Denver Nuggets forward Al Harrington has surgery on knee – NBA Update
Denver Nuggets are unlikely to have Al Harrington available at the start of next season.
The 6 foot 9 inch power forward has gone through multiple surgeries on his knee to take care of a staph infection and even though Harrington feels that he will be ready by the start of next season, it does not look to be the case.
“I had tore my meniscus in April, towards the end of the season or whatever, and got it fixed after Game 7 or whatever. And then I got a staph infection. So I was sick, man. I had like three surgeries. And then a couple weeks later, they checked my knee again and it still was kinda cloudy in there. So I had to wait six weeks and take medicine… and then I had surgery again this Monday. Hopefully it’s the last one.”
Harrington played a key part in the Nuggets roster last season. In the 64 regular season games which only included a single start, he was able to average 14.2 points and 6.1 rebounds. His averages however dropped in the first round playoff series against the Los Angeles Lakers - 9.7 points and 4.3 boards per game.
The Nuggets put up a valiant fight in that series, coming back from a two game deficit at 1-3 to eventually bow out in 7 games.
Throughout last season, Harrington provided the much needed size and floor spacing into the fast paced Denver offence and was also quite reasonable on the defensive end. He got his hands in the passing lane more often than not and, being a 14 year veteran, was a constant source of motivation for the Nuggets players.
Although it is a given that he won’t be able to make it to the training camps, Harrington is confident that he will be there in the Nuggets jersey when the next NBA season begins. However, given the complicated nature of staph injuries and their varying cure time (mostly 6 months), he has his work cut out and is likely to miss at least one month.
If that is the case, it would be interesting to see what kind of rotations George Karl, the Nuggets coach, draws up next season.
Tags: