NBA notebook: Pacers could be without Granger for 3 months
BY Associated Press
Thursday, November 08, 2012
11/08/12 at 2:45 AM
Indiana needs to find a long-term replacement for Danny Granger.
Team officials announced Wednesday that the one-time All-Star forward is expected to miss up to three months after receiving an injection in his left knee to treat patellar tendinosis.
Losing Granger for an extended period is a big blow for a team that entered this season hoping to contend for an Eastern Conference title. He was the Pacers' top scorer last season (18.7 points) and is typically their first option in late-game situations, too.
All the Pacers can do now is move on.
"We still have a heck of a team," coach Frank Vogel said before Saturday night's home opener. "We've still got a great deal of talent, a great deal of depth. So my hopes are very high that we'll excel without Danny."
Granger originally hurt the knee during May's playoff run. Vogel said the soreness dissipated for a while, then returned while Granger was working out during the offseason.
Cavs rookie Zeller out with concussion, fracture: Cavaliers rookie Tyler Zeller's first NBA road trip has been ended by injury.
Zeller is returning to Cleveland for further evaluation after sustaining a concussion and broken cheekbone after being elbowed in the face by Los Angeles Clippers center DeAndre Jordan on Monday night.
Zeller was hit under the left eye by Jordan with 5:39 left in the fourth quarter of Cleveland's 108-101 win. X-rays taken after the game were negative, but a CT scan performed in San Francisco revealed a non-displaced fracture of his left orbital cheekbone. The first-round pick from North Carolina has been placed in the NBA's concussion protocol process. He will have to be cleared by a league doctor before he can resume practicing or playing.
Pippen describes Election Day hoops with Obama: Former Chicago Bulls star Scottie Pippen says President Barack Obama has a "smooth game" on the basketball court.
Pippen described playing basketball with the president Tuesday afternoon in a story on the Chicago Bulls website. He played on Obama's team in an Election Day game complete with referees and a running clock. Pippen and Obama's team won the game.
Pippen says the president was "very easy to approach" and says Obama isn't an overly aggressive player, probably because he doesn't want to get hurt.
Pippen says it was the first time he met the president and called it "a very special experience."
