Jason Terry was mask-less for the first time last night since having surgery to repair a broken orbital bone. According to Tim MacMahon of ESPN Dallas, doctors had recommended that Terry wear the mask for the rest of the season, but JET insisted he would ditch it “as soon as the feeling returned to the left side of his face.”
Shouldn’t that be the first warning sign right there? I mean, he injured his face. A bone structure that protects his eye, and that could cause some serious, permanent damage to his vision if he’s not careful. I know a mask doesn’t magically repel the elbows of careless centers or in this case, Corey Brewers, but it does help to displace some of that impact to prevent more serious direct injuries.
I can’t imagine it’s comfortable, and I can’t say what the precise damages would be should Terry get hit on his surgically-repaired bone again. But with so much vital tissue at stake around the area in question, it all seems a bit dangerous. If the Mavs insist, they could actually force Terry to wear the mask; it’s their right per the CBA, and the precedent is there from when Hedo Turkoglu recovered from a similar injury earlier this season. No word indicating any such thing from the Mavs of yet, though.
It may be for the best in terms of Terry’s production, though. He scored 18 points in 32 minutes in his last game with the mask, but upped that to 24 points in 28 minutes (on better shooting percentages) after he got rid of it.