Bogues re-injures hamstring

Wednesday, April 23, 1997

By John Delong

JOURNAL REPORTER

FORT MILL, S.C.

Muggsy Bogues can't bring himself to say the word, but he suffered a major setback yesterday.

Bogues pulled up lame while running sprints yesterday afternoon, aggravating a strained right hamstring that has kept him out of the Charlotte Hornets' lineup for most of the past three weeks.

He said he still plans to play Thursday night when the Hornets open the playoffs against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden -- but he said it with tears in his eyes and a resignation in his voice that indicated otherwise.

''I don't want to say it's (a setback),'' Bogues said. ''I don't want to say that. I've just got to find a way to make this work. But I don't know about this. It's another challenge for me. It's real frustrating.''

Bogues' status for the best-of-five first-round series could have a big impact on the Hornets' chances. They were 46-19 in the 65 games he played this season and were 22-2 when he scored in double figures.

If he can't go, or is severely limited, the point-guard duties will go to rookie Tony Smith and Tony Delk. Smith has also been battling hamstring problems.

Bogues initially strained his right hamstring in a game at New Jersey on April 3, but he continued to play in the Hornets' next five games. He called it quits 15 minutes into a victory at Detroit on April 11, and he has been in and out of the lineup since. He sat out the Hornets' final three games.

Bogues said he felt good initially yesterday, and at one point told Coach Dave Cowens he felt great. That didn't last long, though. He was running sprints with teammate Dell Curry when he pulled up, screamed in disgust and hobbled off the court.

''I didn't feel anything until I got running and really extended my leg, and it started stiffening up then,'' Bogues said. ''I felt a knot, just like it was going to pop, and that's an irritating feeling because you don't know when it is going to pop.''

He has been playing with knee problems all season, but he said that this injury was scarier to him.

''I've been playing on one leg all season long, but it's different this time,'' Bogues said. ''The knee, it was just pain I had to deal with. I knew the knee wasn't going to pop, it was just a matter of getting over the pain. And that's what happened. But this is totally different. This is with the muscles, and you don't know what might happen. The only guy I know who has gone through this is KJ (Kevin Johnson), and I've seen him sit out for months.''

Bogues is emphatic that he won't sit out, though, until he just can't go any longer. He vowed that he would be in the starting lineup Thursday night even if it means risking further damage.

He likened his situation in the playoffs two years ago, when he played against Chicago in the first round despite having suffered chipped cartilage in his left knee shortly before.

That's the same injury that kept him out of all but six games last season.

''I look at it like this,'' Bogues said. ''I went into the Chicago series knowing that my knee wasn't right, knowing that it would probably lead to surgery, and I did it anyway. I took a lot of heat, but that's all right, I'd do it again because my ballclub needed me being there at that particular time, being the vocal leader, the quarterback, getting all the other guys to play up to their level.

''It's the same situation here. I don't worry about what the media writes about me, or what the fans say, I go play basketball. I'm here for my team and that's all that matters. That's just the bottom line. If it pops Thursday night, it pops. If I have a bad game, it's a bad game. But I'm looking forward to going out there and going to war.''

He's beaten the odds all his life.

''This is what you live for,'' he said. ''I love the atmosphere of big games, playing in New York. And I'm in a situation where, you lose or you don't play, the season's over. I can't end the season like this. I've got to at least give myself a chance to see what I can do. That's the only person I know in me, to go out there and give it a try. That's what I've done my whole life. There's no reason to stop now.''

Wednesday, April 23, 1997