Charlotte
Philip Maymin
Basketball News Services
Kareem Rush hurt his left knee in Wednesday's loss to the Hornets and though the MRI came back negative, Rush is now on crutches and will miss 4-6 weeks, meaning he will be gone for the remainder of the Bobcats inaugural season. Rush, who is a free agent this summer, will be replaced in the lineup by Keith Bogans.
Rush suffered a grade 2 sprain of the medial collateral ligament in his left knee. GM/head coach Bernie Bickerstaff does want to bring back Rush in the summer and it'll be up to him to decide if the injury is healed.
In the meantime, the Bobcats will play their last 27 games without the injured shooting guard. That includes 14 road games and 13 home games, ending April 20. There is a small chance Rush will be able to play one of the final few games, given the expected timeline, and it might make sense for him to do so in order to showcase his health for his summer.
NEXT GAME
The Bobcats (12-43, fourth in the Southeast) visit the new-look Boston Celtics (30-28, first in the Atlantic) TONIGHT. Gary Payton may be a Celtic again and may play, depending on the situation. The game starts at 7:30pm and will be broadcast on WJZY and NBA League Pass.
TEAM NOTES
Bobcats Majority Owner Robert L. Johnson is inviting fans to experience Bobcats basketballin the New Charlotte Arena by offering a Season Ticket Guarantee to all non-premium season ticket holders for the 2005-06 season in the team's new arena in Uptown Charlotte.
INJURY UPDATE
Kareem Rush(knee),Bernard Robinson(foot), andTamar Slay(foot) are on the injured list.
Rick Bonnell ofThe Charlotte Observerwrites: It's Bernie Bickerstaff's favorite refrain: "You don't learn basketball by osmosis." Usually he's referring to rookie Bernard Robinson. Robinson represents one of Bickerstaff's few regrets as coach/general manager of the Charlotte Bobcats.Bickerstaff loves Robinson's potential, but he has struggled to find minutes for the kid, even on an expansion team. That's why Bickerstaff says Robinson would have been better off serving a stint in the NBA's developmental league.
Rick Bonnell ofThe Charlotte Observerwrites: Bobcats coach Bernie Bickerstaff named Gerald Wallace a co-captain recently, and he is living up to the responsibility.Wallace has scored in double figures in his past four games, shooting 57 percent from the field, and had at least three steals in all four. Wednesday against the Hornets, he also had four blocks. He'll never be a great outside shooter and his turnovers will always be high, but Wallace is playing about as efficiently right now as his skills allow.
Rick Bonnell ofThe Charlotte Observerwrites: It wasn't as bad as it might have been, but Charlotte Bobcat Kareem Rush's sprained left knee could end his season.A MRI showed no torn ligaments or cartilage damage, after Rush severely wrenched his knee in Wednesday's loss against the New Orleans Hornets. The Bobcats expect him to be out four to six weeks, which is close to the end of the expansion team's first season.