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The good news is that power forward Emeka Okafor was not seriously injured after twisting his ankle in Monday's practice with Team USA while preparing for the Athens Olympics.

The bad news, however, is that the Charlotte Bobcats may not know that X-rays came back negative and Okafor most likely will continue to play.

"We are somewhat concerned because all that basketball causes a lot of wear and tear and prevents you from being fresh at the start of the season," Bobcats coach and general manager Bernie Bickerstaff said after learning of Okafor's selection to the team in June. "We have many concerns that we want to address."

Okafor signed a $10 million contract with the Bobcats and is expected to be the cornerstone of the expansion franchise.

But he wouldn't be the first player to participate in additional summer activities and have them affect his performance during the NBA's regular season. While no one directly blames last year's Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Puerto Rico, the fact remains that several players on that squad did experience subpar seasons directly following it.

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