Tag: Injury Update

Steve Kerr happy to have Klay Thompson with Warriors during knee rehab

Klay Thompson is back on the court shooting while progressing through his rehab and Steve Kerr is happy to see it.

Injuries have rattled the Golden State Warriors’ 2019-20 season into the bottom of the Western Conference standings. Golden State’s season turned from a chance at the playoffs to focusing on developing youth after a myriad of damage up and down the roster.

A significant reason for the Warriors’ struggles has been the ailments to both Splash Brothers, Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson. However, recently there have been positive updates regarding the pair of backcourt All-Stars.

Curry recently traveled with the Warriors on the road for the first time since breaking his hand in late October against the Phoenix Suns. On top of road tripping, the two-time Most Valuable Player has been shooting without a brace or wrap on his shooting hand.

In regards to the other half of the Splash Brother duo, it’s been over six months since Thompson tore his ACL in the 2019 NBA Finals. While the Warriors still plan to evaluate Thompson’s knee during the All-Star break, Steve Kerr is happy to see Thompson back shooting again.

I’m watching Klay out on the floor shooting a lot of shots — he’s got that beautiful stroke, and he’s just out there smiling and laughing and shooting jumpers — more than anything it just feels good to see him out there and for him to feel like he’s actually closer.

Before the Warriors tipped off against the Dallas Mavericks, Kerr told reporters Thompson is still far away from returning, but he’s progressing through his rehab at a good pace.

Even though he’s still aways from being out on the floor, he’s so far along now, compared to when this first started — he’s pretty far down the path and I think he’s starting to feel that — the routine is changing now that he’s on the court a lot more.

With the Warriors looking more in line for the top pick in June’s NBA Draft rather than a playoff spot, expect the team to be extremely patient when it comes to Thompson’s knee. This season, Thompson can have a more significant impact along the sidelines working with the Warriors’ young rotation instead of rushing a comeback to the court.

Abdel Nader left game vs. Wolves with sprained ankle, did not return

Nader left in the first half of Oklahoma City’s game against the Timberwolves and did not return due to a sprained ankle.

As if the Oklahoma City Thunder haven’t had enough problems with players who have suffered ankle sprains.

Add Abdel Nader to the list.

Nader went to the locker room in the first half of Oklahoma City’s game against the Timberwolves. According to Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman, he was questionable to return with a left ankle sprain.

Nader played just seven minutes, scoring his only two points of the night from the free-throw line.

In his second season in OKC, the third-year small forward is averaging career highs in minutes, points and shooting percentage and has played in 31 games for the Thunder, starting in five.

Nader is not the only player on the Thunder’s roster dealing with a sprained ankle.

Oklahoma City center, Nerlens Noel, is still sidelined with a left ankle sprain that he suffered when he stepped on Tristan Thompson’s foot in the third quarter of the Thunder’s win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Jan. 4.

Davis still sideline with bruised buttocks, out Saturday vs. OKC

Anthony Davis will miss his second straight game with a bruised buttocks that he suffered during LA’s win over the Knicks on Tuesday.

LeBron James isn’t the only star that won’t be available for the Lakers on Saturday night.

The team announced just after 6 p.m. that Lakers’ leading scorer, Anthony Davis, would not play.

Davis suffered a bruised buttocks in the team’s win over the Knicks on Tuesday night after taking a scary-looking fall. Per ESPN, an MRI revealed no significant damage.

Though Davis made the two-game road trip with the team, he also missed Friday night’s game against the Mavericks.

Davis one of three Lakers that will miss Saturday night’s game in Oklahoma City.

LeBron James was ruled out of the game against the Thunder earlier in the day with flulike symptoms and Danny Green is sidelined with a sore right hip.

According to Brett Dawson of The Athletic, filling those spots in the starting rotation will be Rajon Rondo for LeBron, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope for Green, and Kyle Kuzma for Davis.

Kuzma had a solid outing against the Mavericks in place of Davis. He was the second-leading scorer behind LeBron with 26 points, grabbing six rebounds and dishing out two assists.

LeBron out Saturday vs. Oklahoma City with a cold

LeBron posted a double-double in the Lakers’ win over Dallas on Friday, going for 35 points and 16 rebounds while dishing out 7 assists.

LeBron James will not play against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Saturday night.

According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, James is out due to a cold.

James is second on the team in scoring this season, averaging 25.4 points to go along with 8.0 rebounds and a team-best, 10.7 assists per game.

The Lakers are in the second game of a back-to-back. They beat the Mavericks 129-114 in Dallas on Friday night. LeBron posted a double-double in the win, going for 35 and 16, dishing out seven assists. Per the LeBronWire, it’s the first time in his career he scored over 35 points while grabbed 15 or more boards in the same game.

