Sixers rookie Markelle Fultz will have the final say in whether he plays again this season, according to Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. The first overall pick in last year’s draft has been limited to four games because of a shoulder injury and difficulties with his jumper. He sat out his 68th straight game tonight, but his shot has looked better in pre-game warmups and there is speculation that he might see some action before the playoffs.
There’s more from the Atlantic Division:
- Raptors guard Kyle Lowry is still playing at a high level at age 32 and believes he has a lot of years left in the NBA, relays Josh Lewenburg of TSN. Lowry, who talks about staying in the league until age 40, says he is inspired by some of the league’s elder statesmen. “[LeBron James] is kinda setting the trend to show that it ain’t the olden times,” Lowry said. “You know, guys at 32 [or] 33, [it used to be] like ‘Oh, they’re done’. But I think those days are over. … We all know our bodies, our diets, we’ve got nutritionists, chefs, trainers. It’s a little bit of a different game and [with new] technology I think guys will be able to play at a higher level at 35 or 36 years old.” Lowry will be 34 when his current contract expires in 2020.
- Even though Kyrie Irving is expected to miss the first part of the playoffs, there’s a silver lining for the Celtics regarding today’s surgical procedure on his knee, writes Matt Dollinger of Sports Illustrated. The operation showed the patella fracture he suffered during the 2015 NBA Finals is fully healed and the knee is structurally sound. President of basketball operations Danny Ainge has a long-term plan to build around Irving and Gordon Hayward, Dollinger adds, and should be relieved that Irving projects to have a healthy future.
- The Celtics had to alter their plans to sign Sean Kilpatrick to a 10-day contract when he reportedly got a better offer from another team. Boston is targeting perimeter depth with its hardship exception, tweets Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe.
Kyrie has knee issues (now a second one, which suggests compromised tendons) and this is the guy you want to build your team around..
He’s a perennial All-Star with the best handles in the league and aside from James Harden, the single hardest player to stop 1 on 1. He hit the game winning shot in the NBA Finals, who is your team building around? Judging by the LA in your name, it’s either Kyle Kuzma or Lou Williams right? Both huge upgrades over Kyrie imo
Sounds like Derrick Rose to me
You should get your hearing checked then
Except if you bother to read about why he’s having these knee issue, it’s because of a patellar fracture (freak injury) which required a tension wire. Tension wires causing knee soreness after the injury is healed is common, and it did in this case. Compromised tendons aren’t suggested at all and his knees are fine
Okay obviously I think Kyrie is someone to build around, but he does hit free agency next season. With the way Terry Rozier is developing, if the Celtics don’t believe Kyrie will stay long term or if his knee is a problem, they could build with Terry as the PG of the future.
All it was they think on Kyrie was a wire from the surgery irritating the patella tendon. They removed the wire. Said the kneecap and everything around it was fine. Steph Curry is the one you need to worry about with recurring injuries.
They say Fultz shot is almost where it was at Washington. Coach says he can do things nobody else on team can do. Hope he does well in summer league.