Luguentz Dort injury update: Thunder forward out for remainder of season after left shoulder surgery

The Oklahoma City Thunder announced on Tuesday evening that forward Luguentz Dort will be out for the remainder of the season after having surgery to repair a labrum tear in his left shoulder. Dort, who had been sidelined since Feb. 12 with a shoulder injury, underwent surgery in Los Angeles with Thunder medical personnel present. Though he'll be out for the remainder of the season, he's expected to make a full recovery in time for the start of the 2022-23 season.

Dort's injury isn't ideal given the stellar season he was having. The third-year forward out of Arizona State was averaging career-highs in points (17.2), rebounds (4.2), and shooting over 40 percent from the field, the best of his career so far. He began to show marked improvement as an offensive weapon to go along with his staunch defense and proved to be a reliable second option alongside Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

However, with the Thunder currently posting a 20-44 record, and primed for a top spot in the 2022 NBA Draft, shutting Dort down for the remainder of the season will help improve Oklahoma City's draft odds. The Thunder have the fourth-worst record in the league right now, and even with flattened lottery odds, still have a 12.5 percent chance at landing the No. 1 overall pick, per Tankathon.

In related Thunder injury news, the team also announced that guard Ty Jerome will be out for the rest of the season after undergoing a procedure on Tuesday to address a sports hernia. Jerome is expected to be out for eight weeks and will be able to resume basketball activities after that time. Veteran big man Mike Muscala is also expected to be sidelined for the remainder of the 2021-22 season after having an arthroscopic procedure and repairing a lateral ligament on his right ankle. Muscala will be available to return ahead of the start of next season.

These lengthy injuries are in addition to the long injury report the Thunder already have. Rookie standout Josh Giddey has missed the last five games with a hip injury, and is expected to be sidelined a total of two weeks as OKC coach Mark Daigneault said "We'll know a lot more in a couple of weeks to see how he responds to the treatment he is getting right now." Sharpshooting forward Kenrich Williams has also been sidelined since Feb. 14 with a knee injury, and there's no timetable for his return.

From the looks of it, it appears as though the Thunder are waving the white flag on the season as they look to get their team as healthy as possible while prepping for the upcoming draft where they will have four draft picks, three of which are in the first round.

Comments

Bill Russell Once Explained Why He Didn't Bother With Celtics Fans: "When I Was A Star, The Fans Called Us The 'Boston Globetrotters' Because The Celtics Had Black Players."

While the NBA is a beacon for freedom and tolerance in America, things didn't start off that way. In a place like Boston, during the 50s and 60s, racial tension was a pretty serious problem, and superstar big man Bill Russell had to deal with it on a game-to-game basis. Today, it can be hard for us to imagine just how difficult being a black basketball player really was back then. Fortunately, we have some clips: "The number one paper was the Boston Herald and they didn't like the idea of an NBA team having black players. Out there, the star was Bob Cousy. No matter what I did, Cousy was the star. I remember I had a game where I had 25 points, 25 rebounds, 10 blocks, and the Boston Herald said I was lucky to play with Cousy." Unfortunately, the media didn't give Russell his respect back then. Despite being the best player on the court, and on his team, Cousy and others always got the spotlight. Even the fans weren't very accepting of Bill: "I didn't...

From Deep: At long last, Nikola Jokic's Nuggets can envision getting to the top of the mountain

Jamal Murray tore his ACL on April 12, 2021. Leading up to that night, he'd been playing at an All-NBA level for two months: In a 25-game stretch, Murray averaged 24.1 points on .509/.459/.935 shooting splits, 4.2 rebounds and 5.2 assists. He was even more efficient than he was in the bubble playoffs, and his defense had improved, too. Murray only got to play with Aaron Gordon, the Denver Nuggets' big trade-deadline addition, for five games. They won them all except the one in which Murray got injured. In 110 minutes, their new starting five scored slightly more efficiently than any iteration of the Kevin Durant-era death lineup in Golden State and defended like a top-five team. Two Nikola Jokic MVP awards later, Murray is back. So is Michael Porter Jr., who signed a five-year extension about a year ago and needed back surgery nine games into the 2020-21 season. The Nuggets remember how easily everything slid into place with Gordon in the mix. Newcomer Kentavious Caldwell-Pop...

Sixers' James Harden backs teammate Joel Embiid for MVP: 'He deserves it, man'

James Harden has been a member of the Philadelphia 76ers for less than two months, but that's been more than enough time for him to appreciate the brilliance of Joel Embiid. The duo is expected to help the Sixers compete for a championship, but Harden believes another trophy should be on its way to Philly this year. In an interview with Ramona Shelburne of ESPN, Harden backed Embiid for MVP, saying "he deserves it, man." "I've only been here for a few weeks, but I already see his mindset," Harden said. "He wants to win. Some guys just want numbers, but he has both. He has the mentality of winning, and he scores the ball at a high level. I think he's prepared himself, especially coming off last year, for this year to be one of his best years." This has indeed been one of Embiid's best years. He's averaging a career-high 29.8 points, 11.3 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 1.4 blocks while shooting 48.8 percent from the field and 35.8 percent f...

Crossover World

Search This Blog