James Silas: “Captain Late” Commanded Respect in the Clutch (Part II)
Silas completely recovered from his broken ankle in time for the 1976 preseason. The Spurs seemed poised to be a contender in the merged league but their title chances were dealt a crushing blow when Silas suffered a serious cartilage tear in his knee when he collided with the Kansas City Kings' Bill Robinzine during a preseason game. Silas recalls, "Really, it was supposed to be plain and simple. They went in there and operated and evidently it wasn't right (the first time) and they had to go in there again. Back then we didn't have the workout facilities and the types of things that you can do today, but I'm not mad about it. Back then it took a lot longer to come back and play. It took at least a year and a half out of my career."
At that time it was thought that a lot of rest was necessary after knee surgery. New York Knicks' All-Star forward Bernard King, who tore his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in 1985, was one of the first athletes to pursue an extremely aggressive rehabilitation program quickly after surgery. Silas reflected on this: "I feel like if I would have known then the things that I know now, I would have worked that thing relentlessly. I was always limited and told the things that I should do and the things that I shouldn't do. So I just followed the instructions of the medical people. I really liked Bernard King's career and how he was told that he would never play again and then I saw tapes about how hard he was working. I thought, 'Wow, if I had done that, I could have come back a lot faster.'"
Silas played 3000+ minutes in each of the three previous seasons, but logged only 667 minutes while participating in 59 of 164 regular season games in 1976-77 and 1977-78. He would never again play more than 2300 minutes in a season. Bob Bass describes how the injury changed Silas' game: "He just wasn't as explosive. (Before the injury) he could really elevate when he penetrated. When he drove to the basket he could take a hit and finish the shot as well as anybody I've ever seen--maybe the best I've ever seen. You could hit him and he was so strong and could elevate so high that he could still finish the shot. He was a great free throw shooter. It's amazing-George Gervin led the NBA in scoring four times, but he never got to the free throw line as much you'd think he would. He had all of these tricks; he'd move under you or over you. But James Silas could draw a foul as well as anybody who ever played."
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