INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana needs to find a long-term replacement for Danny Granger.
Team officials announced Wednesday that the one-time All-Star forward is expected to miss up to three months after receiving an injection in his left knee to treat patellar tendinosis.
Losing Granger for an extended period is a big blow for a team that entered this season hoping to contend for an Eastern Conference title. He was the Pacers’ top scorer last season (18.7 points) and is typically their first option in late-game situations, too.
All the Pacers can do now is move on.
“We still have a heck of a team,” coach Frank Vogel said before Saturday night’s home opener. “We’ve still got a great deal of talent, a great deal of depth. So my hopes are very high that we’ll excel without Danny.”
Granger originally hurt the knee during May’s playoff run. Vogel said the soreness dissipated for a while, then returned while Granger was working out during the offseason.
In September, Granger said he underwent blood-platelet treatment, which he described as a painful experience that could take months to fully heal.
“It hurts,” Granger said in mid-October. “They take the blood out and inject it back in, so it hurts. But it helps you heal tremendously.”
Apparently, Granger hasn’t reaped those benefits yet. He has not played in any of Indiana’s first four regular season games, though he did make one preseason appearance. At Cleveland, on Oct. 23, Granger scored nine points in 13 minutes.
Without him, things haven’t always gone smoothly.
The Pacers (2-2) are averaging 20.3 turnovers a game, a number Vogel has already acknowledged needs to be cut significantly.
Vogel is also trying to figure out lineups and rotations without Granger. Gerald Green, signed as a free agent in the offseason, started the first three games. He’s scoring 9.8 points and grabbing 4.3 rebounds, but giving up 2.5 turnovers per game. On Monday night at San Antonio, Sam Young moved into the starting lineup and finished with three points and three rebounds in a 101-79 loss.