James was without Anthony Davis on Friday. Davis missed the game against the Mavs with a bruised buttocks, an injury he suffered in a nasty looking fall on Tuesday against the Knicks.

Per ESPN, an MRI showed “no major concerns” and Davis did make the road trip with the team, however, he is still listed as day-to-day on the injury report.

Saturday’s game will be the third time the Lakers and OKC have played this season. Los Angeles has won both of their previous games against the Thunder, a 112-107 win in L.A. on Nov. 19 and a 130-127 victory in Oklahoma City on Nov. 22.

Tip-off on Saturday is scheduled for 7 p.m. CT inside Chesapeake Energy Arena.

Nerlens Noel will miss fourth straight game due to ankle injury

Noel is still sidelined with the sprained left ankle that he suffered in the third quarter of OKC’s win over the Cavaliers on Jan. 4.

The good news is that Nerlens Noel is improving. The bad news – he’s still out and will not play against the Lakers on Saturday.

Per Maddie Lee of The Oklahoman, Thunder head coach Billy Donovan gave the update on Noel’s status Friday afternoon.

There is still no timetable for OKC’s center to return, but Noel has not suffered any setbacks in his recovery.

Noel first suffered the ankle injury on January 4 in Oklahoma City’s win over the Cavaliers. He was chasing a loose ball during the third quarter when he appeared to step on the foot of Tristan Thompson, rolling his ankle at an awkward angle.

Noel left the game against the Cavs and did not return.

He missed the Thunder’s games against Philadelphia, Brooklyn, and Houston following the injury.

Oklahoma City had recalled Justin Patton for those games to help give the Thunder some size and depth on the bench, but he, along with Deonte Burton were reassigned to the OKC Blue on Friday afternoon.

Noel is not known much for his scoring, however, he brings a solid defensive presence.

Per NBA.com, Noel is 13th in the league in blocks per game, averaging 1.5 per contest. He’s also fourth on the Thunder in rebounding, pulling down 5.1 boards per game.

Oklahoma City tips off against the Lakers inside Chesapeake Energy Arena at 7 p.m. CT on Saturday night.

Danilo Gallinari upgraded to questionable, Noel out vs. Rockets

Gallinari was upgraded to questionable with a right calf contusion while Noel will miss his third-straight game with a left ankle sprain.

Good news for the Thunder ahead of Thursday night’s game against Houston.

Danilo Gallinari has been upgraded from out to questionable with a right calf contusion.

He had initially been ruled out of OKC’s matchup against Russell Westbrook and the Rockets, but according to Maddie Lee of The Oklahoman, he was upgraded just before 2 p.m. CT Thursday afternoon.

Gallinari missed Tuesday night’s win over the Nets in Brooklyn with the same injury.

The Thunder would certainly love to have Gallo in the lineup, if possible. He leads the team in three-point percentage this season, hitting on 39.2% of his shots beyond the arc.

He’s the team’s third-leading scorer behind Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Dennis Schroder, and just his presence on the court stretches the defense because of his ability to put up points.

One player that will not be on the floor, however, is Nerlens Noel.

Noel is still sidelined with the left ankle sprain that he suffered in OKC’s win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on January 4.

The Thunder recalled Justin Patton from the OKC Blue prior to Tuesday’s game to help fill the void, however, Patton did not play due to a coach’s decision.

Russell Westbrook makes his return to Oklahoma City Thursday night, coming back to face the Thunder for the first time since being traded to Houston during the offseason.

Tip-off inside Chesapeake Energy Arena is at 8:30 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on TNT.

Report: Injured Steph Curry goes through shooting workout brace free

Anthony Slater of The Athletic reported Stephen Curry was working out and shooting without a brace on his injured hand before the Warriors played the Milwaukee Bucks.

Stephen Curry has missed all but four games for the Golden State Warriors through the 2019-20 season due to injury, yet with each update, there seems to be positive news surrounding his broken left hand.

In early December, Curry had the pins removed from his surgically repaired hand, since then, the two-time Most Valuable Player has been able to be around his Golden State teammates with more consistency.

Throughout the season, Curry has been leading the charge from the Warriors’ bench, flying up and down Golden State’s sideline as the team’s lead hype man.

Recently, Steve Kerr told reporters that Curry is able to travel with the Warriors on the road — another productive sign regarding the recovery of his injured hand.

The positive news on the All-Star’s injury continued into the new year when Anthony Slater of The Athletic reported Curry was going through a shooting workout before the Warriors tipped-off against the Milwaukee Bucks.

Slater mentioned that Curry was working out with no brace or wrap on his left hand for the first time since injuring it in late October.

