Hornets‘ standout rookie Kon Knueppel left Friday night’s game against the Magic early with a right ankle sprain, but he appears to have avoided serious injury, writes Rod Boone of the Charlotte Observer.
“Kon, he’s an insane competitor — he wants to come back for practice,” coach Charles Lee said on Sunday. “But I do think that he’s made good progress so far. He’s been able to do a little bit on the court, but we will continue to see how he responds every day. As of now, it’s a right ankle sprain, and we’ll kind of work day-to-day to see how he responds to treatment.”
Knueppel has been a key part of the Hornets’ rotation this season, averaging 19.3 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 3.5 assists on .478/.428/.897 shooting splits while starting 30 of the 31 games he’s played.
We have more injury notes from around the league:
- Bam Adebayo needed to take some time to let his body rest before returning to the Heat, writes Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald. “He really needed this time,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “He was dealing with some deals because of overcompensation. I think he’s feeling a lot better each day.” Adebayo is considered probable for Monday’s game against the Nuggets after missing the previous two matchups.
- Ace Bailey missed Saturday’s Jazz win against the Spurs after leaving Utah’s previous contest against the Pistons early due to a left hip strain, as reported by ESPN. Kevin Love sat out against San Antonio due to rest, as Andy Larson of the Salt Lake Tribune (Twitter link).
- The Blazers have been particularly hit by injuries this season, and it’s dragging their play-in aspirations down, Sean Highkin writes for the Rose Garden Report (subscriber link). Jrue Holiday has missed nearly six weeks with a right calf strain that was supposed to keep him out for 1-to-2 weeks. Jerami Grant and Matisse Thybulle have both also missed time, and Scoot Henderson still has yet to play a game this season. “It’s the injuries, my friend,” head coach Tiago Splitter said Friday.