Basketball injuries are a cruel thing. It just takes a second to wipe away hundreds of hours of hard work a player puts in to developing his NBA game.
After injuring his left kneecap last night, A.J. Price will have to switch from developing his game to rehabbing his knee for a few months, a tough setback for the Pacers' second-round pick in the midst of solidifying his position in the NBA. Mike Wells caught up with Price last night and the injury appears as severe as the initial reports indicated.
"I was making a move to the basket and it happened," Price told Wells. "It's something with my kneecap. I'm going to be out a few months."
Greg Oden and Shaun Livingston famously burst their kneecaps and both missed significant time. Livingston's NBA career is back on track after a nice showing with the Washington Wizards last season. Oden plans a full return next year, as well, so hopefully Price will have the kneecap taken care of and return at some point next season depending on how "few" is defined by the doctors.
Of course, this is the same left knee with a repaired ACL that helped push Price down to the 52nd pick in the draft last year. It also further unsettles the Pacers' already dicey point guard situation. With Earl Watson likely looking for a better situation, T.J. Ford is now literally, the last man standing at point guard. This adds a sense of urgency to the Pacers' plans to address the position this summer.
After the jump, links with stories about Pacers trainier, Josh Corbeil (timely), the Celtics dominating the Magic and Roy Hibbert considering international play.
The doctor is IN
Pacers' trainer Josh Corbeil is profiled in a local-boy-does-good feature.
Behind the Box Score, where the C's have the Magic on the ropes
The Eastern Conference finals have become a bore and KD digs into the Celtics' easy Game 3 win over the Magic to explain why.
J'can basketballer lands degree , Hibbert may play for Jamaica
This story on a retiring Jamaican player, mentions Roy Hibbert's intentions of playing for Jamaica in this year's Centrobasket tournament which is the FIBA championship tournament for Mexico, Central American and Caribbean countries.
NBA free agency: Amare Stoudemire, Chris Bosh, Joe Johnson state their cases
Ira Winderman discusses free agents and the NBA's issues with dishing out max contracts.