Richard Jefferson Suffers Thumb Injury
SportingNews
Well, that's one way to draw people's attention to the solid, if not epic, makeover your team has undergone this offseason. Richard Jefferson, the key component of the reloaded Spurs, has dislocated his thumb and might miss part of training camp. From the San Antonio Express-News:
The injury is not considered serious, and the Spurs are expecting Jefferson's absence to be measured in weeks, not months. Still, it remains unclear whether he will be a full participant when the Spurs open camp Sept. 29.
X-rays taken of Jefferson's thumb showed no bone or ligament damage. He is set to be re-evaluated next week, at which point the team will establish a firmer timetable for Jefferson to return to basketball activities.
Maybe this will make us all remember that the Spurs got Jefferson, that he adds another dimension to their offense and could help make them a stealth contender in 2009-10. Maybe this is the part where DeJuan Blair gets a little extra fake PT and finds his voice. But this injury also serves to illustrate just how much San Antonio is counting on the injury-prone Jefferson. They're swimming in guards and big men; take away Jefferson, though, and their only SF options are the tween-ish rookie Blair and Michael Finley, who is a few small steps away from ye olde pasture.
Whether Jefferson's misses any time whatsoever or is limited in the least is a purely academic consideration. Looking at what happens to the Spurs if he goes down, though, is a thought experiment well worth engaging in.
