Not unlike seasons of past, key players for many teams around the league have missed significant time due to a variety of injuries this season.
It looked as though Nene Hilario would suffer a similar fate – and then some – when he went down with a scary looking knee injury against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday. Some in the organization feared that it may have been bad enough to be season-ending.
Lucky for the Washington Wizards, the power forward suffered nothing more than a sprained ligament, from Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports:
After initial fears of a season-ending knee injury, Wizards center Nene has suffered a sprained left medial collateral ligament and is expected to return before the playoffs, a league source told Yahoo Sports.
Nene will miss six weeks, a league source told Yahoo Sports.
The injury could cost him most of the regular season, but there’s strong hope he can return in time for the playoffs in mid-April.
The loss of Nene, 31, for the season would’ve been a difficult blow to the Wizards’ hopes of making an impact in the Eastern Conference playoffs.
Nene suffered the injury in Washington’s victory over Cleveland on Sunday night. An MRI on Monday in Washington revealed the ligament sprain is the only injury in the left knee.
Of course, this isn’t to say that he suffered a minor injury. Having to play a month and a half without its starting power forward will hurt Washington big time as it continues to push to make the playoffs for the first time since John Wall was drafted with the No. 1 overall pick in 2010. Still, it apparently could have been much worse.
With Nene out for the foreseeable future, the Wizards will sign Drew Gooden to a temporary contract, according to Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports:
NBA free-agent forward-center Drew Gooden is expected to sign a 10-day contract with the Washington Wizards following the loss of Nene, sources told Yahoo Sports.
Gooden is expected to sign with the Wizards on Tuesday, though the 11-year NBA veteran would likely not play that night against the Orlando Magic as his first practice with Washington is scheduled for Wednesday, according to a source familiar with the circumstances. Even before Nene’s injury, the Wizards had been eyeing the possibility of adding a big man since earning an open roster spot after trading Jan Vesely and Eric Maynor last Thursday.
ERIC BLEDSOE IS ACTIVE AGAIN:
Bledsoe has missed nearly two months of action after getting his knee scoped in early January, but may be on the right path to returning to action for the surprising Phoenix Suns sooner than later, according to Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic:
Eric Bledsoe played basketball again Monday.
It was not a game or even a practice but Bledsoe went beyond his individual knee rehabilitation work for the first time with about 30 minutes of three-on-three play against Suns teammates.
“It was unbelievable,” Bledsoe said after the closed workout. “I felt a little bit relieved. I just want to credit my teammates for coming in and playing with me.”
The Suns point guard has been out since a Jan. 10 right knee arthroscopy. His timetable for returning to full Suns practices is still unknown and then it will be three to four days beyond that before he could play in a game to insure that his right knee does not swell. The Suns will not have another practice until Saturday but Coach Jeff Horancek said that might be too soon for Bledsoe to begin practicing.
“For being out as long as he is and that’s probably his first real action going against other guys, he looked pretty good,” Hornacek said. “This is when it becomes a question tomorrow, when he wakes up, how it feels. If it feels OK, then he’ll continue to do that and hopefully we’ll get him back.”
“I’m up on him and he was using his speed to get by me and using pick-and-roll great, hitting his jump shot,” Christmas said. “He looked like how he practiced in practice two months ago. He’s back. I can’t wait until everybody sees him. He’s looking real good. He had his athleticism. Whoever did his surgery (team physician Thomas Carter) is amazing.”
THE KNICKS DROP WORLD PEACE AND UDRIH:
As expected, the New York Knicks dropped two players on Monday, from ESPN:
The New York Knicks bought out forward Metta World Peace and point guard Beno Udrih.
“We are disappointed that it did not work out for Beno and Metta here in New York,” Knicks president and general manager Steve Mills said. “We thank them for their contributions this season and wish them well.”
World Peace, a Queens native, signed a two-year deal worth approximately $1.6 million per season, with a player option in the second year, over the summer. He is free to join another team but will lose the player option.
“It was a childhood dream of mine to play basketball professionally in New York City, and it has truly been a blessing for that dream to have come true,” World Peace said in a statement. “However, under current circumstances, my agent and I have agreed that being bought out would be the best option for me professionally. I would like everyone to know that whether I was on the court or off, I could not have been happier playing for and cheering on this amazing city, my city.
“Lastly, I would like to thank all of the incredible fans of New York, as well as my teammates, my coach and the Knicks’ owner for the wonderful opportunity to play in my hometown.”
According to Chris Broussard of ESPN, World Peace is thinking about joining a select number of teams:
Source: After being waived by the Knicks, Metta World Peace hoping to land in Miami, San Antonio or OKC
That’s a fine list of teams to join for him, provided any of them wants him on their rosters. The Los Angeles Clippers, for one, appear to have at least some interest, according to Sam Amick of USA Today:
Clippers will have some interest in Metta World Peace when he is bought out by Knicks, I’m told, but not a slam dunk, so to speak.
OTHER NEWS FROM AROUND THE LEAGUE: