Bell Injured - partially torn ligament in left wrist

[sweatdog]

Bobcats guard Raja Bell has a partially torn ligament in his left wrist that could require surgery and sideline him for most of the season.
This is huge news for the value of point guard D.J. Augustin, who could conceivably slide into the starting lineup, moving Raymond Felton to shooting guard. Another possibility is that rookie Gerald Henderson will be promoted to the starting five. There is a chance Bell can avoid surgery and return sooner, so check back soon for an update.

http://www.rotoworld.com/content/Home_NBA.aspx?rwr=1

How many minutes do you see Augustin playing while Bell recovers?

[fatlever]

hey...thanks for posting the link and i know you are simply trying to get some much needed info for your fantasy team... but really? really?

how about we first find out some info about the injury to raja, discuss the massive impact this has on our team etc... and from there maybe you can start to gather some info for your fantasy team.

obviously dj mins will go up as felton will play more sg. also expect to see more flip and henderson and graham.

ANYWAY.................................

now to the real news at hand.... RAJA COULD BE OUT FOR A LONG TIME

[fatlever]

btw... i am changing the title of the thead. lets make this about raja and how we will replace him and not exclusively about dj's fantasy impact. thanks.

[fatlever]

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/121/st ... 1525.html#

Minutes after the Charlotte Bobcats defeated the Milwaukee Bucks 94-87, coach Larry Brown announced starter Raja Bell has a torn ligament in his left wrist. If Bell chooses to have surgery, he’d miss up to four months in recovery.

Bell plans to seek a second opinion from a Chicago hand specialist on whether surgery is warranted. In the alternative, Bell could try rest and rehabilitation. If that’s successful, he’d be back on the court much sooner.

“It’s a (decision) I won’t take lightly. I’ve only had six or seven hours to digest’’ the latest diagnosis, Bell said. “I know I’ve got a responsibility to the Bobcats.’’

He’s also in a delicate situation contract-wise. Bell turned 33 last month and the Bobcats turned down his request last summer for an extension. What’s worse? Sitting out most of the season or risk entering free-agency as damaged goods?

[sweatdog]

Be my guest and lock it or edit it to fit your personal needs Mr. Mod, sir.

[fatlever]

of course raja might opt against surgery and not miss much time....

“It’s something he might be able to control’’ without surgery, Brown said. “If he fell on it, I don’t think he’d do any more damage. He’s a pretty tough guy and that’s his left (non-shooting) hand.

“But we’ll not let him play if that jeopardizes his career.’’

[fatlever]

Be my guest and lock it or edit it to fit your personal needs Mr. Mod, sir.

now that the initial shock of this news has settled in... to answer your question... i think IF raja is out for 4 months, DJ will probably see about 30 mins per game. i was expecting him to get about 25 mins per game prior to this news. i think that either henderson or murray will see the biggest boast in playing time from this. felton will play maybe 5-10 minutes per game at sg as opposed to 0-5 that i was expecting.

now if flip is also out of an extended time with stress fracture then you can probably bump up dj another 3-5 minutes.

also, we might see steven graham play some minutes at sg as well.

[sweatdog]

I was in the midst of a live draft and was looking for some quick insight from those who know the situation best. Thus my brief and specific post

The fact that its his off-hand that is hurt does say a lot. Bell has been sturdy every year except perhaps his last year in Utah when he played in 63 games, and we know he prides himself on his defense, so toughing it out isn't foreign to him. Lets be honest, as an Augustin fantasy owner I selfishly wish for Bell to opt for surgery. But as a lover of the game I hate seeing anyone go down. I don't know much about Henderson, but he certainly fits the size requirement at 6-5".

[Rich4114]

ugh, i think he was going to have a down year anyway. Maybe Kerr will trade us back J-Rich?

[Walt Cronkite]

This is awful news on many levels.

[Paydro70]

Honestly, he should probably get the surgery. Obviously not the best for the Bobcats, but I don't see how he could possibly expect another team to sign him as a 34-year-old who still has a torn ligament.

If he does that's not good at all for us, obviously. Better hope Flip is up to snuff, I guess?

[MILFSTA]

at least the cats still have doris aka out of shape diaw

[spectre_]

Oh look..a trolling ball boy. Haven't ever seen that before.

This is devastating news unless the Henderson we saw last night is more the norm than any other preseason game so far. After FINALLY having depth at SG that position once again comes around to bite us in the arse.

Get well soon Raja.

[W_HAMILTON]

Why didn't we sign Iverson again...

[ohara]

This really does hurt in many ways. We lose his scoring ability, which is really the least of the impact. But his defense and court leadership will be missed the most. But it may be a blessing in disguise if our young guys step up to the plate and show something. No, not a blessing in disguise. More of a silver lining in a dark cloud. It sucks.

[Bassman]

Sorry to see Bell hurt. I wanted him traded for a different asset, but now that's out. If he has surgery, we'll keep him and use the cap space next year. More importantly, how do we manage this?

Well, you play with what you've got. I'd start Henderson, bring Flip off the bench (assuming he's healthy). G-man will make mistakes, but he'll get a quick lesson every night and mature his game faster. Flip clearly cannot take significant minutes. I do not want to see the midget backcourt of DJ and Felton too often. I know that will likely be the starting lineup if Bell is out, but I don't like it. Too much "Ole" defense by those two. Frankly, I'd still start Felton at the point, but give DJ plenty of minutes there, as I think DJ takes the job soon anyway. Felton could become a key 6th man, alternating between the 1 and 2.

[thruthefire]

I'll go with D.J. or Flip before I turn to Hendo.

[Felton for Pres]

Why didn't we sign Iverson again...

Great point.

[BigSlam]

I can see Hulk Graham getting a LOT of burn.

[Rich4114]

I'm not sure I can deal with yet another dual PG season. I just can't do it.