JANUARY 3: Zeller underwent successful surgery on the third metacarpal of his right hand today, the team announced in a press release. He’s expected to miss four to six weeks of action.
DECEMBER 31: The Hornets lost their starting center tonight when Cody Zeller suffered a fracture to his right hand, according to a tweet from the team. He left the game with Orlando for X-rays midway through the third quarter.
Zeller has been effective since reclaiming the first-string center role this year, averaging 9.2 points and 6.2 rebounds per game in about 24 minutes per night. New coach James Borrego placed an emphasis on keeping Zeller healthy all the way back to preseason, notes Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer (Twitter link). Zeller played in just 33 games last season.
There’s no immediate word on how long Zeller will be sidelined, but the Hornets will likely continue their committee approach to the position until he returns. Willy Hernangomez, Marvin Williams, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Nicolas Batum, Frank Kaminsky and Bismack Biyombo have all seen time in the middle.
“Cody’s so valuable to us on so many levels,” Borrego said. “… Willy is capable. Frank and Biz have started before. All three are capable starters in this league. We’re deep at that position. MKG and Marvin have also played some [center].” (Twitter link)
The fact that Marvin Williams plays center blows my mind. The league is trending in a crazy direction.
Couldn’t agree more, I think coaches should respect more the center position, as it is very important, even now is the position with the best players & the deeper. I was looking statistically in the efficiency category at NBA.com & 4 out of the top 10 players are centers, also 9 out of top 20, 17 out of top 40 & 21 out top 50. Counting AD & LMA as centers. It would seem to me to be the most dominant position even in this modern game. It would be nice to see teams not dissing it by putting guards like Batum in there.
Well, it’s hardly surprising that centers fare well in the efficiency rankings, since they usually have much better shooting percentages than backcourt players (as they take most of their shots close to the basket) and also more blocks and less turnovers. I don’t think such statistics allows one to conclude that center remains the most dominant position. The most dominant team in the last few years (GS) plays many minutes without a true center and this something that certainly hadn’t been seen before.