Blake To Have Arthroscopic Shoulder Surgery

Steve Blake, who battled through serious shoulder pain for much of the 2008-09 season after going full tilt into a pick, is going under the arthroscopic knife to, as KP puts it, "clean a few things up." From the press release:

Trail Blazers guard Steve Blake will undergo arthroscopic shoulder surgery on Friday, May 29, General Manager Kevin Pritchard announced today.

“Steve continues to experience some shoulder discomfort,” said Pritchard. “We need to go in, clean a few things up and get it stabilized. He should be good to go in about 6-8 weeks.”

The injury originally occurred when Blake separated his right shoulder trying to fight through a screen in the second quarter of Portland’s game at Philadelphia on January 14. The injury sidelined Blake for five games. He returned to action on January 26 at the Los Angeles Clippers and re-aggravated the injury in the second quarter, forcing him to miss an additional eight games.

The surgery will be performed by Dr. Neal S. ElAttrache at the Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Clinic in Los Angeles.

You had to figure Blake was going to need a little extra help with the shoulder in the offseason after he admitted he basically didn't use his right arm in practice toward the end of the season. Tough dude, that Blakey.