With the sudden end to the NBA lockout and abbreviated training camps rushing guys through to a regular season jammed with lots of games in short periods of time, I have no doubt that we’re going to be seeing an uptick in injuries across the League. There’s just no way around it. Injuries happen all the time, even when guys are in incredible basketball shape – the effects of a significantly longer offseason running right into an NBA season are going to take their toll on guys.
One of the first big injuries hit the Memphis Grizzlies over the weekend when they lost rising star Darrell Arthur, most likely for the season.
Arthur reportedly left Sunday’s practice with what is believed to be a right Achilles tear after just coming back from resting a sore left Achilles. The Grizzlies are expected to make their official prognosis today, but most likely, he’s done for the year.
This leaves Memphis in a precarious spot. They were thin in their frontcourt before losing Arthur – now the only real PF on their roster is Zach Randolph, and they have no backup center for Marc Gasol.
This may renew their soap opera of moving O.J. Mayo for a serviceable big man, but who? The names out there are uninspiring at best. Kris Humprhies? Brian Skinner? Could they possibly lure Andrei Kirilenko to Memphis?
Whatever they do, they need to do it quickly.
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