Nuggets forward Wilson Chandler sidelined for remainder of the season due to hip injury: NBA News
Nothing can be more devastating for a playoff team than to lose a key player at this time of the season. Denver Nuggets, who are currently sitting pretty on the 7th spot in the Western Conference, 1.5 games ahead of their nearest rivals, have been dealt with a major blow in the form of a season ending injury to Wilson Chandler.
Chandler has been suffering from a left hip strain could hardly perform against Houston Rockets on Sunday. He played for seven minutes in the 1st game after missing 7 with the ailment, remaining scoreless in the short passage and the coach decided not to push him.
After assessing the situation, the Nuggets have decided to shut the forward down for the entire season. Chandler was disappointed at the development;
"Me and the training staff just wanted to see if there was any way possible to finish the season out," he said.
"Sitting out is really not for me. It's the last option. Nobody wants to sit out, especially when your team starting to do really good making a playoff push and moving up in the rankings. A lot of positive things going on, it's tough to watch. I'm still happy for them, but I just want to be a part of that."
Chandler finally had a good thing going for him. He joined the franchise last February as a part of a superb trade that sent Carmelo Anthony to New York Knicks. He played 21 games for the club during the last season, at the end of which he became a free agent. During the NBA lockout, he was one of the very few players who went to play club basketball in China. Chandler returned from China just about two months back, just in time for the Nuggs to sign him for $37 million – 5 year contract.
George Karl was also disappointed at losing his ace forward, who could have provided great depth in his back court;
"I think Wilson is disappointed, I think he's sad," coach said. "He came back here hoping to give us a big boost and he didn't get many games in. So, I think in general it's a disappointment to him, as it is to us."
Wilson has only played in 8 games this season but has tallied solid numbers - 9.4 points, 5.1 boards and 2.1 assists. Nuggets gave an indication of how highly they rate the forward, by trading Nene Hilario to the Wizards, just to make cap space for him. The team has not announced a schedule for his operation but it expected that the rehabilitation process post operation can take up to 4 to 5 months.
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