Granger Out 4 to 6 Weeks
December 9, 2009
If things weren’t bad enough right now for the Indiana Pacers, now they have lost scoring leader Danny Granger for at least four weeks with a foot injury. Indiana is coming off a tough stretch in which they have lost nine of their last 10 contests.
Granger would miss a minimum of four to six weeks with a torn right plantar fascia, the tissue across the bottom of the foot connecting the heel and toes. The good news is that the forward won’t need surgery and will immediately start with rehabilitation. He had been playing with a bad heal for the first six weeks of the season.
Granger missed a month last season with a torn tendon in the same foot, but still played enough to be named the NBA’s most improved player. He left the floor in the third quarter of Saturday’s game against the Los Angeles Clippers.
Pacers coach Jim O’Brien said, “We’re losing an All-Star player. It’s a big loss. How we deal with it remains to be seen.” Losing his 24.4 points per game means they are going to be without a bulk of their offensive fire power.
Several Pacers will have to fill in Granger’s minutes. Dahntay Jones averages 15.3 points per game. Luther Head and Brandon Rush likely will see more playing time in Granger’s place, starting with Wednesday night’s home game against Portland.
Mike Dunleavy also plays the wing position, but he just returned from a right knee injury on Nov. 28, so he’s limited to 20 minutes per game for now. Troy Murphy, Jeff Foster, Travis Diener and Tyler Hansbrough also have missed time this season with injuries.
“Any rash of injuries challenges you,” O’Brien said. “I try to stay away from the word frustrated. We have games to play. We have guys who are professional players who have talent and are expected to step in and help us win.”
The Pacers, whose losing skid followed a five-game winning streak, are trying to remain positive, but when your star goes down that can be a difficult challenge.
No related posts.
