Rehab Checklist for Steve Blake's Return to the Los Angeles Lakers

Russ Isabella-USA TODAY Sports

Following laparoscopic surgery to repair a torn abdominal muscle on Dec. 5, Los Angeles Lakers point guard Steve Blake will embark on a 6-8 week recovery program before he sees the court again.

It says a lot about the recent struggles of the Lakers when the loss of Blake, who was supposed to do nothing more than provide limited minutes off the bench, feels like a significant blow. But with Steve Nash still sidelined with a cracked fibula, L.A. has only the spectacularly unspectacular Chris Duhon and the woefully inexperienced Darius Morris to handle point guard duties.

Although he's been sidelined since Nov. 11, Blake's prospective two-month absence now comes at a tough time for a reeling Lakers team. L.A. has lost four of its last five and will take its 2-7 road record on a four-game swing to the east coast starting Dec. 11.

Admittedly, Blake's return is really just an afterthought compared to the much more critical comeback of Nash, but anyone who's watched the Lakers' current point guards struggle to make any sort of positive impact on the game knows that Blake's absence really does matter.

It's going to be a couple of months until he's back at full strength, and a few of the pit stops on the road to recovery are going to be unpleasant. Here's a look at the rehab checklist of Steve Blake.

Note: All stats accurate through games played Dec. 10

Step 1: Get out of Bed

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Before any real rehab starts, Blake's going to have to get back on his feet.

Surgery went well. Thanks for all the prayers & well wishes. #roadtorecovery starts NOW instagr.am/p/S3qaCUHnfX/

— Steve Blake (@SteveBlake5) December 5, 2012

 

It's definitely encouraging that he's already adopting such a positive outlook, but since our last glimpse into Blake's bed-ridden state, we haven't heard (or seen) any subsequent updates.

Naturally, Blake's in a fair amount of pain after surgery, so he's entitled to kick his feet up for a few days. Fortunately, he's been getting some encouragement from his teammates, some of which came before he even went under the knife.

@steveblake5 I hope the surgery goes really well tomorrow. We look forward to having you back!

— Pau Gasol (@paugasol) December 5, 2012

So maybe that'll help get him through the first phase of his recovery.

Step 2: Walking

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Once Blake is up and on his feet, he'll have to work on getting his wind back. That'll mean some time on a treadmill, but he's going to have to walk before he can run.

According to livestrong.com, Blake should be able to begin walking on a treadmill about a week after the surgery. Because laparoscopic procedures are less invasive than "open" abdominal surgeries, in which there's a major incision, "laproscopy results in a quicker return to physical activity," says Fred Decker in When to Start Treadmill Walking After Abdominal Surgery on livestrong.com.

That's good news for Lakers, who'll be looking to get their point guard back as soon as possible.

Step 3: Running

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This one's obvious. Blake's got to be able to progress from walking to running before he moves on to actual basketball activities.

From a glass-half-full perspective, running might be less important to the Lakers' point guard than you'd think. According to John Hollinger, Blake doesn't actually do a heck of a lot of running on the court:

Again, Blake put virtually no pressure on the defense, earning only 27 free throw attempts and making eight—yes, eight—shots in the basket area the entire season.

Based on that scouting report, it's pretty clear that Blake, who virtually never pushes the tempo, isn't exactly out there sprinting around. Maybe his lack of aggressiveness is a benefit in this case.

Dr. Patrick Milroy of Runner's World indicates that it is actually possible to begin running after more serious abdominal surgery at the three-week mark. Given the decreased invasiveness of Blake's laparoscopic procedure, that seems like a reasonable estimate for when he can ramp up his cardio work.

Step 4: Basketball Activities

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The final step in Steve Blake's rehab will be a return to full basketball activities. That'll include running, cutting and engaging in full-contact practices. Based on the Lakers' initial estimates, we can't expect him to be ready for that until at least six weeks after the Dec. 5 surgery.

That means Blake won't return to the court in a meaningful way until sometime in late January, at the earliest.

According to Mrs. Blake, who's about as good a source on this issue as anyone, the surgery went very well and her husband is already doing film study on the Lakers...in a manner of speaking.

Watching the game WITH @steveblake5 is weird...I keep looking over confused as to why he's next to me. Giant ice pack gives it away though.

— kristen blake (@kristenblake2) December 8, 2012

Hey, if he can't get out on the court, at least he's absorbing whatever he can from the comfort of his couch.

Step 5: Ride the Pine

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It's a little anti-climactic, but once Blake returns, there's a pretty good chance that another Steve (Nash) will also be back (via LA Times). That means Blake's 26 minutes per game before the surgery figure to be cut down substantially.

There's certainly no shame in sitting behind a two-time MVP and purported franchise savior, but there's more to the issue than that.

In addition to the impending return of Steve Nash, Chris Duhon will have had another two months to familiarize himself with coach Mike D'Antoni's offense, which means Blake might return to the Lakers' bench as a third-string option.

Duhon's stats, modest as they may be, have actually been better than Blake's were before he went down with his abdominal injury. The Lakers' starting point guard of late has averaged 3.9 assists, shot 48 percent from three-point range and had a 4.5 assist-to-turnover ratio in just under 23 minutes per game.

All of those figures surpass the ones Blake produced when he had the starting job.

The Lakers may yet need Steve Blake down the stretch as a defensive substitute, but it seems increasingly likely that his road to recovery will end up with him playing a significantly reduced role.