Already depleted by injuries, the Spurs may have to finish the postseason without David Lee.
The veteran big man was diagnosed with a torn patellar tendon in his left knee after being pulled early in Saturday’s game, according to Michael C. Wright and Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com. Lee will undergo an MRI today to confirm the extent of the injury.
San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich responded, “I have no idea,” when asked about Lee’s status in the post-game press conference.
The injury occurred with 2:57 left in the first quarter when Lee was fouled by Draymond Green while making a layup. He was unable to stay in the game to shoot his free throw and was taken from the court in a wheelchair.
The 33-year-old is in his 12th NBA season and his first with the Spurs. He has a $1.6MM player option for next season and can become a free agent again in July.
San Antonio, which trails Golden State 3-0 in the Western Conference finals, is already playing without Kawhi Leonard, who aggravated an ankle injury in Game 1 of the series, and Tony Parker, who ruptured a quadriceps tendon in the conference semifinals.
So crummy to hear….
Doesn’t it seem that there are way more injuries this year than in the past playoffs ?
That sucks. David Lee went from almost out of the NBA to revitalizing his career this year, in my opinion. He improved on the defensive end, and got back some of what he always did offensively. This was a good matcup for him in some rotations too. Hope this isn’t pretty much what ends his career
Clearly God wants to see Warriors vs Cavs 3. Playing more games is futile and will only lead to needless injuries