Enes Kanter Punched A Chair, And He Might Be Seriously Hurt As A Result (UPDATED)

It looks like Oklahoma City will be without the services of Enes Kanter for an extended period of time. The team is reportedly afraid that Kanter suffered an injury to his right hand during the Thunder’s game against Dallas, according to Adrian Wojnarowski.

ESPN’s Royce Young said that the team feared the injury was “significant,” and that Kanter underwent x-rays. However, Young reported that Kanter suffered an injury to his wrist.

The worst part of this is that Kanter suffered the reported injury by doing something avoidable. The big man was frustrated during the game, and while he was on the sidelines, he punched one of the chairs on the team’s bench. While Kanter looked like he was fine for a second, he grabbed his forearm and seemed to realize that something was up.

The Thunder ended up winning without Kanter – they took down the Mavericks, 109-98, behind 45 points from Russell Westbrook. But for a team that is already thin at center, losing Kanter would be huge. The good news is Oklahoma City still has Steven Adams, who has been really good this year, but the only other big men on the roster are Domantas Sabonis, Joffrey Lauvergne, and Nick Collison. Additionally, Jerami Grant is capable of playing in the frontcourt.

As long as the team makes the postseason and Kanter makes it back in time to give the team a spark off the bench, this may not be as bad as it appears. But in the meantime, this is potentially a huge loss for Oklahoma City.
UPDATE: Thunder coach Billy Donovan announced that Kanter suffered a fractured forearm during this incident.

There is no word on a timetable for Kanter’s return, nor is there any word on whether the Thunder will try to bolster their frontcourt before the trade deadline.