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I don't know if this was discussed already and I missed it, but the Games Notes on NBA.com from Saturdays Wizards match up featured this blurb -

Hornets: F Michael Kidd-Gilchrist has yet to play this season because of right shoulder surgery but is nearing a return. ... C Al Jefferson served the third game of a five-game suspension for violating the league's drug policy. ... Charlotte outrebounded Washington 51-38.

I don't know if that is true but if it is we may have a nice early surprise return of MKG in January.

Anyone know more?

No one knows. We probably won't hear anything definitive for at least another month.

With that said, was surprised to see this on my timeline yesterday...

[tweet]https://twitter.com/hornets/status/678668760694194176[/tweet]

yosemiteben wrote:No one knows. We probably won't hear anything definitive for at least another month.

With that said, was surprised to see this on my timeline yesterday...

[tweet]https://twitter.com/hornets/status/678668760694194176[/tweet]

and you know that's wet too

Can't wait to get to see him. How do you think he will affect the lineup, mainly replacing PJ in the starting lineup?

13th Man wrote:Can't wait to get to see him. How do you think he will affect the lineup, mainly replacing PJ in the starting lineup?

I would think that our DEF gets a lot stouter and we increase our offensive rebounds. Kemba, Lin, Batum, Marv and Lamb all probably lose 2 minutes of PT and PJ doesn't play anymore. They should keep MKG to around 24 minutes a game unless his stroke is fixed for good.

I saw MKG shooting free throws before the Raptors game and he looked relatively smooth out there. Not sure what it takes to get from shooting uncontested jumpers to the point where he can handle the grind of tangling in the paint. Probably at least until March.

Last info I heard was MKG could return in time for the playoffs. I think the NBA game notes are taking some liberties with saying "nearing return".

That being said, I have always felt that he'd be back sooner than the original diagnoses, however, I have not read anything that leads me to believe he is "nearing return" as they say.

He's gonna need at minimum a coupla months worth of games to shake off rust to become a factor in the playoffs. Rushing a guy back from serious injury/surgery always carry a serious risk, not to mention he might not be mentally ready to go all out yet on an untested shoulder.

Regardless i hope he does beat the projections. Would be nice to have another player running the court on the break, should lead to some easy buckets. As athletic as PJ is i dont see him running the break that aggressively.

Doesn't take a couple months of games to shake off rust.

Doubt he's back before March.

Call me crazy, but is that MKG participating in practice in Phoenix, just inside the three point line on the left side:



Don't see Batum though.

Probably just getting some shots up.

How many months ahead of time is he allowed to get up shots before his return. We are only two months out of his surgery.

How many months ahead of time is he allowed to get up shots before his return? We are only two months out of his surgery.

yosemiteben wrote:How many months ahead of time is he allowed to get up shots before his return? We are only two months out of his surgery.

Not sure, but hes been putting up shots for at least a month now I believe. Just about getting it stronger to withstand the rigors of the NBA at this point I guess.

Liver_Pooty wrote:

yosemiteben wrote:How many months ahead of time is he allowed to get up shots before his return? We are only two months out of his surgery.

Not sure, but hes been putting up shots for at least a month now I believe. Just about getting it stronger to withstand the rigors of the NBA at this point I guess.

which could -and should- be months at this point

this season is already turning into the walking dead for us. no need to add another zombie

DY_nasty wrote:this season is already turning into the walking dead for us. no need to add another zombie

Let's not get too dramatic. We're two losses back of the 5 seed despite losing 7 of our last 9.

yosemiteben wrote:How many months ahead of time is he allowed to get up shots before his return? We are only two months out of his surgery.

Three, actually. He was injured three months to day I believe.

MotorKeepsGoing wrote:

yosemiteben wrote:How many months ahead of time is he allowed to get up shots before his return? We are only two months out of his surgery.

Three, actually. He was injured three months to day I believe.

Yep, his surgery was October 6th. All he has to do is come back a month early, which doesn't seem out of the question with this injury, and he'll get about 20 regular season games. Two weeks early gives him about 13 games. All it will take is a slightly speedy recovery and we could have a healthy MKG heading into the playoffs. It will be a struggle to even make it and it won't matter at all unless we avoid playing Cleveland in round one, but I'm still holding out some hope.

yosemiteben wrote:

DY_nasty wrote:this season is already turning into the walking dead for us. no need to add another zombie

Let's not get too dramatic. We're two losses back of the 5 seed despite losing 7 of our last 9.

I'm not talking about wins and losses. I'm talking about us being hit with injuries at every position

In that sense, I don't think people are dramatic enough the only other team more banged up than us is Utah.

Whenever he comes back I hope he's 100%. MKG is a long term investment, not a rental player we need value from asap. It would be awesome if he came back and helps lead our playoff push, but if he has to sit until mid-March and we miss the playoffs but there are no flare-ups with his shoulder then I'm fine with that too. The most important thing is getting him healthy and keeping him that way so he can go through a full offseason program and come back improved in 16-17.