Oklahoma City Thunder could miss Jeff Green on Wednesday
Forward Jeff Green could miss his second-straight game when the Oklahoma City Thunder go up against the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday because of his sprained left ankle.
Green, who sat out in their 92-83 loss against the Boston Celtics on Sunday 7 November, did not participate in the team’s practice, spending the rest of the session observing their drills
while walking in a treadmill.
“It felt good,” said Green about his ankle after the team’s practice. “You don't want to rush things like this. It might linger later on in the season, especially with an ankle. You want
to make sure you come back at full strength. It is just sore and it is nothing big. Like any other ankle sprain, you ice it down and get treatment.”
The 24-year old forward, who is averaging 19.4 points and 7.2 rebounds per game this season, wanted to play against the Celtics, but the team doctors did not allow the former Georgetown standout
to play as a precautionary measure.
“Both, we have to be on the same page,” said Green, when asked who should decide, either him or the team doctor. “We don't want him to disagree with my opinion.”
Without Green, the Thunder started second-year centre Serge Ibaka for the first time this season and he responded by tallying eight points and 11 rebounds, but the Thunder sorely missed Green,
who is more versatile and a better defender than Ibaka.
“We're good when we have them both, and we're not as good without Jeff,” said Thunder head coach Scott Brooks. “We have to find ways for Serge to be effective. He will make most of those
shots he took on Sunday, but Jeff does a lot of things for us with spreading the floor, he can shoot threes, he can drive and now his post-up game has improved.”
Brooks also added that he is hoping that Green’s sprained ankle will heal faster than expected, but if not, they will still be ready to make the necessary adjustments in their bid to bag
their fourth win of the season in their game against the 76ers. “We hope to have both Ibaka and Green. If not, we have to find ways to help our rotation out,” he said.
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