Well, crap.
“Mason, who has started 19 games for the Thunder, injured his knee with 4:02 left in the 3rd quarter against the Memphis Grizzlies. The injury is being called a hyper extension and will require arthroscopic surgery to remove debris from his knee.
“We are disappointed to lose Desmond for the remainder of the season,” said Presti. “He is a valuable part of our efforts on and off the court. We will support Desmond and work with him throughout the rehabilitation process. Unfortunately, the timing of the injury does not allow Desmond to return this season.”
Mason has averaged 7.5 points and 4.0 rebounds per game this year for the 11-35 Thunder.”
So what’s this mean? Well, first thinking says Damien Wilkins gets another crack at the first five and we get to watch his dead body get dragged around the court. But I wouldn’t put it past Scott Brooks to try and give Kyle Weaver extended minutes and/or try using Earl Watson/Chucky Atkins with Russell Westbrook. I don’t think he’ll move Kevin Durant back to the two and Jeff Green to the three. At least, I hope that doesn’t happen. And no, there’s really no help in Tulsa to look to. The 66ers are really thin at guard, and I’m not sure if Ronald Dupree can play the two (he’s 6-foot-7, 200 lbs and is Tulsa’s best player averaging almost 20 ppg). In other words, I have no idea what to expect. If I were to pick a scenario, I’d go with Weaver starting at the two and keeping everything else the same.
This really sucks because Desmond is such a leader for this team that he’ll be missed, most on the defensive end. He works hard, fights through screens, hits the boards and is a total effort guy. He’ll never light you up in the box score but he’s a good ballplayer. Best wishes to Desmond and here’s to a quick recovery.
But I am not really worried about Korver or Allen exploding to the hole and overpowering Westbrook or Chucky, I am worried about them just turning and elevating and dropping midrange jumpers all day. Then the shorter guy is up and extended and gets called for the ticky tack foul on the forearm.
Ray can post up as good as anyone in the league, he just doesn't do it much. Overpowering isn't really the issue I was talking about. Have you noticed how Durant just elevates and shoots over people. That's what I am talking about. And when we Play Utah, Korver and Harpring will probably do a lot of that if they see the mismatch.
@Joe
I could imagine him guarding either of those guys, those are horrible examples. Neither of them are going to explode to the basket and overpower him in the post. All atkins would have to do is put a hand in their face, which isn't that difficult.
Anyway, I don't see a real problem with Westbrook at the point and Atkins at the Shoot on offense, and then vice versa on defense. Westbrook is 6'3", which isn't THAT undersized for a shooting guard, and what he lacks in height he makes up for in quickness. This is nothing new for the Thunder, as there will be stretches where Westbrook is playing SG while Watson is playing PG.
If we want defense, Weaver is fine, just make sure that he doesn't drive the ball. Every time he drives the lane, he ends up passing it right under the basket or missing a layup horribly. At any rate, we'll definately end up with a Watson-Wastbrook-Weaver-Atkins rotation at the guard spots right now, with Wilkins reserved only for emergencies. I doubt that we call up Forbes unless 2 more players happen to get injured.
Agreed Joe and Royce. If Durant is one of the most underated players in the L, than Hughes is one of the most overated.
Seriously. Good stuff Joe. Presti doesn't want "non-character" guys. In other words, we don't want no stinkin' Larry Hughes.
Larry Hughes? That sounds like the worst possible trade for a young team that is lucky enough to not have any real selfish players or chemistry problems.
There's a reason this website exists, and it's worth a minute or two for a laugh: http://heylarryhughespleasestoptakingsomanybadshots.com/
Chucky is like 5'11". He can't defend the two, but he shoots like a two. Can you imagine him trying to defend Ray Allen, or Kyle Korver tomorrow night? He would have to defend the one and Westbrook would have to defend the two, which would probably get Westbrook into foul trouble trying to defend guys 3 inches taller.
But, if you want a good laugh, Matt over at Blogabull linked to us and started a thread where they suggest we take on Larry Hughes, Cedric Simmons, and Michael Ruffin, for Collison, Sene and Joe Smith.......Hello? Reality please? WE DONT WANT YOUR JUNK. Dream on Bulls fans. Larry Hughes was one of the two guys (Ben Gordon was the other one) who messed up three fast breaks against us earlier this year because they are both such ball hogs they wouldn't pass the ball. Three times in the same game!
Hughes is crying right now about playing time in Chicago. That's exactly what we need.....Puuhhhlleeeze.
Here's the link: http://www.blogabull.com/2009/1/29/740158/desmond-mason-out-for-seas
And their trade checker: http://games.espn.go.com/nba/features/traderesult?players=356~741~3030~1978~3029~788&teams=25~25~25~4~4~4&te=&cash=
Anyone else notice Chucky playing the two last night? How well would he do on a nightly basis playing backup 2?
It's a crying shame to lose such a hustle oriented player for the season. The kicker is had he have not made such a lazy inbounds pass he wouldn't have had to hustle back for the block. This is a lesson I hope the entire Thunder team learns, bad passes lead to nothing positive... even season ending injuries.
I too think Weaver should get the minutes. I suspect that Wilkins will get some to prevent a bunch of whining.
However, Presti traded for this Gary Forbes about a week and a half ago. He is having a nice season in Tulsa. I mentioned it here last week.
http://www.dailythunder.com/?p=305
Here's his draftexpress bio: http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Gary-Forbes-5073/
http://www.nba.com/dleague/playerfile/index.jsp?player=gary_forbes
It means something when your GM trades for someone. I think he's had his eye on this kid.
I would much, much rather see Weaver over Wilkins. Wilkins gives you nothing but bad defense and bad shot making. Nobody misses more open elbow jumpers than Damien Wilkins. At least if Kyle Weaver's doing that, we can chalk it up to him "learning through experience."
Man Royce... this freaking sucks...
probably a combo of Westbrook/Watson/Atkins at the 1. and Weaver/Wilkens/Westbrook at the 2. Until a trade is made to sure up the SG position... This might facilitate a trade a little quicker than Presti had anticipated... meaning he has something in mind but was just waiting to get closer to the trade deadline to see if anything else came up... now he may not be able to wait as long...
I'm bummed out...
That's sad news. I hate to hear it for Desmond. God speed in your recovery Desmond.
I'd like to see Weaver take his spot. I haven't seen much, but what I have seen of Atkins and Watson together, they have this quirky connection on the court that works for them.
I wonder if this spawns new trade efforts before the deadline?
Guys are going to have to step it up on defense. Often, guys will play solid defense, but at the expense of their offensive focus. With Desmond, you just accepted his offensive production as a bonus. I think it might be similar with Weaver to this point in his career, but it's hard to know how a rookie will handle the increased minutes in a bigger role. I have more faith in him than I do in Wilkins though.