On the fringe of a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, the Charlotte Hornets are now facing the possibility of life without starting center Al Jefferson until at least February.
The 30-year-old Jefferson underwent successful arthroscopic surgery on his right knee Thursday to repair a lateral meniscus tear, the team announced in a release. His recovery is expected to take about six weeks.
The Hornets originally announced Jefferson’s diagnosis on Wednesday after an MRI revealed the tear, per Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated.
Al Jefferson will have surgery to repair a lateral meniscus tear in his right knee, per Hornets. Expected to miss six weeks.
— Chris Mannix (@ChrisMannixSI) December 31, 2015
Jefferson has appeared in only 19 games for Charlotte this season, averaging 12.5 points per game and 6.1 rebounds per game, his lowest numbers in a decade. He missed time earlier in the year with a calf strain before serving a five-game suspension for violating the league’s anti-drug program. Jefferson was only two games into his return from that suspension before going down again with this latest knee injury.
The veteran center has been hobbled by various foot and leg injuries in recent seasons, including a bout with plantar fasciitis upon his arrival in Charlotte. Such ailments are particularly worrisome for an aging big like Jefferson that relies heavily on footwork offensively and is already a liability defensively because of his immobility/inability to defend in space.
Jefferson’s absence has actually been a blessing in disguise for the 17-14 Hornets who are actually five whole points per 100 possessions better with Jefferson off the court this season, than they are with him on (per NBA.com). More minutes have been readily available for former No. 4 overall pick Cody Zeller, an athletic big who, unlike Jefferson, can anchor the Charlotte defense with his quickness and versatility. Ditto for last June’s lottery selection Frank Kaminsky, who is quietly making nice development with his consistent run in the rotation.
With Jefferson set to become an unrestricted free agent at season’s end, the question has now been raised of if he still remains a valuable NBA talent or if he has become an expendable piece damaged beyond repair by age and injury.
Image Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports
H/T theScore