Another note Slater reported regarding Curry came from the Warriors practice before the team hosted Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks in San Francisco.

Hall of Fame point guard, Steve Nash, was in attendance for the practice, and he took place in a workout with Curry and Warriors’ assistant coach, Bruce Fraser.

According to Slater, Curry, Nash and Fraser started a shooting workout as reporters left the facility with the Davidson product using his left hand for the first time since injuring it against the Phoenix Suns.

There’s been no report if the Warriors plan to change Curry’s initial injury update period taking place in February, but from the outside, it looks like he’s progressing through his rehab.

With the Warriors record sitting at the bottom of the Western Conference standings, there’s no need to rush Curry back to the court quickly. For Golden State, injuries to both “Splash Brothers,” Curry and Klay Thompson have turned their 2019-20 season outlook from playoff potential to developing young pieces.

Patience will be key in regards to Curry’s return to the Golden State Warriors’ rotation.

Mike Muscala’s reaction to Joel Embiid’s dislocated finger is all of us

Embiid suffered a gruesome finger dislocation during the first quarter of the 76ers game against Oklahoma City on Monday night.

Joel Embiid is known almost as much for being injured as he is for his play.

The 76ers center missed the first two seasons of his NBA career with a broken bone in his foot and sat out an additional 88 games prior to the start of this year.

It’s not the most serious injury he’s ever had, but it’s a nasty looking one, as Embiid suffered a gruesome finger dislocation during Monday night’s game against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The injury happened late in the first quarter. Embiid was guarding Steven Adams when he slid over to help defend a drive by Darius Bazley.

It’s unclear exactly how his dislocated his finger, but Embiid immediately walked towards the sideline as play continued, eventually resulting in an Adams putback slam.

As the camera panned to Embiid, it showed his ring finger on his left hand was bent at an awkward angle back across his pinky.

Mike Muscala was understandably horrified.

Warning: The video is graphic.

Embiid was immediately taken back to the locker room.

Per Serena Winters, the Sixers reporter for NBCPhiladelphia, Embiid was treated, taped up and put back in the game.

Embiid is averaging a double-double this season, going for 23.6 points and 12.4 rebounds per game.

Diallo’s one-handed dunk shows Hami is back to full strength

Hamidou Diallo threw down a savage one-handed dunk during the fourth quarter of Oklahoma City’s 121-106 win over the Cavaliers on Saturday.

The play started with an ugly missed three-point attempt by Mike Muscala.

As the ball bricked off the backboard and into the hands of Alfonzo McKinnie, Hamidou Diallo was already on the move. He jumped into the lane, intercepting McKinnie’s pass before it ever got to Collin Sexton.

And as both could only turn and look, Diallo took off with both feet and threw down a savage one-handed dunk.

In the scope of Hami’s dunking abilities, the one to give the Thunder a 100-88 lead in the fourth quarter of their win over Cleveland, was fairly tame. But given the fact that he used his right hand, it might be his best of the year.

Watching that dunk by Diallo, you’d never know that he missed 17 games earlier this season with a hyperextended right elbow and just returned on December 31 against the Mavs.

And by looks of that slam, he looks to be pretty much back to full strength.

Billy Donovan said last Tuesday ahead of OKC’s game against Dallas that Diallo was not on a minutes restriction. He’s played 19 minutes in each of the last two games, scoring four and 10 points, respectively.

Diallo will be back in the lineup on Monday when the Thunder take on the 76ers in Philadelphia. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT.

Injury report: Matisse Thybulle out Monday against Oklahoma City

The 76ers rookie will miss Monday night’s game against OKC with a sprained right knee/bone bruise. No timetable is set for his return.

Oklahoma City will face a 76ers squad on Monday night that will be without Matisse Thybulle.

The Philadelphia rookie is still sidelined with a sprained right knee/bone bruise that he suffered against the Washington Wizards back on Dec. 21.

According to The Philadelphia Inquirer, Thybulle was set to be re-evaluated two weeks after his initial injury. Per the report, on Saturday Thybulle was cleared for limited contact, but unavailable for Monday’s game against the Thunder.

When Oklahoma City and the 76ers last met in November, Thybulle was a non-factor in OKC’s 127-119 overtime win. He was scoreless in only five minutes of game time and missed the only shot he took from the floor.

The Thunder are dealing with injury issues of their own.

Nerlens Noel is out Monday with a sprained left ankle after he went down awkwardly during the third quarter of Oklahoma City’s 121-106 win over the Cavaliers on Saturday.

OKC and the 76ers tip-off at 6 p.m. CT in Philadelphia. The game will be broadcast on NBATV.