10:33 PM: Kanter will be out six to eight weeks, Wojnarowski reports (Twitter link).
10:00 PM: Thunder coach Billy Donovan told the media during his postgame press conference that Kanter suffered a fractured forearm, Wojnarowski tweets. Donovan said he would meet with Kanter before commenting on how the 6’11” center injured himself, Young tweets. No timetable has been established for Kanter’s return, according to Brett Dawson of The Oklahoman (Twitter link).
9:36 PM: Thunder center Enes Kanter, a leading candidate for Sixth Man of the Year, is feared to have fractured his right hand, sources told The Vertical’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). Kanter suffered the injury punching a chair on the bench in frustration after he was called for an offensive foul against the Mavericks on Thursday night.
He had X-rays on his wrist, ESPN.com’s Royce Young reports, and there is concern that the injury is significant pending further evaluation (Twitter link).
Kanter has arguably been the league’s most productive reserve this season, averaging 14.6 PPG and 6.8 RPG in 21.9 MPG. Kanter leads all centers with a Player Efficiency Rating of 24.76.
With Kanter out for an extended period, the Thunder will have to rely more heavily on starter Steven Adams. Joffrey Lauvergne will likely pick up the bulk of Kanter’s minutes off the bench. Nick Collison, 36, could also be in rotation mix after barely seeing the court this season.
Kanter has been very durable in recent years. He has played in every game this season and answered the bell every time last season, when he averaging 12.7 PPG and 8.1 RPG. He appeared in 75 combined games for the Jazz and Thunder two seasons ago, and played 80 games for Utah in 2013/14.
Well this sucks.
If only it happend last year. They might still have KD…sucks about the injury, but Kanter is arguably the worst defender of all time. They have Grant that can play the 4, they can use Sabonis as a 5 or they have Lauvergne, both of which can shoot too. I admit they’ll miss some of his scoring off the bench, but they’ll survive without Kanter, in my opinion, assuming they play it the right way
I agree his defense is absolutely horrid but it’s gonna be hard to replace his offense off the bench.
Awesome now who on Sixers roster fits Thunder?
I predict the thunder suddenly become leagues top defense until his return