Warriors’ Belinelli out 10 days with ankle sprain
January 14th, 2009 Posted in NBA basketball newsGolden State guard Marco Belinelli will be sidelined at least 10 days after spraining his right ankle last weekend.
The second-year pro from Italy was injured in the fourth quarter of a victory over Indiana, landing on an opponent’s leg after taking a shot. He recently joined the starting lineup, showing improved shooting and defense while averaging 13.8 points the past 19 games.
Belinelli joins Monta Ellis, Stephen Jackson and Brandan Wright on a long list of injured regulars for the Warriors (11-28), who host Sacramento on Wednesday night.
Jackson has missed three straight games with a hamstring injury. Wright is expected to be out until late January after partially dislocating his left shoulder. Ellis hasn’t played this season after injuring his leg during the summer.
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Wizards’ Etan Thomas out with knee injury
Washington Wizards center Etan Thomas has a torn ligament in his left knee, the latest setback for a last-place team already without Gilbert Arenas, Brendan Haywood and DeShawn Stevenson.
The Wizards said Tuesday that Thomas will be sidelined indefinitely and will be re-evaluated in two weeks. He was injured in the first quarter of Monday night’s 97-91 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks.
Thomas, who missed all of last season while recovering from open heart surgery, was expected to move back into the starting spot after Haywood tore a wrist ligament during preseason. Instead, Thomas has been on and off the bench, playing in 26 of 37 games with seven starts. He is averaging 3.1 points and 2.5 rebounds in 11.8 minutes for the Wizards, who are 7-30.
Arenas has yet to play this season after knee surgery in September, and Haywood might not return at all this season. Stevenson has been sidelined for two weeks with a bad back.
Andray Blatche has settled into the rotation as the starting center in recent weeks. With Thomas out, rookie JaVale McGee will likely be the primary backup.
