Thunder's Steven Adams has surgery on fractured right hand, out at least 3 weeks
Just as the Oklahoma City Thunder got back to full strength, the team suffered another blow.
Thunder center Steven Adams is expected to miss at least three weeks after undergoing surgery to repair a fracture in the fourth metacarpal of his right hand, the team announced.
Adams injured his hand in the second quarter of Sunday's blowout win over the Los Angeles Clippers and left the game after 12 minutes. He was forced to shoot a pair of one-handed free throws with his non-shooting hand after suffering the injury.
The upcoming All-Star break will minimize the amount of games Adams misses, but the injury comes when the Thunder are fighting for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference. Oklahoma City is in a three-way battle for the No. 8 seed with the Phoenix Suns and New Orleans Pelicans. The Thunder entered Monday sitting in 10th, two games behind the Suns and one behind New Orleans.
After winning the Northwest Division in four consecutive seasons, injuries to All-Stars Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant left the Thunder vulnerable and the team responded with a rocky start. They're now forced to play catch up and one of the league's most successful teams over the last few seasons is in jeopardy of having its string of five consecutive playoff appearances snapped.
Durant has been hobbled by multiple injuries throughout the season and has missed more than half the team's games.
Adams, who was selected to participate in this weekend's Rising Stars Challenge, logged 24.3 minutes in 50 starts at center, averaging 7.4 points, seven rebounds and 1.2 blocks, while shooting 54.7 percent from the field.
Kendrick Perkins, Mitch McGary and Nick Collison are internal options the Thunder can turn to replace Adams' minutes.
McGary, a rookie out of the University of Michigan, logged just eight minutes all season before receiving 23 in Sunday's win. He played with a lot of energy and cleaned up around the rim, scoring 19 points on 8-of-9 shooting from the field with 10 rebounds and a steal.