When gathered, from the 13-man roster, only 9 could actually stand on the court for training, not enough for a full confrontation drill.
After undergoing systematic recovery training and examinations at the rookie training camp, the team doctor recommended Sabonis to undergo ankle bone spur removal surgery.
If he did so, Sabonis would miss more than half of the games, but he refused and decided on conservative treatment.
For the past two seasons, he has been troubled by injuries, with small injuries occurring intermittently, greatly affecting his condition.
The full effort at the Olympics increased his physical burden, but to win the fourth consecutive championship, he decided to drag through the season.
The cost of conservative treatment is that his training volume needs to be controlled, and his playing time must be reduced at the start of the season.
