hardly qualify as
setbacks. Freshmen are seeing minutes they normally wouldn’t
for at least another year or so. It’s gotten to the point
where even the seniors are playing.

Yet despite all these ready-made excuses, there were only
passing references to a roster more depleted than Michael
Moore’s buffet table.

“It wasn’t so much the injuries,” sophomore
guard Arron Afflalo said about the loss. “The injuries
weren’t affecting us when we were up 17.”

The thing about injuries though is that they catch up to you.
Whether the Bruins led by 17 or 27, they would still have to
contend with the nagging health factor. Playing a seven-man
rotation simply doesn’t allow for the same breathing room
that a nine-man rotation does, even if a coach manages each
players’ minutes well.

It’s little surprise then that the Bruins have struggled
so much in the second-half of their last two contests. Against
Washington State on Thursday, the Bruins almost gave away a
17-point lead in their first conference battle without Shipp. When
things got tight, they were missing a proven scorer and it almost
cost them.

Against the Huskies, the Bruins did throw away a 17-point lead
in their first Pac-10 match-up without Mata. When things started to
slip away, they were missing a solid rebounder, and it did cost
them.

It wasn’t just the boards where UCLA lost its edge after
halftime. The Bruins were a step slow defensively as the Huskies
knifed through the lane. Offensively, they seemed complacent to
stand around and watch a teammate go one-on-one. From the stands,
they looked like a tired team needing a spark off a bench.
Unfortunately, that bench was dressed in street clothes.

All the signs pointed to a squad that didn’t have the
depth to sustain a high level of play for 40 minutes. Yet
“worn down” wasn’t a phrase that crossed the
Bruins’ minds, regardless of how acceptable the explanation
would have been.

“I don’t know about that,” coach Ben Howland
said when I asked him whether fatigue was a factor against the
Huskies. “The bottom line is we have to play better
defense.”

It’s a lot easier to play better defense with a fresh
line-up though.

Howland knows this of course, and my guess is that he
doesn’t want to just start recycling the same excuse game
after game.

From here on out, the Bruins could legitimately blame a sluggish
offensive performance on Shipp’s aching hip. They could
attribute any rebounding weaknesses to Mata’s broken leg.

But with each of the injured Bruins out for the long haul, such
excuses wouldn’t offer any hope as the season progresses.

Saturday’s line-up is one the team will have to make do
with for the remainder of the year, assuming no one dislocates a
finger on a slam dunk or pulls a stomach muscle doing sit-ups.

If things break right, UCLA can still win the Pac-10 title.
That, needless to say, hinges on no other Bruins breaking
apart.

E-mail Finley at

[email protected] if your heart was broken after
Saturday’s game.