The Pacers two leading scorers and players, Mike Dunleavy and Danny Granger, are injured.
Firstly, the news on Dunleavy
The Indiana Pacers announced Friday that guard Mike Dunleavy will be out indefinitely. Under the direction of the team, he will get other medical opinions regarding his sore right knee.
Once that process is completed, Dunleavy and the Pacers’ medical staff will make a determination on the direction of treatment for the knee.
Secondly, the Danny Granger injury
The Indiana Pacers announced Thursday that forward Danny Granger will be out 10 days to three weeks with a partial tendon tear in the sole of his right foot.
The injury occurred in the first half of Wednesday night’s game at Charlotte. An MRI conducted Thursday in Minneapolis revealed the tear.
Well, could this the final note on an underwhelming season from the Pacers?
They’ve underperformed all season long, and this could be the final blow, the one which ends their playoff hopes for good.
The Pacers are currently 6 games back on eight place in the East, a rut now for three weeks, could see back as many as 8-9 games with only 20 or so left to play.
Updates
I have updates on both Granger and Dunleavy, this news comes 10 days after the initial post. It’s a good news and bad news situation, let’s start with the bad news
Mike Dunleavy will not play for the rest of the season
Mike Dunleavy will indeed miss the rest of the season and is pondering surgical options to address his right knee injury.
Dunleavy has played in just 18 games this season, missing the first 34, returning for a month (averaging 15.1 points and 3.8 rebounds) before going back to the bench after the first quarter of the Feb. 8 game in Washington.
“He’s not going to play for us the rest of the year,” O’Brien said. “You can take that to the bank.”
Dunleavy has met with a variety of doctors about surgical options for what he described as “a giant bone spur” in his right knee. He said he’s been dealing with pain in the knee “for 10 years.”
“It’s not a matter of knowing what it is,” Dunleavy said. “It’s a matter of knowing how to fix it.”
Mike Dunleavy also said that he and his doctors are getting together and will put some information available to give to the media in about a week’s time — more specifics on what is actually wrong with him.
Now for the good news, despite initial reports to contrary including quotes from Granger, Danny Granger has recovered quickly and will return shortly
Sunday marked the 10-day point since the Pacers announced Granger would miss between 10 days and three weeks with a torn tendon on the bottom of his right foot. Granger missed his sixth consecutive game tonight against the Denver Nuggets but could be back by Wednesday’s game in Portland or Saturday’s in Los Angeles against the Clippers.
“We’d be disappointed if he didn’t play on the West Coast trip,” said Coach Jim O’Brien.
Granger agreed, saying “That’s what we’re aiming for.”
I can’t see the Pacers making the playoffs at this stage.
Update: Dunleavy’s rehab may stretch into next season’s training camp
Pacers forward Mike Dunleavy, who has played only 18 games, said recovery could stretch into next season’s training camp if he has surgery on his right knee.
“A lot of it is dependent on how the surgery goes,” Dunleavy said Monday. “We won’t know until you get in there and all that. We’ll do that and go from there. It’ll be a lengthy recovery, so I’m prepared for that.”
Dunleavy revealed Sunday he has a “giant bone spur” on his right patella tendon.
That would put a huge amount of doubt into his performance level next season, especially in the first couple of months into the season.
Are Indiana looking at a repeat of this season next year?
Dunleavy Has Surgery
RealGM has the press release
The Indiana Pacers announced Friday that guard Mike Dunleavy underwent successful surgery for removal of a bone spur and repair of his right patellar tendon.
At the direction of the team, the surgery was performed by Dr. Richard Steadman at the Steadman-Hawkins clinic in Vail, Co., with the Pacers’ medical staff, Dr. Tim Hupfer, physical therapist consultant Dan Dyrek and head physical therapist/athletic trainer Josh Corbeil, in attendance.
Recovery will be lengthy and no timetable has been set. Dunleavy will miss the remainder of this season. Rehabilitation will begin immediately and will be under the supervision of the Pacers’ medical staff in Indianapolis.
Posted on February 20, 2009 by Dave